1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: May 20, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Kimberley Clark, City Clerk
BY: Maria Sanchez, Administrative Analyst I
SUBJECT: Appointment to Fill a Vacancy on the Civil Service Board for an Unexpired Term
RECOMMENDATION
Appoint one member to the Civil Service Board (Board) to fill an unexpired term ending July 31, 2028.
BACKGROUND
All Board, Commission, and Committee (BCC) Members shall be appointed by a three- fifths (3/5) vote of all Council Members and serve without compensation from the City. No person shall serve on more than one BCC at the same time. Vacancies on a BCC occurring during the term of office shall be filled within 90 days from the date the vacancy occurs. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. In addition, all applicants must be electors of, and reside in, t he City of Burbank with the exception of three positions on the Burbank Cultural Arts and the Sustainable Burbank commissions, as established in Ordinance No. 16- 3,874 adopted February 9, 2016 (per Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) §§ 2-1-404, 2-1-405, 2-1-406, and 2-1-407).
Once a vacancy is established, the City Clerk advertises the vacancy for 30 days, accepts applications, and provides the applications received to Council for consideration.
Applicants have the option of applying for up to two BCCs, indicating their first and second choice.
CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 The voting process established allows for each Council Member to vote as many times as there are vacancies on the BCC being considered; the applicants receiving a majority of the votes in the first round are either appointed or move into the second round, if necessary. The process continues for as many rounds as are necessary to attain the correct number of applicants to fill the vacancy(ies).
Civil Service Board
The Civil Service Board (originally the Personnel Board) was established by Ordinance No. 615, which was adopted by a vote of the people at the General Municipal Election April 4, 1939, effective April 20, 1939. The first Personnel Board was appointed by the City Council on Tuesday, April 25, 1939. On September 10, 1952, Council repealed Ordinance No. 615 and adopted Ordinance No. 1209 which established a Civil Service System, a Civil Service Board and a Civil Service Department. The Civil Service Board (Board) consists of five members.
The powers and duties of the Board shall be:
- To hold hearings regarding rules to supplement this article and subsequent revisions and amendments thereto and to recommend to the City Manager for submission to the Council such rules as are herein provided for; - To act in an advisory capacity to the City Manager and City Council on problems concerning personnel administration;
- As provided by BMC § 2-1- 506 and by any rules, adopted to supplement this article, to hear appeals submitted by any employee hereunder, relative to any situation connected with their employment status or condition of employment; and - In any hearing conducted by the Board, it shall have the power to examine witnesses under oath and compel their attendance and/or the production of evidence before it by subpoenas issued in the manner and subject to the penalties provided by law. Each member of the Board shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses.
DISCUSSION
On April 11, 2025, the City Clerk’s Office began advertising and accepting applications for one vacancy on the Board for an unexpired term ending July 31, 2028, created by the passing of Malcolm 'Mal' Kelman.
To obtain qualified candidates, a Notice of Vacancy was advertised through the following:
• City website
• City Council meeting announcements
• All social media platforms managed by the City Clerk’s Office • Press releases sent to the Burbank Leader and MyBurbank.com 3 • Notices posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board
• Community groups and organizations
• Constant Contact Email Notification
The deadline to submit applications to the City Clerk’s Office was Monday, May 12, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. The City Clerk’s Office received three applications for the Board: Brandon S.
Lingle-Adams, Brady Griffin, and Narbeh Hartoonian. The applications are listed in order received.
Please note that applicant Narbeh Hartoonian also applied for the Police Commission. If appointed to the Civil Service Board , this applicant’s name will be removed from consideration for the Police Commission appointment, which is tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Council at the July 15, 2025, City Council Meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity 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 fiscal impact associated with this item.
CONCLUSION
The City and the community both realize substantial benefits from civic involvement.
Appointments to the boards, commissions, and committees help to encourage public participation in the governmental process and ensure Burbank residents have a voice.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Applications and Resumes
Attachment 2 – BMC §§ 2-1-504, 2-1-505, 2-1-506