Fremont City Council Meeting: 02/21/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Manager's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4809) DOC ID: 4809
Updated: 2/17/2023 10:32 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
CEREMONIAL FLAG DISPLAY - Consideration of Procedures and Guidelines Outlining the Display of Ceremonial Flag Commemorating Special Observances in Response to Council Direction from Councilmember Cox Referral on December 20, 2022
Contact Persons:
Name: Allen DeMers Amanda Gallo
Title: Assistant to the City Manager Management Analyst II Div/Dept: City Manager's Office City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-494-4651 510-284-4016
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: At the December 20, 2022 City Council meeting, Council directed staff to conduct research and analysis to develop consistent procedures outlining the display of ceremonial Flags commemorating special observances. This report provides an overview of staff research regarding how other cities conduct ceremonial Flag displays, estimates of associated expenses to guide future Council consideration of ceremonial flag displays, and makes recommendations for Council consideration regarding the conduct of ceremonial flag displays.
BACKGROUND: On December 20, 2022, the Council approved a referral for the request to display a flag in celebration of Black History Month in February 2023. At this meeting, the Council also requested staff research and analysis to develop a policy for ceremonial flag displays to honor special observances to complement the already existing procedures associated with the display of the United States Flag and State of California Flag.
At the January 10, 2023 City Council meeting, Council discussed an additional flag related referral for nineteen additional, potential flag display events but took no action, in anticipation of staff drafting ceremonial flag display procedures for Council consideration.
The City of Fremont’s flag display procedures are currently memorialized in Administrative Regulation (AR), 1.10, Flag Display, which outlines the City’s policies and procedures for the proper display and handling of the United States and State of California flags. The current AR does not address ceremonial flag displays. No Council action is required to amend an AR, as such policies are maintained and implemented under the authority of the City Manager, however staff will review and amend the regulation, if necessary, in order to ensure that it is consistent with Council’s procedural direction.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Flag Display Policies of Local Agencies
In conducting research of other local agencies’ policies and procedures regarding ceremonial flag display items, staff learned that our peer agencies have developed a variety of rules in Council Staff Report (ID # 4809) Meeting of February 21, 2023 Updated: 2/17/2023 10:32 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
varying degrees of detail. Some agencies have a developed a specific ceremonial flag policy while others address ceremonial flag displays on an as needed basis only.
Common practices of cities with Ceremonial flag policies or procedures include:
(1) Most surveyed agencies employ a policy statement confirming that the government entity’s flag poles are not forums for public speech and that only flags endorsed by formal Council action are eligible for display. This statement allows governing bodies to maintain strict control over the types of flags that are flown and by extension allows Council to ensure consistency of ceremonial flags with the City Council’s values and ethics.
(2) A small number of agencies allow for ceremonial flag display events hosted in partnership with community groups through an application process. This practice is more inclusive of community interests but potentially erodes the City Council’s ability to restrict display of flags that are objectionable to a majority of the public and/or not consistent with the City Council values. (3) Most cities with ceremonial flag policies specify that flag displays may only be performed after the request of a Councilmember or City Manager and consideration and approval by a majority Council action/resolution. These ceremonial flag display proposals are typically considered individually as separate occasional actions of a City Council.
(4) A small number of surveyed agencies adopt a single comprehensive calendar of ceremonial flag display events for each calendar year in a single Council action.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4809) Meeting of February 21, 2023 Updated: 2/17/2023 10:32 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 3
The table below summarizes research of various local jurisdictions:
City Policy Ceremonial Flag
Approval
Community
Participation?
San Jose Yes Must be adopted by
Council resolution
Allows for application
process for partnered
events
Hayward No Events adopted on a
case by case basis by
Council
Conducted by City
Milpitas Yes Adopted via
comprehensive
calendar
Allows for application
process for partnered
events
Sunnyvale Yes Must be adopted by
Council resolution
Conducted by City
Santa Clara Yes Must be Adopted by
Council resolution
Conducted by City
Concord No Events adopted on a
case by case basis by
City council
Conducted by City
Oakland No Made at the direction
of the Mayor’s office
Conducted by City
Staff has identified general approaches and is highlighting the following elements for Council discussion and direction regarding ceremonial flags.
(1) Procedure to identify and approve Ceremonial Flag Observances
A) Recommended Ceremonial Flag Approval Option: Individual Ceremonial Flag Observances Must be requested by a Councilmember or City Manager and Approved by Majority Council Action
Staff recommends that Council establish a policy requiring that each individual ce remonial Flag observance be approved by a majority of the City Council. Councilmembers or the City Manager would utilize the formal referral process to request a ceremonial flag display and provide information about the special observance, requested dates for flag display, and information about how the requested observance is consistent with and/or promotes the City’s values. The City Council would have the option to review the referral request, discuss, and adopt a resolution to approve the individual ceremonial flag display. This process will allow for discussion and approval of ceremonial Flag displays by Council while allowing for the review of additional flag observances at any time throughout the year, when approved by a majority resolution of the Council. Furthermore, Staff recommends that the City Council Staff Report (ID # 4809) Meeting of February 21, 2023 Updated: 2/17/2023 10:32 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 4
Council confirm its intent that the City’s flagpoles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.
B) Alternative Ceremonial Flag Approval Option: Council Adopts a Comprehensive Calendar of Ceremonial Flag Display Events Voted on Once per Year
Alternatively, the Council could annually adopt, by Council resolution, a comprehensive calendar of ceremonial flag display events for the upcoming calendar year. The adopted Ceremonial Flag calendar would memorialize the dates of when each ceremonial flag observance is to occur.
While, potentially feasible, this model may be cumbersome to administer due to the number of ceremonial events that may be considered in any given year, with the potential for overlapping events. Through research of other policies, it is suggested that ceremonial flags be displayed for an adequate amount of time to honor the observance, which is usually presented for no more than 31 days.
At the January 10, 2023 Council Meeting, the City Council contemplated nineteen ceremonial flag raisings events. This volume (or a similar large number) may be impractical to administer and could inhibit the flexibility of future City Council’s to consider additional flag display events as the year progresses. As the City Council is considering potential flag events that may occur within the same month, the expenses of staff time and costs dedicated to each event will rise in correspondence to the number of approved events.
Attachment B: 2023 Calendar of Events is attached to this report for informational purposes only and displays the potential conflicts that may arise if multiple ceremonial displays fall within in one month.
(2) Ceremonial Flag Observance Events- Staff Support to Acquire, Store, Raise and Lower Ceremonial Flag
In addition to research of policy parameters to approve ceremonial flags, staff has reviewed procedures required to display ceremonial flags. Staff’s procedural recommendations are intended to ensure that each flag display receives equal support, quality and consideration from City staff and to preserve resources for the Council’s highest priority activities. Staff has calculated estimates for Council review regarding recommended levels of staff support.
These costs are derived from previous ceremonial flag events and research into other cities operations for ceremonial flag event planning.
It is important to note that Fremont has one of the lowest staff to resident ratios amongst cities in our region. Staff surveyed several local agencies in 2022/2023 and determined that Fremont’s ratio of 965 FTE to 234,239 residents (0.004) is the second lowest full -time employee to resident ratio of the 12 surveyed Bay Area agencies. This means that any additional work of substance generated by flag new ceremonial flag display procedures will be incurred on an overtime basis and will divert resources from other priorities.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4809) Meeting of February 21, 2023 Updated: 2/17/2023 10:32 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 5
A) Recommended Procedural Support: City Staff Shall be Responsible for the Selection, Acquisition, Storage, Raising and Lowering of Ceremonial Flags
Staff recommends that ceremonial flags be selected, acquired, stored, raised and lowered by City of Fremont staff at the direction of the City Manager. City staff shall ensure that each selected flag is of the same size, quality, and that each is maintained in a respectful and consistent manner when not on display. Staff recommends that, for additional consistency and programmatic sustainability, informational support for approved ceremonial Flag displays be expressly limited to a brief public information post in the City’s newsletter and via other community outreach channels confirming when and where the display will take place.
FISCAL IMPACT: Each ceremonial flag display as recommended will require dedicated staff time and costs associated with flag purchase, removal, and storage. The table below displays a cost estimate for an approved ceremonial Flag display without a staff supported event. Staff estimates this option will cost approximately $600-$700 per flag display in staff time and expenses to acquire, raise, lower, and store flags. A breakdown of these costs is described in the table below.
Staff Cost
1 Maintenance Field Supervisor –Raising /Removal of Flag (4 hours as required by OT Rules)
$205
Communications Manager- Public Information Messaging (2 hours) $150 Purchase of Flag/ Storage of Flag $300
Estimated Total per event $655
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: None.
ATTACHMENTS:
• 2023 Calendar of Events contemplated at January 10, 2023 meeting.
RECOMMENDATION: Receive staff report and approve staff recommendations confirming the Council’s direction regarding the display of ceremonial flags commemorating special observances.