STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of May 10, 2022
TO: Mayor Bailey and Members of the City Council
VIA: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Patrick Tang, City Attorney
Lauren Berges, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Discussion Regarding Juneteenth Commemoration and Administrative Requirements for Display of a Ceremonial Pan-African or Juneteenth Flag Recommended Action
Receive report, discuss, and provide direction to staff.
Executive Summary
A Juneteenth or Pan-African flag would be considered a Ceremonial Flag pursuant to the City’s adopted Flag Policy. According to the City’s Flag Policy, the City Council has the authority to direct that ceremonial flags be flown on the Civic Center flagpole.
Background
During open forum at the Regular City Council meeting of April 26, 2022, several members of the public requested that City Officials consider flying the Pan-African or Juneteenth flag on the City’s flagpole at City Hall, in commemoration of Juneteenth. During the subsequent “Future Agenda Items” portion of the Council’s agenda, Councilmember Tiffany Grimsley requested that the proposal be scheduled for Council discussion/action at the next regular Council meeting. The full Council unanimously approved Councilmember Grimsley’s request and directed that the matter be agendized for the May 10th meeting. This brief staff report discusses the process for placing ceremonial flags at the Civic Center, pursuant to the City’s Flag Policy: Administrative Policy #16.
Discussion
Officially designated Juneteenth National Independence Day and also known as Jubilee Day and Black Independence Day, Juneteenth has been celebrated on June 19th in various parts of the United States since 1865. Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The day was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
The flying of ceremonial flags is addressed in the City of Hercules’ Flag Policy, Administrative Policy #16 (the Policy), adopted January 28, 2020. A copy of the policy is provided as an attachment to this report. To summarize the Policy, the City shall display Commemorative Flags only if authorized by the City Council. Any such authorization must be given at a noticed meeting of the City Council. Since in the current case the request originated with members of the public, the Policy requires that a member of the City Council must be responsible for making a formal request at a council meeting, said request requiring approval by a majority of the full council. This mirrors the 2-step process for scheduling agenda items contained in the Council’s Rules of Procedure, Rule 5.2(1). This requirement was met at the April 26th council meeting, when Councilmember Grimsley requested that this matter come back for discussion and when a majority of the Council approved her request.
Once a ceremonial flag has been approved for display via the Council process described in the attached Policy, there are additional guidelines in the Policy regarding: The period of time it can be displayed (length of time for display set by Council but no longer than 31 continuous days); location of display (Civic Center, on the Civic Center flag pole or on a building at Civic Center); the number of flags (limited to one ceremonial flag); and the position of the ceremonial flag (the last position of honor beneath the City of Hercules flag).
Conclusion
In presenting this report, staff is looking for direction from Council regarding this matter. 2