10C
Date: July 21, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Aram Chaparyan, City Manager
By: Carlos Huizar, Management Associate | [email protected] Subject: City Manager – Select and Appoint Chairs and Members to City Council Committees. Expenditure: None.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of the City Manager that City Council select and appoint chairs and members to City Council standing and special standing committees in accordance with the City Council Rules of Order.
FUNDING
None required.
DISCUSSION
It is the policy of City Council that chairpersons and members are selected for the six (6) City Council standing committees and three special standing committees. The current committee assignments were last selected and appointed on April 23, 2024.
This report provides an overview of the selection process for City Council ad hoc committees, special standing committees, and standing committees as outlined in the City Council Rules of Order (Rules of Order).
Ad Hoc Committees/Working Groups
Section 9.3 of the Rules of Order provides that the Mayor may form ad hoc committees and designate the chair of each, unless otherwise ordered by the City Council. The only active ad hoc body was the Ad Hoc Naming of Public Facility Committee . The Mayor has elected to eliminate this committee, with the intent to reconstitute it in the future if a new public facility renaming application is received.
In 2022, the City Council directed staff to form an informal working group with the Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) to establish a joint-use agreement for shared public facilities and exchanged services. Resolution 2023-55 was subsequently approved on May 23, 2023, formalizing the agreement. While the agreement has been executed, the Mayor wishes to continue the working group.
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July 21, 2026
The TUSD Working Group will consist of four (4) members total: two (2) Councilmembers selected by the City Council to represent the City, and two (2) members selected by the TUSD Board at their discretion to represent the school district.
Working Group City of Torrance Members (2) TUSD Members (2) TUSD Working
Group
Dr. Jeremy Gerson
Asam Sheikh
Selected by TUSD Board at
their discretion
Special Standing Committees
Under Section 9.4 of the Rules of Order, the Armed Forces, Federal and State Legislative Advocacy Committees chairs and members are to be appointed by the Mayor.
Below are the proposed appointments from Mayor Kalani for Council confirmation:
Special Standing
Committees
Chair Members (2)
Armed Forces Day
Committee
Bridgett Lewis Betty Lieu
David Kartsonis
State Legislative Advocacy
Committee
Mayor Sharon Kalani Betty Lieu
Asam Sheikh
Federal Legislative Advocacy
Committee
Mayor Sharon Kalani Dr. Jeremy Gerson
Bridgett Lewis
Standing Committees
The City Council selects the chairs and members for the six (6) standing committees. Section 9.2 of the Rules of Order outlines the rotational selection process based on seniority:
1. Each Councilmember (excluding the Mayor) selects one standing committee on which to serve as chair, in order of seniority.
2. Each Councilmember, in reverse order of seniority, selects a second standing committee on which to serve as a member.
3. Each Councilmember, in order of seniority, selects a third standing committee on which to serve as a member.
Section 10.3 of the Rules of Order establishes that length of continuous service in office determines seniority. Where two or more members are elected or appointed at the same time, the member receiving the highest number of votes at their initial election holds greater seniority.
Under Section 9.6, the Mayor serves as the permanent voting alternate member for all standing committees. In the absence of any member, the Mayor may participate in the call of a committee meeting or act as a voting member at the meeting.
Based on these criteria, the City Council’s current seniority ranking (excluding the Mayor) is as follows:
1. Councilmember Asam Sheikh
2. Councilmember Bridgett Lewis
3. Councilmember Jeremy Gerson
4. Councilmember Betty Lieu
5. Councilmember David Kartsonis
6. Vacant
A new selection process is required to provide each Councilmember an equal opportunity to select committee assignments based on their respective level of seniority. With six (6) total standing 2 City Council
July 21, 2026
committees, each Councilmember will serve on three (3) committees: one (1) as chair and two (2) as members.
Standing Committee Chair Members (2)
Citizen Development and Enrichment
Community Planning and Design
Employee Relations and Public Safety
Finance and Governmental Operations
Strategic Plan
Transportation
For reference, staff has provided a Summary of City Council Special and Standing Committees and Excerpt of Article 9, Section 9.1-9.3 of the City Council Rules of Order.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Summary of City Council Special and Standing Committees
2. City Council Rules of Order Article 9 – Section 9.1 – 9.3 3 ATTACHMENT 1
Summary of City Council Special and Standing Committees Armed Forces Day Special Standing Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to the planning and programming for the Armed Forces Day Parade and Celebration.
Federal Legislative Advocacy Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to federal legislation and policy. The committee evaluates the City’s priority projects to advocate for federal funding, resources, and intergovernmental support.
State Legislative Advocacy Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to state legislative matters, including the evaluation of proposed legislation and advocacy for state appropriations, funding, and policy support.
Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to library services, parks, recreation, cultural enrichment programs, educational systems and school district liaison, community relations, senior citizen and youth programs, and employment opportunities.
Community Planning and Design Committee
Has jurisdiction over General Plan review and implementation, redevelopment, zoning and land use matters and environmental matters relating thereto.
Employee Relations and Public Safety Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to Civil Service methods of employment, affirmative action goals and employer/employee relations, including wages, hours, and working conditions of City employees. Also has jurisdiction over crime prevention and law enforcement, fire protection and rescue, fire prevention and suppression, building safety and code enforcement, oil safety matters, solid waste collection and disposal, street trees and maintenance thereof, street cleaning, and animal control.
Finance and Governmental Operations Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to accounting, auditing, budget procedures, disbursement of City funds, franchises, licensing, alternative revenue and taxation matters, capital improvements, and efficiency of municipal operations.
Strategic Plan Committee
Has jurisdiction over policy matters related to the Strategic Plan implementation and accomplishments, and oversight of Plan updates as defined in the adopted Strategic Plan.
Transportation Committee
Has jurisdiction over matters related to air and ground transportation systems, street circulation and environmental consequences thereof.
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9. ARTICLE 9 — COMMITTEES
SECTION 9.1 STANDING COMMITTEES
The standing committees of the City Council shall be as follows:
1. Citizen Development and Enrichment : Has jurisdiction over matters related to library services, parks, recreation, cultural enrichment programs, educational systems and school district liaison, community relations, senior citizen and youth programs, and employment opportunities.
2. Community Planning and Design : Has jurisdiction over General Plan review and implementation, redevelopment, zoning and land use matters and environmental matters relating thereto.
3. Employee Relations and Public Safety: Has jurisdiction over matters related to Civil Service methods of employment, affirmative action goals and employer/employee relations, including wages, hours, and working conditions of City employees. Also has jurisdiction over crime prevention and law enforcement, fire protection and rescue, fire prevention and suppression, building safety and code enforcement, oil safety matters, solid waste collection and disposal, street trees and maintenance thereof, street cleaning, and animal control.
4. Finance and Governmental Operations : Has jurisdiction over matters related to accounting, auditing, budget procedures, disbursement of City funds, franchises, licensing, alternative revenue and taxation matters, capital improvements, and efficiency of municipal operations.
5. Transportation: Has jurisdiction over matters related to air and ground transportation systems, street circulation and environmental consequences thereof.
6. Strategic Plan : Has jurisdiction over policy matters related to the Strategic Plan implementation and accomplishments, and oversight of Plan updates as defined in the adopted Strategic Plan.
SECTION 9.2 SELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN
Each member, other than the Mayor, will be the Chairman of a standing committee. The members will choose their memberships in the following order:
1) Each member, in order of seniority, will select one committee on which the member will serve as chair.
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2) Each member, in reverse order of seniority, will select a second committee on which to serve.
3) Each member, in order of seniority, will select a third committee on which to serve.
SECTION 9.3 AD HOC COMMITTEES
The Mayor may form ad hoc committees at his or her pleasure or at the pleasure of the Council. The Mayor will designate the Chairman of each ad hoc committee, unless otherwise ordered by the Council.
SECTION 9.4 SPECIAL STANDING COMMITTEES
The Armed Forces Committee is a Special Standing Committee with members to be appointed by the Mayor.
SECTION 9.5 COMMITTEE MEETINGS
a) Each committee will hold a meeting upon the call of either its chairman or two members of the committee.
b) All Committee meetings will be publicly announced at the City Council meeting prior to the Committee meeting.
c) All Committee meetings must be posted 72 hours prior to the meeting to comply with Government Code section 54954.2.
SECTION 9.6 MAYOR AS PERMANENT VOTING ALTERNATE MEMBER OF EACH
STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
The Mayor is designated as the permanent voting alternate member of each standing committee of the City Council established in Section 9.1. In the absence of any member of a standing committee, the Mayor may participate in the calling of a committee meeting or in the actual meeting.
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