By Julie BUTCHER

On Tuesday night, the Glendale City Council took steps to advance several measures to a vote by the public this November, including the possibility of adding a quarter-cent sales tax.

Mayor Ardy Kassakhian noted that numerous measures have been under long consideration to update the City charter but that most of the proposed changes are ministerial and that he would not support the changes individually unless the expense of putting the measures on the ballot are offset by a measure that would generate revenue the City needs to deliver services.

Up to four measures could appear on the November ballot: changes to civil service rules including exempting department heads from the protections of civil service; updates to City procedures to modernize and “clean-up” the charter; term limits for the City clerk and treasurer; and the previously mentioned sales tax measure.

In order to put these measures on the ballot in November, the council needs to act before Aug. 5. Therefore, at least one special meeting will be scheduled for next week, including the consideration of declaring a financial emergency.

City Treasurer Rafi Manoukian argued against term limits for the positions of City clerk and City treasurer.

“These elected officials are executives who manage their respective departments and staff, and implementing an arbitrary limit for their service is not serving the City. It’s tossing them out after they have years of service in their positions and starting anew, which is not prudent. I would think that the City would want to keep executives with years of experience,” he said.

Manoukian argued that in light of the difficulty of the recent budget deliberations, which resulted in the “painstaking” closure of a $15 million budget gap through the cutting of services and positions, this is not the time to spend $779,000 to include this question “on a charter measure that was not budgeted and that will have little to no effect on city operations.”

Changes to civil service rules must appear on a general election ballot and cannot be voted on during a special election. Scheduling a special election – one not already set for March or November – would cost the City an estimated additional $2.6 million, versus the $500,000 cost for putting the questions on an election already set – an amount which would increase incrementally by approximately $70,000 for each ballot measure that would be put before the voters.

Council members indicated they had been contacted by Glendale’s police officer’s union regarding potential changes to the civil service status of the police chief. City attorney Mike Garcia explained the continued protections that would remain in effect to assuage the concerns raised by the union and explained that a vote of the City council would still be required to fire a police chief and that the proposed changes would be prospective and would not affect the current chief.

Council members also announced a number of upcoming events:

A community meeting to gather feedback on plans for the South Verdugo Road street and sewer repair project is set for Wednesday, Aug. 5 from 6 – 8 p.m. in the council chambers in city hall, 613 E. Broadway. The details can be found at https://www.glendaleca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/56038/.

A Pelanconi neighborhood community outreach pop-up is scheduled for 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. today, Thursday, July 30 at the intersection of Pelanconi and Kellogg avenues to hear from residents about final plans headed to the council on Aug. 25, which include proposed neighborhood safety improvements. City staff will be on-site throughout the day to answer questions. Changes to the plans have been made based on input from the community. View more information at https://www.glendaleca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/56114/9100?npage=7&sortn=EDate.

Glendale will be participating in this year’s National Night Out – details and block party sites can found at https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/police-department/community-outreach/annual-events – on Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. National Night Out is part of a nationwide celebration that brings neighbors, first responders and city leaders together in an effort to strengthen community partnerships and promote safer neighborhoods.

Councilmember Elen Asatryan announced that the grand opening of the Mayors Bicentennial Park Playground happened yesterday at 1987 Loma Vista Dr., celebrating the arrival in Glendale of a one-of-a-kind owl play structure, along with a variety of play features designed for kids of all abilities. 

At the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting, the council issued a proclamation honoring Korean Comfort Women Day. 

“Today, as we have done many times in the past, the City of Glendale recognizes Korean Comfort Women Day and honors the women and girls who endured profound suffering during one of history’s darkest chapters. We remember their courage in sharing their stories, acknowledging the importance of preserving historical truth and reaffirm our commitment to the dignity and human rights of all people in all nations across this globe.

“May remembrance inspire understanding, compassion and reconciliation among all people and strengthen our shared resolve that such abuse never occur again,” Mayor Kassakhian read from the proclamation presented to survivors and supporters.