PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to present the City Council with the estimated costs for the candidates' statements for the 2005 Municipal Elections. Staff is also requesting that the Council determine whether the City will subsidize the statements� cost.

BACKGROUND:

Pursuant to Section 11-1206 of the Burbank Municipal Code, each candidate for an elective office in the City may prepare a candidate statement on an appropriate form provided by the City Clerk. The City Council is required to determine, by resolution, whether charges shall be levied against candidates for the cost of sending the candidates' statements to the registered voters.

The cost of the statements may be paid either partially or entirely by the candidates or the City. The cost for a half page candidate statement has been estimated to be $650 (including tax) by the election vendor, Martin & Chapman Co. The estimated cost is based on the number of registered voters to whom the Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet (Sample Ballot) is sent.

ANALYSIS:

In the 1991 and 1993 elections, candidates paid for their own statements. The City Council, by Resolution No. 24,350, approved a subsidy of $200 for each candidate statement in the 1995 Elections. Since 1995, each candidate has paid an estimated pro rata share of the total costs as a condition for having his or her statement included in the Sample Ballot. For the 1997 Elections, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 24,893 which approved a subsidy of $300 for each candidate statement submitted to the City Clerk. For the 1999 and 2001 Elections, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25,397 and Resolution No. 25,855, respectively, approving a $380 subsidy for each candidate statement. Also, the Council adopted Resolution No. 26,342 in October 2002 which approved a $350 subsidy for each candidate statement in the 2003 Municipal Elections.

The City is required to translate the entire ballot, which must be available upon request in the City Clerk's Office. Therefore, translation costs have historically been absorbed by the City. A candidate who chooses to have their statement printed in another language in the Sample Ballot must pay for the entire cost of that statement. However, in the last several elections, no more than two candidates have chosen to have their statements translated into other languages. For the 2003 Municipal Elections, the City Clerk�s budget incurred a total cost of $21,745.26 for printing candidate statements.

The Burbank Municipal Code Section 11-1206 requires the Council to make a decision on the charges, which shall not be revoked or modified after the seventh day prior to the opening of the nominating period. The nomination period for the 2005 Municipal Elections opens on November 1, 2004 and closes on November 29, 2004. The last Council meeting at which the charges can be established is October 19, 2004.

At the April 20, 2004 meeting, staff presented a report on the all mail ballot election option for Council consideration. At that meeting, staff indicated that the estimated cost for the 2005 Municipal Elections was approximately $212,767.12, excluding the cost of subsidizing candidate statements (cost unknown at this time) and paying for the return postage (estimated at $20,000). Currently, $224,336 is budgeted in the Materials, Supplies and Services account for the 2005 Municipal Elections. However, the following options are being presented for Council consideration:

Option A:

The Council may set a pre-determined subsidy to be applied to the cost of each candidate statement. The candidates would be required to pay a pro rata share of the actual remaining costs.

Option B:

A flat fee could be required of any candidate submitting a candidate statement. The City would pay any costs above the fee.

Option C:

The City could pay the entire cost for the candidate statements.

Option D:

The candidates could pay the entire cost for their candidate statement.

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that the City Council consider the various options and determine whether or not the City will subsidize any of the cost for the candidates' statements for the 2005 Municipal Elections and direct staff to prepare the appropriate resolution.

Respectfully submitted,

Margarita Campos

City Clerk

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