City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. 09/10/2024 Council Policy 020 Page 1 of 5 Resolution No. 24-9365
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, commendations, or certificates of recognition. All proclamations, commendations, and certificates of recognition are ceremonial documents.
POLICY It is 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 accordance with the City Charter, the Mayor shall be 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. All proclamations, commendations, and certificates of recognition are approved by the Mayor.
In the event the Mayor elects to not authorize a proposed request from the City Councilmember(s), the process allows a City Councilmember to request approval of their proposed proclamation, commendation, or certificate of recognition by the full City Council in alignment with Council Policy 030 (“Adding an Item to an Agenda”).
PROCLAMATIONS
It is the policy of the City that proclamations 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, months, or years), civic celebrations, or local, community, regional, state, or national occasions with significance to the City of Santa Clara.
2. Proclamations will include 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 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.
City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. 09/10/2024 Council Policy 020 Page 2 of 5 Resolution No. 24-9365
5. Proclamations shall be stored in accordance with City public record retention policies.
COMMENDATIONS
Commendations may be issued to individuals, groups, organizations, or businesses with a connection to the City for milestones or major achievements that have community-wide significance. Members of the public and the City Council may request to issue commendations on behalf of the City. Commendations shall be issued in accordance with the criteria specified below and shall be approved by the Mayor.
1. Commendations are issued to honor individuals, groups, 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 competitions,
exhibitions, or championships at the state, national, and/or international level, or educators for receiving recognition at the regional, state, national, and/or international levels. c. Santa Clara 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 include the signatures of the Mayor and all City Councilmembers.
3. Commendations are approved by the Mayor.
4. 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 also may be issued to honor employees who have made significant contributions to the City of Santa Clara.
City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. 09/10/2024 Council Policy 020 Page 3 of 5 Resolution No. 24-9365
5. An annual list of Commendations will be provided to the City Council.
6. 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 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 Certificates of recognition 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 philanthropic 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 organizations for winning City competitions (e.g., Halloween 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 the 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 and contributions to the community within the City Council District.
City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. 09/10/2024 Council Policy 020 Page 4 of 5 Resolution No. 24-9365
3. City Council District Certificates of Recognition shall bear the signatures of both the Mayor and the District City Councilmember.
4. City Council District Certificates of Recognition are approved by the Mayor.
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 the Office of Mayor and City Council and submitted at least fifteen days prior to the beginning of the proclaimed time period of observance for which the requester seeks such recognition, in 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 commendations 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:
x Information and/or example(s) of how the request meets the criteria outlined in this policy;
x Any background or historical information;
x Notable qualities or characteristics of any group(s) which would be honored; and
x Other information pertinent to the request.
2. If the request meets the above-mentioned criteria and is approved, City staff shall prepare the document. If the document is not being presented at a City Council meeting or at an event attended by the Mayor or a City Councilmember, the requester may pick up the completed document at Santa Clara City Hall or may request documents to be sent by email or direct mail.
3. All proclamations, commendations, and certificates of recognition may be requested by the Mayor, a City Councilmember, or members of the public. All proclamations, commendations, and certificates of recognition are approved by the Mayor.
City of Santa Clara
Council Policy Manual
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, AND
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
Rev. 09/10/2024 Council Policy 020 Page 5 of 5 Resolution No. 24-9365
Reference: Revised prior January 2021, September 2012
4. In the event the Mayor elects to not authorize a proposed request from the City Councilmember(s), the process allows a City Councilmember to request approval of their proposed proclamation, commendation, or certificate of recognition by the full City Council in alignment with Council Policy 030 (“Adding an Item to an Agenda”).
Resolution/Proclamations, Commendations & Certificates of Recognition Page 1 of 2 Rev: 7/27/2023
RESOLUTION NO. 24-9365
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA,
AMENDING COUNCIL POLICY 020 ENTITLED
“PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS AND CERTIFICATES
OF RECOGNITION”
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Clara Council Policy Manual includes policies and procedures by which the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, shall conduct City business and activities;
WHEREAS, the purpose of Council Policy 020 is to outline the procedures 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, commendations, or certificates of recognition; WHEREAS, the amended policy includes a revised definition for Proclamations stating, “Proclamations are issued to give City recognition of special periods of observance (e.g. days, weeks, or months), civic celebrations, or local, community, regional, state or national occasions or programs with significance to the City of Santa Clara,” WHEREAS, the amended policy includes the addition of “City Council District Certificates of Recognition” to acknowledge individuals or group achievement, contributions to the community within the City Council district; and
WHEREAS, the amended policy includes the addition of signatures of the Mayor and City Councilmembers on all proclamations and commendations.
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