1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 27, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Courtney Padgett, Assistant City Manager
BY: Cathryn LaBrado, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT: 2022 Charter Review Committee Final Recommendations
RECOMMENDATION
1) Note and file the Charter Review Committee Recommendation Letter. 2) Provide direction on next steps , if any, following the Committee’s recommendations.
BACKGROUND
Per the Charter of the City of Burbank (Charter), every five years a Committee is to be appointed by City Council (Council) to review the Charter and advise Council whether a comprehensive Charter review is necessary. In full, section 1400 of the Charter states:
Not more than five (5) years following completion of the previous Charter review or the completion of the citizen committee review as provided in this paragraph, whichever is most recent, the Council shall appoint a citizen committee of five (5) members, one (1) appointed by each Council Member, to consider the Charter and advise the Council whether a comprehensive Charter review is necessary. The committee may recommend a full review, a limited, focused review, or no review. Upon such recommendation the Council may appoint a full Charter Review Committee, the number and appointments o f which shall be determined by the Council, to determine what, if any, Charter changes should be placed before the voters.
From time to time the Council may also place other proposed Charter changes before the voters.
At the March 15, 2022 Council meeting, each Council Member appointed a representative from the public to serve on the 2022 Charter Review Committee (Committee ), including Gavin Cho, Alejandro Escobar, Kevin Muldoon, Christopher Rizzotti, and Gloria Salas.
2 The Committee met six times in the Spring of 2022 (3/31, 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 6/2, and 6/16) with staff liaisons City Attorney Jo seph McDougall, Assistant City Manager Judie Wilke, and Administrative Analyst Viviana Garzon. At the Committee’s second meeting on April 14, 2022, Christopher Rizzotti was elected as the Committee’s Chair with Gloria Salas serving as the Vice Chair.
The Committee presented to Council on August 9, 2022 and recommended a focused review consisting of the following topics: 1) term limits for Council members and Board and Commission members, 2) the addition of a social equity and anti-discrimination clause to the Charter, and 3) amending section 1400 of the Charter to allow a charter citizen’s committee to be appointed every eight years, and at a minimum, one year prior to an election year.
DISCUSSION
Following their recommendation to Council on August 9, 2022, the Committee met on six more occasions (12/8/22, 2/16/23, 4/20/23, 7/27/23, 8/30/23, and 11/2/23). Committee Member Gavin Cho resigned in December 2022 and Isabel Omero was appointed to the Committee by then Vi ce Mayor Nick Schultz on January 10, 2023. During the six meetings, the Committee received updates from the City Attorney’s Office regarding the current election process, Council’s discussions regarding the possibility of districting, and the City’s ongoin g outreach efforts. At the 2/16/23 meeting, the Committee approved a community outreach and marketing plan specific to the subject of term limits, but voted to delay implementing the plan until after outreach regarding districting was complete. The Committee felt that concurrent outreach regarding districting and term limits could be confusing for the community and they were hopeful that a resolution regarding district elections would be reached by the Fall of 2023.
The Committee received additional updates from the City Attorney’s Office regarding litigation filed challenging the City’s at-large election process at the 11/2/23 and 1/11/24 meetings. The Committee discussed the pros and cons of moving forward with the ir focused charter review and ultimately voted to make recommendations to Council as follows:
Term Limits
The Committee is recommending no further action at this time on a charter amendment related to term limits. The Committee feels that moving forward in light of ongoing litigation would not be prudent. Additionally, the Committee feels strongly that the City’s election process challenges should be resolved prior to considering a charter amendment related to term limits.
Amending Section 1400 of the Charter
The Committee is recommending no further action at this time on a charter amendment related to amending Section 1400 of the Charter. The Committee feels that changing the occurrence of the charter review process from five to eight years would not be prudent 3 given that significant changes to the City’s election process may occur over the next few years.
Social Equity and Anti-Discrimination Clause
The Committee is recommending a revision to the Preamble of the City’s Charter to include a more prominent statement related to social equity and anti-discrimination. The Committee worked together to develop language that more accurately represents the City’s commitment to social equity and anti-discrimination.
Current Preamble
We the people of the City of Burbank, in order to exercise the benefits of home rule and establish a responsive, effective and accountable government that maintains the highest level of integrity, provides an outstanding quality of life through excellent municipal services, and through which all voices in our diverse society can be heard, and to provide fair representation and distribution of government resources and a safe, harmonious, and sustainable environment based on principles of liberty and equality, do enact this Charter. (Added by Charter Amendment approved by the voters on April 10, 2007.)
Revised Preamble
We the people of the City of Burbank, embracing the principles of justice and liberty, in order to exercise the benefits of home rule, to guarantee to our broadly diverse residents a responsive, collaborative, innovative, and accountable government that maintains the highest level of integrity ; one that provides outstanding quality of life through fair distribution of excellent municipal services, considers the current and historically disparate c ircumstances of its people, guarantees them equal voice and representation, and pledges to fight for equal rights and outcomes ; one that welcomes all and strives for all to fully enjoy its economic, cultural, and intellectual richness, in a safe, harmoniou s, and sustainable environment; do enact this Charter.
While the committee feels this is an important and necessary update the City’s Charter, they also felt that placing a single charter amendment on the 2024 ballot may not be prudent at this time. The Committee acknowledges that placing an item on the ballot will require considerable staff time and resources.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves only organizational or administrative review of the City’s Charter and has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact should Council decide to note and file the recommendations of the Committee.
4 CONCLUSION
The Committee recommends that any further focused charter review activities regarding term limits and section 1400 of the Charter be paused until litigation related to the City’s at-large election process is resolved. The Committee also recommends that Council consider a charter amendment to revise the Preamble of the Charter to include language regarding social equity and anti-discrimination (for inclusion on the 2024 ballot or to defer to a future Charter Review Committee).
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1: Charter Review Committee Recommendation Letter