PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to present the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee for City Council review.  Staff is also requesting that the Council accept the Committee�s recommendation to place a proposed Charter on the April 2007 ballot as one measure for the voters� consideration and approve an Ordinance of the Council of the City of Burbank ordering a Special Election to be held in conjunction with the General Municipal Election on April 10, 2007, for the purpose of submitting a proposed new Charter to the electors.

BACKGROUND

On March 22, 2005, the Council directed staff to convene a Charter Review Committee charged with the task of completing a comprehensive review of the Burbank City Charter and making a recommendation to the Council for Charter amendments.  The Council also directed staff to retain a Charter Review consultant to assist the Committee with its work and to budget sufficient funds in the upcoming fiscal years to cover the cost of the Consultant and other Committee expenses, including supplies, clerical support, and public outreach costs.  Staff retained Dr. Raphael Sonenshein to assist the Committee.  His previous Charter Review experience includes the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale, and Culver City.  On August 30, 2005, the City Council appointed 15 members to the Charter Review Committee and appointed Carolyn Jackson as Chair. 

The Committee held two business meetings on November 14, 2005 and December 5, 2005 to elect a Vice Chair, determine its list of topics to review, and set its calendar.  From January through September 2006, the Committee held 14 regular meetings at the Fire Training Center to review research, receive informational presentations, take public testimony, discuss a wide variety of Charter-related topics, and come to agreement on preliminary recommendations for Charter changes.    

All of the regular meetings were open to the public and held in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, including the posting of agendas 72 hours in advance of the meetings at the following locations: City Hall, City Clerk�s Office, Police/Fire Headquarters, Burbank Water and Power, three public libraries, and the Joslyn Adult Center.  Each meeting included a period for oral communications.  In an effort to make all the information provided to the Committee available for review by the public, staff created a Charter Review website with a direct link from the City�s main webpage.  Committee agendas and all research and reports produced by staff and provided to the Committee were posted on the Charter Review website, usually 72 hours before the meetings.  The website also included additional information such as links to the current City Charter, a link to the list of the Committee members, and staff e-mail and telephone contact information. 

As a supplement to its regular meetings, the Committee also held three Public Hearings on May 22, 2006 at the Buena Vista Library and June 3 and 5, 2006 at the Fire Training Center.  The purpose of the Hearings was to present the Committee�s preliminary recommendations to the public and receive public input.  In addition to posting the Public Hearing agendas in accordance with the Brown Act and placing information about the Hearings on the Charter Review website, staff conducted the following outreach activities to encourage public participation:

• Citywide direct mailing � a postcard inviting the public to attend and participate in the three Public Hearings was mailed to every residential address in the City.

• Newspaper advertisement � a half page advertisement was placed in the Burbank Leader on Saturday, May 20, 2006.

• Burbank Close-Up Program � Public Information Office staff filmed a Burbank Close-Up Program with Chair Carolyn Jackson on Thursday, May 18, 2006, which discussed the Public Hearings and invited the public to attend.  The program was televised and replayed on Burbank TV6 approximately 25 times over the following two weeks.

• Burbank Council News � announcements regarding the Public Hearings were included in several Burbank Council News programs prior to the Hearings.  Each Burbank Council News program was televised and replayed on Burbank TV6 18 times during the week. 

• City Council Meeting Announcements � an announcement regarding the Public Hearings was read by the Mayor at the May 16 and May 30, 2006 Council Meetings. 

• Burbank TV6 Scroll � information regarding the Public Hearings ran on the scroll for several weeks prior.

The three Public Hearings were also recorded, televised, and replayed on Burbank TV6 24 times between June 6 and 18, 2006.  Approximately 29 people attended and six people spoke at the May 22 hearing.  Approximately six people attended and three people spoke at the June 3 hearing.  Approximately six people attended and three people spoke at the June 5 hearing. 

Following the Public Hearings, the Committee requested that the City Attorney�s Office draft a revised Charter that incorporated the Committee�s preliminary recommendations, reorganized the Charter into a more user-friendly format, and modernized the Charter�s language.  The Committee reviewed and amended this revised Charter on August 22 and 28, 2006 and provided additional comments to staff.  Dr. Sonenshein produced a draft of the Committee�s final report to the Council detailing the Committee�s recommendations.  The Committee reviewed and revised the draft report on September 11 and 25, 2006. 

On September 25, 2006, the Committee took a final vote and unanimously accepted the proposed Charter.  The Committee also unanimously decided to submit its final report to the Council with the recommendation that the Council place the proposed Charter on the April 2007 ballot as one measure for the voters� consideration. 

The Council�s consideration of the Committee�s report, scheduled for October 24, 2006, has been noticed and will be conducted as a Public Hearing so as to allow the public the maximum ability to provide input to the Council.  In addition to posting the Council agenda in accordance with the Brown Act and placing information about the Council�s Public Hearing on the Charter Review website, staff conducted the following outreach activities to encourage public participation:

• Citywide mailing � a postcard inviting the public to attend and participate in the Council�s Public Hearing was mailed to every residential address in the City.

• Official Public Hearing notice � an official legal notice regarding the Council�s Public Hearing was published in the Burbank Leader on Wednesday, October 11, 2006.

• Newspaper advertisements � half page advertisements were placed in the Burbank Leader on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 and Saturday, October 21, 2006.

• Burbank Council News � announcements regarding the Council�s Public Hearing were included in several Burbank Council News programs prior to the Hearing.  Each Burbank Council News program was televised and replayed on Burbank TV6 18 times during the week. 

• City Council Meeting Announcements � an announcement regarding the Council�s Public Hearing was read by the Mayor at the October 10 and 17, 2006 Council Meetings. 

• Burbank TV6 Scroll � information regarding the Public Hearing ran on the scroll for several weeks prior.

Analysis

The Committee�s Report to City Council is included as attachment 1.  The Report provides detailed information regarding the Committee�s proposed Charter, how the Committee received and reviewed research data, the process the Committee used to come to its decisions, the topics the Committee reviewed and for which it ultimately decided not to propose changes, and the reasons for each of the Committee�s decisions. 

Below is a brief summary of the main provisions included in the Committee�s proposed Charter.  Each of these provisions is discussed in detail in the Committee�s report. 

1. The Charter should include a preamble stating the aspirations of the community.

2. The current City Charter should be reorganized for greater access and transparency and should be rewritten in more contemporary language.

3. The portion of the Charter that requires the City Council to meet every week should be amended to require the Council to meet a minimum of twice per month.  However, this provision does not preclude the Council from meeting more frequently.

4. The Charter should encourage public participation, and the Council should be empowered to set rules for Council meetings that both encourage participation and ensure that the people�s business is carried out.

5. The current provision that budget decisions require four votes should be amended to a majority of three votes.

6. Charter provisions in the area of contracting should be amended from the current requirement for bids for contracts over $100,000 to bid requirements over an amount to be set by ordinance.

7. Detail about most departments should be removed from the Charter and replaced by a broad statement of goals and service standards for the City administration.

8. Detail about City commissions should be removed as much as possible, but general information about commissions should be in the Charter.

9. The positions of City Clerk and Treasurer, currently elected, should be appointed and removed by the City Manager. 

10. The Charter should be amended to have a Council seat automatically declared vacant if a member has missed regular Council meetings without permission for 60 consecutive days.  Such vacancy shall immediately be filled by appointment until the next regular election.

11. The Charter should explicitly empower the City Council to conduct elections entirely by mail ballot.

12. Periodic reviews of the Charter should be conducted.  The Council should appoint a committee every five years to recommend whether a full Charter review is necessary.

In addition to the decisions set forth in the Report to Council and the provisions contained in the proposed Charter, the Committee also recommends that the Council place the proposed Charter on the April 2007 ballot as one measure for the voters� consideration.

Fiscal Impact

Proposed Charter Ballot Measure

The estimated cost to place the proposed Charter on the April 2007 ballot is approximately $41,000.  This includes printing and Spanish translation of the proposed Charter, arguments and rebuttals, and the impartial analysis.  This estimated does not include the additional cost of postage to mail out a larger sample ballot.  While staff does not yet have an exact estimate of the increase in postage, the postage cost to mail a 15 page sample ballot is approximately $10,000.  The inclusion of the proposed Charter will increase the sample ballot to approximately 50 pages, which may significantly increase the cost of postage.  An additional $50,000 was included in the City Clerk�s FY 2006-2007 budget to cover the costs associated with placing the proposed Charter on the ballot. 

Additionally, staff anticipates that the City may experience undetermined fiscal impacts resulting from the proposed Charter if adopted by the Burbank voters.  There may be positive future fiscal impacts resulting from a more efficient governance structure as a result of a new Charter.  In the short term, there may be additional costs related to the printing and distribution of a new Charter, which are expected to be minimal.

Charter Review Committee Process

The City Council appropriated $40,000 in FY 2005-2006 and $30,000 in FY 2006-2007 to cover the cost of the Charter Review Committee for a total of $70,000.  To date, approximately $64,080 has been spent or encumbered (several payments are pending) as follows:

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends that the City Council accept the recommendation of the Charter Review Committee to place the Committee�s proposed new Charter on the April 2007 ballot as one measure for the voters� consideration. 

Staff further recommends that the City Council adopt �An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Burbank ordering a Special Election to be held in conjunction with the General Municipal Election on April 10, 2007, for the purpose of submitting a proposed new Charter to the electors.�

Attachments

1 � Charter Review Committee Report to City Council

go to the top