City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
P
ROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. XX 2024 Co uncil Policy 020 Page 1 of 4
Resolution No.
PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to identify the authority, criteria, and procedure for the recognition of individuals , groups, organizations, businesses, special periods of observance, or special occasions through the issuance of proclamations , comm endations, or certificates of recognition. All p roclamations, commendations, and certi ficates of recognition are ceremonial documents.
POLICY It i s the policy of the City of Santa Clara that requests for proclamations, commendations, or certificates of recognition shall be prepared in accordance with the adopted guidelines of this policy. In accor dance with the City Charter, the Mayor shall b e the official head of the City for all ceremonial purposes.
All proclamations, commendations, and certificates of recognition may be requested by the Mayor, a City Councilmember or members of the public and shall be approved by the Mayor.
PROCLAMATIONS
It is the policy of the City that procl amations shall be issued in accordance with the criteria specified below:
1. Proclamations are issued for an event or periods of observance (e.g., days, weeks, or month s), civic celebrations , or local, community, regional, state, or national occasions with significance to the City of Santa Clara.
2. Proclamations will be ar the signatures of the Mayor and all City Councilmembers.
3. Proclamations are approved by the Mayor.
4. An annual list of proclamations that are routinely scheduled shall be provided to the City Council. For any additional or new proclamations which are not part of the annual list and approved by the Mayor, these proclamations will be provided to the City Council to indicate if they would like to opt out of signing.
5. Proclamations shall be stored in accordance w ith City public record retention policies.
CO
MMENDATIONS
Commendations may be issued to individuals, groups, organizations, or Proposed Draft
City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. XX 2024 Council Policy 020 Page 2 of 4 Resolution No.
businesses with a conn ection to the City for milestones or major achievements that have community -wide significance. Members of t he public and the City Council may request to is sue commendations on behalf of t he City . Commendations shall be issued in accordance with the criteria specified below and shall be approved by the Mayor.
1. Commendations are iss ued to honor individuals, group s, organizations, or businesses with a connection to the City for milestones or major achievements that have significant importance to the Santa Clara community, such as:
a. Local sports teams or individual athletes for winning regional, state, and/or national titles;
b. Local schools or students for winning comp etitions, exhibitions, or c hampionships at the state , national , and/or international level, or educators for receiving recognition at the regional, state, national, and/or international levels. c. Santa C lara businesses or organizations upon the
commemoration of a milestone anniversary;
d. Community groups or organizations, upon the
commemoration of a milestone anniversary, whose work has benefited the City and/or Santa Clara residents; or
e. Recognition of Santa Clara residents on the occasion of their 100
th birthday.
2. Commendations will bear the signatures of the Mayor and all C ity Councilmembers.
3. Upon request, commendations shall be issued to retiring City of Santa Clara or Santa Clara Unified School District employees for 20 years of service or more and als o issued to honor employees who have made significant contributions to the City of Santa Clara.
4. An annual list of Commendations will be provided to the City Council.
5. Commendations shall be stored in accordance with City public record retention policies.
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
It is the policy of the City that certificates of recognition may be issued to individuals, groups, organizations, or businesses with a connection to City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. XX 2024 Council Policy 020 Page 3 of 4 Resolution No.
the City for individual or group achievement, exceptional contributions to the Santa Clara community. All Certificates of Recognition shall be approved by the Mayor.
Mayoral Certificate of Recognition
1. Mayoral C ertificates of r ecognition are used to acknowledge individual or group achievement, contributions to the community such as:
a. Individuals, community groups, or organizations whose volunteer efforts and/or philanthropi c works have benefitted the Santa Clara community and/or Santa Clara residents; b. Santa Clara students for academic achievement at the local or regional level (e.g., school valedictorian, placement at regional competitions or exhibitions);
c. Individuals, community groups, or org anizations for winn ing City competiti ons (e.g., Hal loween Holiday Decorating Contest, Home Decorating Contest, etc.); or
d. Local organizations or businesses for commemorative events or occasions in Santa Clara (e.g., ribbon cutting ceremonies, grand opening ceremonies, etc.).
2. Mayoral Certificates of Recognition shall only bear t he signature of the Mayor.
City Council District Certificates of Recognition
1. Members of the City Council may request to issue City Council District Certificates of Recognition on behalf of the City with approval by the Mayor.
2. City Council District Certificates of Recognition are issued to acknowledge individual or group achievement, contributions to the community within the City Council District.
3. City Council District Certificate s of Recognition sha ll bear the signatures of both the Mayor and the District City Councilmember. a. If the Mayor chooses to opt out of including their signature, the City Councilmember will need to issue a petition through the City Council Policy 030 (Adding an Item to an Agenda) as part of the process to seek approval by the full City Council to issue the certificate of recognition.
City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. XX 2024 Council Policy 020 Page 4 of 4 Resolution No.
PROCEDURE Ceremonial documents including proclamations, commendations, and certificates of recognition may be requested by any member of the City Council or members of the public.
1. Requests should be addressed to th e Office of Mayor and City Council and submitted at least fifteen days prior to the beginning of the proclaimed time period of observance for whi ch the requester seeks such recog nition, i n the case of proclamations , or at least fifteen (15) business days in advance of the date the document is requested for , in the case of comm endations and certificates of recognition. Requests should include either a sample that can be used as a guide or provide sufficient information to assist City Staff in preparing the document. Additionally, requests should include:
• Information and/or examp le(s) of how the request meets the criteria outlined in this policy;
• Any background or historical information;
• Notable qualities or characteristics of any group(s) which would be honored; and
• Other information pertinent to the request.
2. If the req uest meets the above- mentioned criteria and is approved , City staff shall prepare the document . If the document is not bei ng presented at a C ity Council meeting or at an event attended by the Mayor or a City Councilmember, the reque ster may pick up the completed document at Santa Clara City Hall or may request documents to be sent by email or direct mail.