PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to request the Council introduce and adopt an ordinance calling a Special Election to fill a vacant Council seat, and adopt resolutions approving: 1) a Professional Services Agreement with Martin & Chapman Co.; 2) the proposed consolidation of the Los Angeles County precincts for the City of Burbank; 3) the establishment of the cost for candidate statements; 4) a request that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles permit the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to render election services to the City of Burbank; and, 5) an appropriation in the amount of $150,000, all related to the 2006 Special Election.

Ordinance Calling a Special Election:

Prior to 2003, the Burbank Charter provided that a vacancy in the Office of Council Member, City Treasurer or City Clerk be filled by an appointment by the Council, and that the appointed person hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term.  In the 2003 General Municipal Election, the voters passed Measure O, the Charter Amendment pertaining to filling vacancies in City elective offices, which requires that if sixteen months or more remain on the unexpired term of the vacant office, the Council shall forthwith order a special election to be held to fill the vacancy.  The Charter also specifies that the election to fill the vacancy shall be held not later than one hundred and twenty (120) days from the call of such election. 

Subsequent to the resignation of Council Member Murphy on August 30, 2005, the Council adopted Resolution No. 27,062 on September 13, 2005, declaring a vacancy on the Council.  Pursuant to the current Charter provisions, staff is requesting the Council introduce and adopt an ordinance calling a Special Election to fill this vacancy.

Following adoption of the ordinance, the nomination period for the Special Election will open on Monday, October 3, 2005 at 8:00 a.m. and close on Friday, October 28, 2005 at 5:00 p.m.  Any interested candidates can pick up Nomination Papers and candidate packets at the City Clerk�s Office.  The Burbank Municipal Code requires that candidates be: United States citizens; at least 18 years of age; residents of the City of Burbank for at least 29 days prior to filing Nomination Papers; and, registered to vote in the City of Burbank at the time of nomination.  The election is anticipated to be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2006.

Professional Services Agreement

In order to obtain the necessary services to conduct the Special Election, staff is requesting approval of a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with  Martin & Chapman Co.  Election-related services are unique and not subject to competitive bidding, and Martin & Chapman Co. has provided a comprehensive list of services for all aspects of the municipal elections.  A copy of the PSA, not to exceed $90,000, Scope of Services and Estimate of Services have been attached.

Martin & Chapman Co., located in Anaheim, was established in 1956 and currently provides election supplies, services and consultation to over 400 cities, counties and associations in the states of California and Nevada.  For the 2005 November Election, the company will be providing election services to 15 counties.  The company has also satisfactorily provided services to the City of Burbank for the 2001, 2003 and 2005 Primary Nominating and General Municipal Elections.  Martin & Chapman Co. is also the primary election consultant for cities in the Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern and San Luis Obispo.

In addition to the above reasons, the City Clerk's Office desires to continue a working relationship with Martin & Chapman Co. due to their:

• Established and effective working relationship with the California Secretary of State�s Office, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and election supply vendors;

• Close proximity to Burbank;

• Monitoring of and continued communication about legislation affecting City Clerks, including the drafting/introduction of legislation based on City Clerk feedback;

• Excellent referrals from other City Clerks;

• Use of modern technology in ballot processing and preparation of election materials; and,

• Individualized assistance and follow-up services. 

Consolidation of Election Precincts:

Burbank Municipal Code Section 11-804 permits the Council to consolidate voting precincts established by the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.  Section 11-805 states that the precincts must be established within 90 days before any election. On April 27, 2004, the Council adopted Ordinance No. 3637 mandating that all municipal elections beginning in 2005 be conducted wholly by mail. Therefore, the consolidated precincts will only be utilized for the purpose of counting ballots and canvassing election results. The 97 County precincts have been consolidated into 42 precincts for the purpose of conducting the Special Election. A City map depicting the consolidated precincts has been attached as Exhibit A.

Establishment of the Cost of Candidate Statements:

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 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.  These charges cannot be revoked or modified after the seventh day prior to the opening of the nominating period.  If the ordinance calling the Special Election is adopted, the nomination period will open on October 3, 2005.  Since the City Clerk is mandated to provide each candidate or the candidate's representative with a copy of this section and such resolution at the time he or she picks up the Nomination Papers and/or forms for candidates' statements, the Council must make a determination on the charges at this meeting.

Martin & Chapman Co. has estimated the cost of each candidate statement to be $708. The estimate is based on the number of registered voters to whom the Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet (Sample Ballot) is sent.  For the past elections, the City adhered to the Federal Voting Rights Act�s requirement that the entire Sample Ballot be translated into Spanish, and be made available upon request in the City Clerk's Office.  This requirement is based upon meeting certain bilingual thresholds as determined by the Registrar/Recorder County Clerk.  However, the City Clerk�s Office has traditionally mailed Spanish Sample Ballots to all Burbank voters who requested translated Sample Ballots in the previous County election, and the translation cost was paid by the City.  Any candidate who chose to have their statement printed in more than one language in the Sample Ballot paid for the entire printing and translation cost of that statement(s).  For the 2005 Municipal Elections, the Council approved a $300 subsidy for English candidate statements for a total cost of $7,200 ($4,200 for the Primary Nominating Election and $3,000 for the General Municipal Election).

Pursuant to recent Department of Justice requirements, the City will henceforth print an entirely bilingual (English and Spanish) Sample Ballot.  Therefore, the City will not be in a position to charge candidates for statements to be printed in Spanish and will bear all translation costs.  Candidates will however be charged for the entire cost of printing their statements in any other language other than Spanish.

Staff recommends that the Council determine whether or not the City will subsidize any portion of the cost for the candidates' statements for the 2006 Special Municipal Election.  If the Council desires to provide a subsidy, staff recommends that the amount be determined and incorporated into the adopted resolution.

Request for County Services:

In accordance with Section 10002 of the State of California Elections Code, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles must be requested to permit the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to render specified services to the City of Burbank relating to the conduct of the Special Election. These services include providing the City with computer data for preparation of sample ballots for mailing, signature verification, as well as performing various other services required by law on behalf of the City of Burbank or such additional services as may be requested by the City Clerk.  The County also provides the City access to the Voter Information Management System (VIMS), accessible via the internet, which will enable voters' signatures to be verified.  This system has been used in all municipal elections.

The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk is the only source for this official information.  The City of Burbank is required by law to reimburse the County of Los Angeles in full for the services performed by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. The estimated cost for these services is $2,500.

Fiscal Impact:

To facilitate the conduct of the Special Election, Council approval is requested for an appropriation in the amount of $150,000 from the Unappropriated Fund Balance.  Funds for the Special Election were not budgeted in the City Clerk�s Fiscal Year 2005-06 budget.  Based on the 2005 Primary Nominating Election, the estimated cost for the Special Election is $132,000, with the assumption of the candidate statement subsidy.  Staff is anticipating additional costs related to the recent Department of Justice requirements for bilingual election material, based on the number of candidates who will qualify for the ballot.  Additionally, since the Election will be held immediately following a major holiday season, staff desires to conduct more extensive voter outreach such as additional mailers, posters and advertisements (one additional citywide post card mailer costs $10,000).  Also, certain expenses not incurred in the previous elections such as in-house color printing costs will be encountered due to changes in departmental policies.  As an example, printing costs for 48,000 color postcards to be mailed citywide and approximately 3,500 color flyers are estimated at $5,300 by the Management Services Department.  Staff is therefore requesting a total appropriation of $150,000 to allow for such expenditures, and any unexpended funds will be returned to the General Fund.

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that the Council introduce and adopt the proposed ordinance calling a Special Election, and adopt the proposed resolutions approving a PSA with Martin & Chapman Co., the consolidated County precincts, a request for County services, budget appropriation and establishing the cost for candidate statements.

Margarita Campos, CMC

City Clerk

Attachments

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