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CC - ACTION ITEM: (1) Adoption of a Resolution Amending Council Policy Statement No. 3402 (Council Recognition); and (2) Direction Regarding Recognitions Not Associated with the City.
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Meeting Date: March 17, 2025
Contact Person/Dept: Heather Baker/City Attorney
Jeremy Bocchino/City Clerk
Phone Number: 310-253-5660
310-253-5851
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Commission Action Required: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (03/12/2025)
Department Approval: Heather Baker, City Attorney (03/05/2025); Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager (03/05/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) adopt a resolution amending Council Policy Statement No. 3402 (Council Recognition); and (2) provide direction on recognitions not associated with the City.
BACKGROUND
The Ad Hoc City Council Policies Subcommittee was created for the purpose of working with staff to conduct a comprehensive review of existing City Council policies and make recommendations to City Council as appropriate. The current Subcommittee consists of Council Members Albert Vera and Bryan “Bubba” Fish (“Subcommittee”).
Over the course of the City Council Policies review project (“Project”), a total of 28 policies have been considered by the City Council. Of these policies, some have been updated, some have been rescinded after being combined with other policies, some have been rescinded and transitioned to administrative policies due to their administrative nature, and there have been five newly adopted policies (see Attachment 1 for a list of policies considered by the City Council thus far during this Project).
This Project has been delayed on multiple occasions due to other Council-directed priorities and work plans, as well as the unexpected and significant operational workload created by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during 2020-2021.
City staff, after working with the Subcommittee, is presenting one additional City Council policy for recommended action by the City Council at this time. Additional policies are currently in review and targeted for completion over the next few months with the goal of bringing them to City Council for consideration in May and/or June 2025.
DISCUSSION
Council Recognition Policy 3402
City Council Policy 3402 established a policy for the primary purpose of honoring individuals, organizations and groups who have made or have demonstrated significant contributions to the community; honor dignitaries; and recognize significant achievements, milestones or events.
This Policy, which was adopted in 2004 and amended in 2017, is in need of an update primarily due to ambiguity with respect to certain types of recognitions and the recognition process. The proposed amended Policy 3402 has been updated to:
• Clarify that employee recognitions are governed by the Civil Service Rule 15;
• Clarify that commemorative naming of City property and facilities are governed by City Council Policy 3403;
• Add a new type of recognition for new businesses, consistent with current City practice;
• Clarify the City’s discretion in approving recognition requests; and
• Make other formatting and organizational changes, including updating to gender neutral references.
(Attachment 2 reflects the changes to the policy in redline format.)
Recognitions Not Associated with the City
As a result of receiving City Council majority consensus to consider addressing Council Members issuing or participating in non-City recognitions or recognitions that were not approved by the City Council, staff discussed this matter with the Subcommittee to receive their input. Note: Council Policy 4002 addresses the Endorsement of Commercial Products and Services by City Officials and Employees.
The Subcommittee does not have a recommendation on this issue and defers this matter to the full City Council for consideration. However, the Subcommittee did provide the following feedback regarding individual Council Members issuing recognitions not associated with the City:
• Recognitions not associated with the City that are issued by individual Council Members may lead to confusion by the public; and other Council Members who may have wanted to support a particular recognition are not given the opportunity to join with their support. (Subcommittee Member Vera)
• Any policy should not restrict individual Council Members from endorsing/supporting individuals/organizations. Similar to campaign endorsements, etc. there can be an asterisk that the Council Member’s title is for informational purposes. (former Subcommittee Member McMorrin during her prior tenure on the Subcommittee).
Staff is requesting direction regarding this issue. The City Council may wish to consider the following options:
1. No changes to the Policy in this regard.
2. Require individual Council Members that issue and/or participate in non-City recognitions to include a disclaimer that their title is for informational purposes and/or that such recognition is not associated with the City or the City Council.
If there is direction to move forward with Option 2, the following provision could be incorporated into the Policy as part of the Council’s motion to adopt the proposed Resolution (staff drafted this language to address Subcommittee comments):
IV. INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBER RECOGNITIONS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY
If a City Council Member issues or participates in a non-City recognition, the Council Member shall include a disclaimer with their name and title that reads: *Council Member’s title is included for informational purposes only. This recognition is not associated with the City of Culver City or its City Council.
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution amending Council Policy 3402 (Attachment 3) to include one of the following options; (1) without Section IV; (2) with Section IV as drafted above; or (3) with a modified Section IV as determined by City Council.
Next Policies In Review
As mentioned earlier in this report, additional City Council policies are currently in review and targeted for completion over the next two months with the goal of bringing them to City Council for consideration in May and/or June 2025, including:
• Policy 3406 (Significant Donor/Contributor Naming)
• 4003 (Acceptance of Gifts and Gratuities) and 4006 (Code of Ethics) [Note, these two policies will be combined into one policy.]
• Policy 4101 (Travel, Attendance at Conferences…Reimbursement of Expenses)
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no additional fiscal impact associated with the proposed amendments to Council Policy 3402.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2025-03-17_ATT 1_List of Council Policies Reviewed to Date
2. 2025-03-17_ATT 2_Revisions to Council Policy 3402 (Council Recognition)
3. 2025-03-17_ATT 3_Proposed Resolution Amending Policy 3402 (Council Recognition)
MOTION
That the City Council:
Adopt a Resolution amending Council Policy Statement No. 3402 (Council Recognition) with one of the following options:
1. Without Section IV;
2. Inclusive of Section IV as drafted in the staff report above; or
3. Inclusive of a modified Section IV as determined by the City Council.