By Julie BUTCHER

Early in its Tuesday night meeting, the Glendale City Council voted unanimously to appoint Robert William the City’s permanent police chief. William has been functioning as the City’s interim chief of police since Chief Manny Cid left the post late last year.

City manager Roubik Golanian made the official hiring decision, noting that William’s history of service to the City “runs deep.” His long career started 24 years ago when he was a police cadet before graduating to being a Glendale police officer in 2003.

“The Glendale Police Officers Association is honored to represent the bravest and brightest men and women in law enforcement. On behalf of those men and women, I’d like to formally congratulate and welcome him officially as our new chief,” Glendale police officer and Glendale Police Officers Association board director Matthew Stafford told the council. 

“For more than 100 years, the Glendale police department has provided exceptional public safety services to everyone who lives, visits or enjoys the city of Glendale,” Officer Stafford said, noting the City ranks among the safest in the nation, which is due to “overwhelming support from the community we serve and our elected officials.”

Newly appointed Chief William addressed the council: “I live in Glendale. I grew up in Glendale. My wife and I are raising a family here. Simply put: Glendale is my home. I’ve spent the majority of my adult life serving this community. And the one lesson I’ve learned is that public safety is about people and about protecting what is most important to them. It’s about trust.”

William committed to continuing to build a police department that is “professional, accountable, innovative and centered around the community. This department is yours.” He concluded his comments commending the work of all of the people who work in the department, specifically recognizing the past two police chiefs: Carl Povilaitis and Manny Cid.

Mayor Ardy Kassakhian commended Chief William as “the first chief of Armenian American descent – and a graduate of Glendale High School (a proud “Nitro”). 

“It’s not as important to be the first at something as it is to make sure you’re not the last one,” he said, “that when we open the door that we open it wide enough for those behind us – and for the children, who are watching.”

On Tuesday, the council also adopted the budget for the coming fiscal year following four formal budget study sessions and a great deal of internal discussion.

The adopted $1.29 billion budget includes a standard annual transfer from Glendale Water and Power of $32 million (also approved on Tuesday night). 

City manager Roubik Golanian described this year’s as “one of the most challenging budget cycles in the history of the City.” The budget as adopted is balanced, Golanian explained, “through some significant and painful reductions, choices no city manager wants to recommend, choices no city council wants to make.”

He attributed the difficult budget year to a deeply uneven economic climate across California and a local economy facing stagnant job growth, an unemployment rate stuck at 5% and an inflationary rate north of 3%, which drives up “the cost of everything from labor to concrete – and, at the same time, Sacramento is pulling back critical funding for local housing and infrastructure.”

“Revenues have plateaued while baseline operational costs have skyrocketed,” Golanian said. “We could not simply trim the edges this year.”

Golanian detailed the three core directives that led this year’s budget deliberations: first to preserve life safety and essential infrastructure. 

“We kept cuts as far away from emergency response and core public safety as possible,” he said.

Secondly, the budget staff sought to prioritize structural over temporary fixes. “We cannot continue using one-time reserves to cover ongoing operational deficiencies; this only kicks the can down the road,” he said.

Finally, the budget team attempted to minimize direct staff layoffs as much as possible, relying instead on freezing positions and consolidating some roles to protect the workforce as much as was feasible. 

“Even with all of this, the cuts proposed tonight will be visible to our community. They will affect our service timelines, especially for recreational programs and library services, community events and our internal capacity,” Golanian told the council. “But these reductions are not a sign of failure but rather an act of preservation. By making these difficult disciplined choices tonight, we will prevent a fiscal crisis tomorrow.”

The full 667-page FY2025-26 budget is available to review at https://www.glendaleca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/80145/638947449522600000.

Following a lengthy discussion and by a narrow vote due to the required recusals of two council members, the city manager was authorized to conclude negotiations and finalize a cooperative agreement with Metro regarding design and reimbursement details arising from the pending construction of the North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor Project. 

“The angst here is not about this project; it’s about SB79,” Councilmember Ara Najarian observed. “Your anger should be directed at the California state legislators and the California state governor who approved SB79. That anger should not be aimed at Metro, which is charged with bringing transit to communities, especially to Glendale, which has been a transit desert for as long as anyone can remember.

“This is going to bring high-quality transit to Glendale which will connect Glendale residents to two major light-rail lines and will connect us to Pasadena, North Hollywood and Burbank. It’ll be done in the manner of a BRT – which means dedicated bus lanes, electric vehicles – not prison buses – the most state-of-the-art vehicles available, enhanced station design, signal preemption, a way for people to get around.

“Let’s not mourn the loss of green space on Glenoaks Boulevard because that green space used to be a transit line. There used to be a train that went down Glenoaks Boulevard, a transit line that was torn out. People talk about how great it was back in the ’30s and ’40s and ’50s, that LA used to have a great connected transit system. This will connect Glendale residents, Glendale workers and Glendale families to their schools, their doctors, places to shop – to the entire Metro system. And it will be done before the Olympics.” 

On Tuesday night, the council proclaimed June as PRIDE [Personal Rights in Defense and Education] Month, “recognizing the contributions, resilience, and accomplishments of the LGBTQI+ community and individuals, while reflecting on the continued pursuit of equality, inclusion and justice for all. This proclamation affirms the City’s commitment to fostering a community where every resident and visitor feels safe, valued and respected,” said Mayor Kassakhian reading from the official proclamation and added that city hall would be lit up in the colors of PRIDE for the month.

Councilmember-elect Alek Bartrosouf took to the podium.

“I stand here today as a proud member of the LGBTQ community. I want to thank you for proclaiming June as PRIDE month,” he said. “I grew up in Glendale in the ’90s. During those formative years, the City didn’t have PRIDE proclamations, and I didn’t have a GSA [Gay-Straight Alliance] on campus. It was a tough time growing up as a gay kid in Glendale.”

Bartrosouf will take his seat on the council later this month.

“Now I stand here at 40 years old, happy to see the love, acceptance and pride at city hall today. I stand in solidarity with all the amazing organizations that are doing the work to end discrimination and stigma in our community.”

It is a time “to have fun, be merry and celebrate our diversity. We’ve come a long way and while there’s still work to be done, just know that your public demonstration of love and support helps someone in the community feel less alone,” Councilmember-elect Bartrosouf wrapped up his remarks.

Nearly 100 supporters, including a group of students from Crescenta Valley High School, packed in council chambers to receive copies of the proclamation and to take pictures with three of the current council members.

Activists announced the first ever Gay PRIDE parade in Glendale: On Saturday, June 27 starting at 10 a.m. at Urartu Coffee, 119 N. Artsakh Ave. Details about the parade are available from glendaleOUT at https://bsky.app/profile/glendaleout.bsky.social/post/3movpq3wawk2t.

Mayor Kassakhian asked Glendale fire chief Jeff Brooks for an update on the industrial fire in Boyle Heights and on the challenges facing the fire department in advance of the Fourth of July.

Chief Brooks expressed “huge respect” for the Los Angeles fire department’s handling of the Boyle Heights fire, noting the only other similar fire of this type in the country took more than 60 days to battle. Given the size and complexity of the structure (it is 1,000 feet long and 500 feet wide, equipped as a massive cooling operation), Brooks explained the unconventional means the LAFD is using, including water-dropping helicopters. 

The fire chief listed a large number of small and large fires across the state and urged people to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday at an official fireworks show, such as in the Crescenta Valley [tickets are available at https://www.cvfireworks.com/] and that when it comes to fireworks, “leave it to the professionals.”

All fireworks are illegal in Glendale and throughout Los Angeles County, Chief Brooks concluded: “Celebrate responsibly.”

Councilmember Elen Asatryan expressed her hopes for better coordination between the City and local businesses to support the World Cup games through local watch parties.

Mayor Kassakhian shared the difficulty and expense of such endeavors but also reported a large City-sponsored World Cup Watch Party planned for Saturday, July 18.