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Title:
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Discussion of and Possible Alterations to the City Council Policy on City Council Recognition.
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City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council discuss the City Council Policy on City Council
recognition and direct staff as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council discussed this item briefly on July 10, 2006. During that
discussion, the City Council generally determined that it wanted to streamline the
process for issuing Council Recognition items.
Staff is returning this item to the City Council to present additional information and
provide the City Council with the opportunity to provide further direction on this topic.
DISCUSSION:
The City Council has traditionally awarded three kinds of recognition to individuals
and organizations: certificates, commendations, and proclamations (collectively City
Council Recognition Items). The current common use of each type of recognition is
detailed below:
Certificates
Certificates are presented to both individuals and organizations (but are most
frequently presented to individuals) in recognition of accomplishment of a goal or
noteworthy milestone/event. Certificates are signed by the Mayor and printed on
“certificate paper.”
Meeting Date: November 5, 2007 Item Number: A-1
AGENDA ITEM: Discussion of and Possible Alterations to the City Council Policy
on City Council Recognition.
Contact Person/Dept.: Martin R. Cole,
Assistant City Manager
Phone Number: (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification:
Master Notification List (10/31/2007).
Department Approval:
Martin R. Cole (10/31/2007)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Iker) (10/31/07)
Fiscal Impact Approval:
Marlee Chang (by M. Noller) (10/31/2007)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (10/31/07) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Some examples of recently awarded certificates include: welcoming each of the
visiting participants in the annual language exchange from a school in Mexico;
visitors from the City’s Sister City of Iksan, South Korea, and members of the Fiesta
La Ballona Committee.
Commendations
Commendations recognize individuals and organizations for significant
accomplishments or service to the City of Culver City. The presentation is often
done at a City Council meeting where friends, family, and the general public can join
the City Council in honoring the person/organization. Recent commendations
awarded by the City Council include: Eagle Scouts, meritorious conduct by Police
Officer Aubrey Kellum and Firefighter/Paramedic Steve Poelstra, and various
community members on their 80
th
, 90
th
, and 100
th
birthdays.
Proclamations
The City Council periodically recognizes an event or celebration through the
presentation of a Proclamation. Also, periodic events such as Parks and Recreation
Month, Fire Prevention Week, and Historic Preservation Month have been
recognized through Proclamations.
Under the current City Council Policy, City Council Recognition Items are most
commonly prepared with the approval by the Mayor (or, infrequently, at the direction
of the City Council) and presented to honorees at a City Council meeting.
Certificates are signed by the Mayor, whereas Commendations and Proclamations
are generally signed by all five Councilmembers. Also, “Councilmanic” Recognition
Items may also be prepared at the request of an individual Councilmember.
Councilmanic Recognition Items are signed by the requesting Councilmember and
are generally presented by that Councilmember directly to the honoree. A copy of
the existing policy is attached.
Other Cities’ Practices
In preparing this report, staff contacted the following Westside cities to request
information on their process/policy for preparing and presenting City Council
Recognition: Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood. The following table
summarizes the results of the survey:
Beverly Hills Santa Monica West
Hollywood City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Kinds of
Recognition
Proclamations
Certificates
Letters of
Recognition
Grand Openings
Proclamations
Letters of
Recognition
Commendations
Recognitions
Letters of
Appreciation
Staff
Department
City Manager’s Office City Manager’s Office City Manager’s
Office
Upon comparison of the above processes used by surrounding cities with the current
City Council policy, Culver City’s process is comparable. Therefore, Staff does not
recommend significant changes to the existing policy.
Staff would request City Council guidance on the following topics:
(1) Does the City Council wish to continue preparation of proclamations for annual
events?
(2) Does the City Council wish to require submission of a request for Council
Recognition to be submitted a certain number of days prior to the presentation
date and have pertinent information regarding the recipient provided by the
requestor? (Staff recommends submission at least 15 calendar days prior
to the date needed.)
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
Preparation of City Council recognition items involves staff time and costs for
supplies (paper, certificate/commendation/proclamation covers, etc.). The amount
of staff time involved in the preparation of a specific Council recognition item can
vary and depends on the amount of information provided by the individual or
organization requesting the proclamation. Using 30 minutes as the average time
needed to prepare a Council Recognition Item, the average Council Recognition
Item costs $50 to prepare.
These costs can be accommodated through the use of existing staffing levels. The
actual fiscal impact is dependent upon whether the City Council should choose to
alter existing policy. An alteration in policy that would increase or decrease the
number of Council Recognition Items prepared would have a corresponding impact
on costs.
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
ATTACHMENTS:
(1) City Council Policy 3402 (Council Recognition)
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Discuss the topic of City Council Recognition and direct staff as deemed
appropriate.