COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT:
Mayor and Council Member Use of
Discretionary Funds
POLICY NO.: 106-25 DATE ADOPTED:
09/15/2025
AUTHORITY:
Resolution No. CC-2509-046
PURPOSE:
To establish a policy for the usage of budgeted “discretionary funds” by the Mayor and City Council Members, focusing on compliance with California law and the betterment of the Lawndale community.
POLICY:
The City Council will allocate on an annual basis some amount of “discretionary funds” to the Mayor and each Member of the City Council. All five persons will receive the same amount of funds. Funds may be used by each Member in accordance with this policy. All funds not expended by the end of the fiscal year will be returned to the City’s general fund (i.e., funds will not “roll over” to subsequent years).
Funds may be expended for any of the following:
(1) to support an event in the City of Lawndale or in a nearby jurisdiction that will contribute positively to the lives of Lawndale residents;
(2) to recognize a Lawndale resident or group/institution on a special occasion or in memorial; (3) for sponsorship of or membership in community or relevant governmental groups by individual Council Members; or for items to support individual Council Members in the exercise of their governmental duties; or
(4) for the general betterment of the Lawndale community.
Expenditures under item #3 above shall be authorized when not otherwise included in a fiscal year’s budget. These may include attendance at unbudgeted conferences, purchase of Lawndale-branded clothing not in the budget, and similar items.
Expenditures under item #4 shall require review by the City Attorney’s office to ensure that the California Constitution’s prohibition against “gifts of public funds” and the legal and regulatory regulation of “gifts” by the Political Reform Act and FPPC Guidelines are not violated. As such, advance notice of such expenditures is requested. The City Council understands that changing interpretations of these laws and changes to the laws themselves may result in changes to the allowable uses.
CITY OF LAWNDALE
14717 BURIN AVENUE, LAWNDALE, CALIFORNIA 90260
PHONE (310) 973-3200 ♦ www.lawndalecity.org
DATE: September 15, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dr. Sean M. Moore, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Michael Reyes, Municipal Services Director SUBJECT: Good Neighbor Program
BACKGROUND
At a recent City Council meeting, City Councilmember Suarez spoke about creating a City sponsored program in which residents would volunteer to help their neighbors with property maintenance. Specifically, this program could be used to assist elderly and disabled residents who have difficulty maintaining their property. The Councilmember suggested that this program could be operated by the Lawndale Beautification Committee.
STAFF REVIEW
The City of Lawndale, like all California cities has standards for property maintenance that are enforced by City employees. Both businesses and residential properties are required to maintain their lawns, remove graffiti, keep vehicles on their property operational, and other quality of life standards which are required of all merchants and residents in the City. Typically, when business owners and property owners fail to meet these standards, Code Enforcement officers will issue warning notices followed by administrative citations in order to compel the property owner to maintain their property.
However, staff recognizes that there are some property owners that have difficulty maintaining their property due to their age or physical disabilities, and it would be unfitting to punish these property owners for violations which they are physically unable to correct. For this reason, the Lawndale Beautification Committee is willing to spearhead a program to address those residents in need of assistance. This program would allow the Beautification Committee to identify properties which have property maintenance issues such as overgrown landscaping, trash and debris, graffiti, or decaying paint, etc. and would then schedule clean-ups to assist residents with keeping their properties up to Lawndale standards. The Beautification Committee with assistance from City Staff, would also create a qualifying matrix to determine that property owners with property maintenance issues are truly in need of assistance and not just refusing to meet City standards.
The Lawndale Beautification Committee met on August 14, 2025, and discussed creating a program in which Committee members and volunteers would clean up residential properties to assist elderly and disabled residents with maintaining their yards. Beautification Committee members would mow lawns, dispose of trash, and do touch-up painting to remove graffiti and cracking paint. Public Works staff would also assist with removing trash from the location once Beautification Committee Members had completed the cleanups.
Some funds would need to be put aside to pay for trash bags, landscaping equipment, and to pay the overtime costs for Public Works staff. The Beautification Committee was adamant that they did not want the name Good Neighbor Program to be used, and instead preferred to use a name that incorporated the Beautification Committee title into the program name. The next Beautification Committee meeting will be held on September 11
th
, 2025, and this item has been calendared to discuss a new name for the program and to discuss parameters for its operation, potential costs, and goals the Committee hopes to achieve with this program.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed the staff report and has no legal issues.
FISCAL IMPACT
This program will require some funding as Beautification Committee members will need to purchase trash bags, landscaping equipment, painting materials, and set aside funds to pay overtime for Public Works staff.
Staff estimates these costs will be approximately $2,500 per fiscal year.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council select one of the following options:
A. Approve annual funding of $2,500 to use for cleanup efforts by the Lawndale Beautification Committee and volunteers to assist elderly, disabled and other in need residents with cleaning up properties with property maintenance issues;
B. Approve a different amount of funding for the Lawndale Beautification Committee to use towards cleaning up properties belonging to the elderly,b disabled, and other in need residents; or C. Give direction to Staff on another option for staff to consider regarding cleanup programs for the Lawndale Beautification Committee to pursue.
CITY OF LAWNDALE
14717 BURIN AVENUE, LAWNDALE, CALIFORNIA 90260
PHONE (310) 973-3200 ♦ www.lawndalecity.org
DATE: September 15, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dr. Sean M. Moore, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Vanesa Alvarez, Administrative Assistant
SUBJECT: Report of Attendance at Meetings
No supporting documentation was forwarded to the City Clerk Department for this item.
CITY OF LAWNDALE
14717 BURIN AVENUE, LAWNDALE, CALIFORNIA 90260
PHONE (310) 973-3200 ♦ www.lawndalecity.org
DATE: September 15, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dr. Sean M. Moore, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Vanesa Alvarez, Administrative Assistant
SUBJECT: Conference with Legal Counsel – Existing Litigation
BACKGROUND
The City Council will conduct a closed session, pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1), to discuss existing litigation: Name of Case: City of Lawndale v. LA Investment, LLC (LA Superior Court Case No. 20TRCV00065).
CITY OF LAWNDALE
14717 BURIN AVENUE, LAWNDALE, CALIFORNIA 90260
PHONE (310) 973-3200 ♦ www.lawndalecity.org
DATE: September 15, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Sean M. Moore, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Vanesa Alvarez, Administrative Assistant
SUBJECT: Public Employee Performance Evaluation - City Attorney
BACKGROUND
The City Council will hold a closed session, pursuant to Government Code section 54957(b), to conduct an employee evaluation concerning the City Attorney.