1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: December 13, 2022
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Jonathan Jones, Communications Manager
Via: Daniel Amaya, Administrative Analyst II
SUBJECT: Approval of Board, Commission and Committee Business Card Policy & City Council Expectations of Board, Commission and Committee Members
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve a Policy Regarding City of Burbank Board, Commission & Committee Business Cards (Attachment 1).
2. Approve updated City Council Expectations of Board, Commission & Committee Members found in the Guidelines for Citizen Members in the Boards and Commissions Handbook (Attachment 2).
BACKGROUND
The City Council has established various Boards, Commissions, and Committees (BCC) to review City programs, projects, and community issues. Collectively, the City has a total of 23 BCCs, each with their own unique set of duties and responsibilities. These groups provide greater community participation and input into local government while facilitating quality decisions by the Council. BCCs provide additional lines of communication between the general public and the City Council to ensure City government responsiveness. Each BCC has the opportunity to provide input and make recommendations to the City Council; however, they do not determine or establish City policy, or administrative direction. BCCs serve in an advisory capacity with some having limited decis ion-making authority. BCC benefits include focusing attention on specific issues, encouraging citizen participation, providing a community viewpoint, and making recommendations based on a thorough analysis of alternative solutions.
DISCUSSION
The City rec ognizes the importance of utilizing business cards when such use is consistent with the duties or purpose of the BCC. Business cards have been a reoccurring request from BCCs to bring awareness to their respective BCC and to further communication efforts w ith the community, public officials, City staff and members of other BCCs. To ensure appropriate usage of official BCC business cards, staff suggests CITY MANAGER’S
OFFICE
2 Council’s consideration of a proposed BCC business card policy, which outlines the procedure to obtain BCC business cards, defines a code of conduct when requests are approved by Council, and details the business cards’ contents. BCCs will provide written justification to the City Council when requesting business cards for its members and Council will evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis before approval and distribution.
In addition to the business card policy, staff recommends updating the City Council Expectations of Board, Commission and Committee Members. The current Council Expectations of BCCs was approved during the June 26, 2018 City Council meeting and serves as a code of conduct for BCC members. This code of conduct is consistent with the Expectations and Work protocol documents that Council regularly approves for themselves and staff.
On October 27, 2022, staff presented the two documents to the PIO Subcommittee. After thorough review and discussion of the documents, the PIO Subcommittee recommended staff bring them to Council for approval.
FISCAL IMPACT
The business cards will be created int ernally by the Reprographics division of the Management Services Department and will use existing materials and supplies budgets to offset the minimal cost of materials.
CONCLUSION
If approved, staff’s recommendations will provide concise guidelines for BCC members’ request for, and usage of, official City branded business cards. While business cards can be an effective marketing tool, it is critical to set forth such guidelines to ensure they are used in the best interest of the City. Staf f is also recommending that the City Council Expectations of Board, Commission and Committee Members be updated to keep the document relevant and provide further clarity of Council expectations.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Policy Regarding City of Burbank Board, Commission and Committee Business Cards
Attachment 2 – City Council Expectations of Board, Commission and Committee Members