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Charter Review Committee |
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1) Call to
Order Chair
Roll Call Present:
Mr. Absent:
n/a Dept.
Staff
Financial Services Director; Present:
Paul Herman, Purchasing Manager 2)
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None.
a)
b) Motion passed 11-0. 4) Calendar
of Topics Mr.
Barlow noted that while the committee requested that airport-related
issues be included in the Calendar of Topics, the airport is not in the
purview of the Motion and second
(Ms. Carson and Ms. Robles) to approve the Motion passed 11-0. 5) Preliminary
Charter Issues a.
Draft Charter Preamble The
committee discussed several issues related to charter preambles
including whether a preamble is necessary, the relation of the preamble
to the City’s Mission Statement, and why some preambles seem to use
standard/generic language and some use more specialized or unique
language. Motion and second
(Ms. Kronzek and Ms. Francis) to create a preamble. The
committee discussed several additional issues including how the preamble
could set the tone for the rest of the charter and should include a
reference to home rule; the need to write the preamble so that people
will understand it since it may be all the public will read; the organic
nature of preambles, meaning that preambles can grow and change; and the
need to use accessible words and to keep the preamble short.
The committee also discussed whether to write the preamble
itself, to use another city’s preamble as a template, or to have a
subcommittee draft the preamble. The
committee agreed to have a roundtable discussion to gather ideas and
words to include in the charter and then perhaps others could draft it.
Ms. Alvord offered to have staff incorporate the committee’s
ideas into a draft preamble for the committee’s review. Motion passed 11-2
(Mr. Georgino and Mr. Stefano dissenting). Roundtable
on Drafting Preamble Mr.
Olson – Liked LA’s in its entirety and should include the phrase
from Ms.
Bonis – Liked the body of LA’s because it involves the people
Mr.
Ahern – LA’s is fine the way it is Mr.
Georgino – Agreed with Mr. Ahern Ms.
Francis – Liked Burbank’s Mission Statement because it conveys
thoughtfulness
Ms.
Carson – Liked Santa Monica’s preamble Mr.
Frutos – Liked LA’s and agrees with Mr. Olson’s input Mr.
Baenen – Liked the reference to home rule in La Quinta’s preamble
because it
conveys integrity and inspires confidence in government Ms.
Robles – Liked the whole statement of La Quinta’s preamble and its
principles of self governance inherent in the doctrine of home-rule Ms.
Kronzek – Liked La Quinta’s preamble but had problems with adopting
another city’s preamble because the City of Mr.
Aboulsaad – Liked LA’s preamble, especially at this time of
corporate corruption Mr.
Stefano – Passed with no comment Ms.
Francis – Include Burbank’s Mission Statement Ms.
Jackson – Insert the first paragraph of Mr.
Olson – Believed second paragraph of Mission Statement is more
appropriate Mr.
Ahern – Liked the language about high quality of life Ms.
Francis – Liked the first sentence of the second paragraph of Mr.
Aboulsaad – Did not like the word “traditional” because it sounds
too conservative Mr.
Georgino – Should not be duplicative of Mission Statement Mr.
Bonis – Need to keep it short Ms.
Jackson – Liked LA’s preamble with the inclusion of some of the
committee’s comments Mr.
Georgino – Liked LA’s preamble Ms.
Carson – Keep preamble short Dr.
Sonenshein – Include excellence in government Mr.
Aboulsaad – Agreed with excellence in government Ms.
Kronzek – Suggested giving all the committee’s ideas to staff to
integrate them Mr.
Yegparian asked about inclusion of airport issues in the charter.
Mr. Barlow responded that the City is a member of a Joint
Power Agency that oversees the airport, therefore it would not be
appropriate to include it in the charter.
b.
Empowering v. prescriptive charter Mr.
Ahern began the discussion by describing the difference between a
prescriptive and an empowering charter.
Prescriptive charters are much more detailed regarding the
required components/rules/procedures of the government, while empowering
charters give the Council more leeway to establish rules and regulations
by ordinances. The
committee also discussed whether or not to include specific numbers in
the charter and noted that there several different types of numbers in
the charter and the committee should review each instance individually.
The
committee debated whether it is appropriate to take a prescriptive or
empowering stance when reviewing the charter, or if the committee should
review each item individually. Dr.
Sonenshein responded that the committee must ultimately decide which
items should only be changed by the voters, and therefore included in
the charter. c.
Additional related issues Ms.
Francis asked if there is a way for the committee to ensure that items
removed from the charter will continue to exist. Dr.
Sonenshein replied that part of the committee’s work will be to
determine which items removed from the charter should be placed in
ordinance and to develop a transition plan so that these issues will be
clear to the voters. Ms.
Kronzek expressed a concern about how to address contemporary issues in
the charter, especially issues such as land use. Ms.
Carson responded that the best way to ensure contemporary issues are
addressed is to use language in the charter that is flexible enough to
enable elected officials to address new issues.
Mr.
Georgino noted that the Model City Charter lists key elements for a
preamble and that perhaps staff should consider that information when
drafting the preamble. Ms.
Jackson called a 10 minute recess. Ms.
Jackson asked staff to include the issues of sustainability and
environmentalism in the list of ideas to be included in the preamble per
the request of Mr. Yegparian. Ms.
Jackson requested the committee’s cooperation in not speaking to the
press. Dr. Sonenshein
emphasized the importance of conducting the committee’s debate during
the meetings and that conducting debate outside of the meetings or in
the press can be detrimental to the committee’s process.
Mr. Stefano disagreed and stated that members have a right
to freedom of speech. 6) City
Budget/Finance The
committee and staff discussed the difficulties that often arise
regarding the 4/5 vote for budget appropriations when only four council
members are seated. The
committee asked Mr. Elliot to comment on whether the budget provisions
in the charter are too prescriptive and if there are sections or items
that should be removed from the charter.
Mr. Hess noted that much of the charter language derives
from National Association of Government Finance Officers and the State
Finance Officers Association guidelines.
Mr. Elliot suggested that the budget provisions currently in the
charter describe the minimum requirements for the budget process and
stated that his primary recommendation would be to change the 4/5 budget
adoption vote to a 3/5 vote. The
committee also briefly discussed the need to review the charter
provisions regarding the transfer of funds from Burbank Water and Power
(BWP) to the General Fund and agreed to bring Mr. Elliot back for the
discussion with Mr. Ron Davis, General Manager of BWP, scheduled for a
later date on the committee’s agenda.
Motion and second
(Mr. Stefano and Ms. Carson) to revise the vote necessary to adopt the
annual budget from a 4/5 vote to a 3/5 vote. Motion passed 14-0. The
committee discussed the pros and cons of having the dollar amount
(currently $100,000) at which competitive bids must be opened in public
set in the charter as opposed to set by ordinance.
Motion and second (Ms.
Francis, Mr. Stefano) to remove the dollar amount from the charter and
set it by ordinance. Motion passed 14-0. 7) COMMITTEE
COMMENTS Ms.
Kronzek requested that the City’s department heads and other staff be
honest and open about their opinions and any operational problems they
are facing when they speak to the committee.
Ms. Jackson volunteered to call each department head before they
speak to the committee and reiterate that the committee is open to hear
their concerns and opinions. Mr.
Barlow reminded the committee that the redlined version of the charter
contains items for the committee to discuss. Mr.
Olson requested that any hand-outs be provided in advance of the
meeting. 8) NEXT MEETING 9) ADJOURNMENT Minutes
Submitted by: Tina
Marie Wiktor
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