Torrance City Council Meeting - April 23, 2024

The Torrance City Council met on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, beginning with closed session at 5:00 p.m. and resuming regular business at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at 3031 Torrance Blvd. The meeting ran until approximately 2:00 a.m., with no reportable action from closed session. The council approved routine items, a forensic financial review, a Columbia Park dog park, city hall lighting, and set direction for city charter amendments.

Community Matters

• Council adopted Resolution 2024-16 honoring Councilmember Mike Griffiths for his years of service to the community.
• Proclamations declared April as DMV/Donate Life Month and April 21-27, 2024 as National Volunteer Week in Torrance.
• The council recognized 25 Hometown Heroes Banner recipients for 2024, including the program's first Space Force banner.

Consent Calendar

• The consent calendar, with item 8F pulled by Councilmember Kalani for questions, was approved. It included approval of the March 12 and March 26, 2024 minutes; CalTIP membership renewal not to exceed $543,193 for program year 2024-25; acceptance of the February 2024 investment report; a $680 Toyota Meeting Hall rental subsidy for Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi's May 11 Homeless Townhall; a May 21 closed hearing on a police officer suspension appeal; and approval of the FY 2023-25 Short Range Transit Plan with authorization to submit it to LA Metro.
• Item 8F was then approved unanimously after Transit staff explained where seniors and residents can learn about programs like the senior and Dial-a-Taxi services.

Public Comments & Testimony

• During Oral Communications #1, Charles Salinas promoted military discounts; several speakers, including Sherry, Mary Ann, Audrey George, and TJ, urged creation of an independent civilian oversight committee for the Police Department, citing the death of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell and racist text messages by police officers.
• Florina Ravundra of Behavioral Health Services Inc. announced the DEA National Rx Takeback event on April 27, 2024 at the Sand's Club. James Henry asked the city to proclaim May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
• During item-specific testimony, residents opposed the Dodger ticket subsidy and city hall lighting expense, questioned parts of the financial audit procurement, supported the WWII Camp Wall monument, and offered mixed views on charter amendments. One charter hearing speaker complained about the public being ignored and said the audio was difficult to hear.

Discussion Items

• Forensic review of financial processes (9A): Finance staff recommended BDO USA for a review of the city's financial processes from FY 2014-15 through FY 2022-23 at an estimated cost of $68,090. BDO was the highest-scoring of six proposals received. Council discussion focused on the reserve drop to $581,000 at the end of FY 2019-20 and the value of an independent review. The council unanimously directed staff to proceed and award a consulting agreement to BDO under the city manager's procurement authority.
• Citywide governance by district elected policy (9B): Council adopted Resolution 2024-17. Councilmember Gerson raised concern that the language could be interpreted in unintended ways, but after discussion the vote was unanimous.
• Council dark nights (9C): Council approved dark nights for July through December 2024, with regularly scheduled meetings on July 2, Aug. 13 and 20, Sept. 10 and 24, Oct. 8 and 22, Nov. 5 and 19, and Dec. 3 and 17. Because of an AV upgrade in the council chamber from June 19 through Aug. 7, meetings will use alternate venues. The council also reserved July 16 and/or 30 for possible closed-session meetings and set the third charter public hearing for July 2, 2024.
• Committee and board appointments (9D/9M): Council confirmed committee assignments, including chairs Lewis for Citizen Development and Enrichment, Gerson for Community Planning and Design, Kalani for Employee Relations and Public Safety, Kaji for Finance and Governmental Operations, Sheikh for Strategic and Planning, and Matucci for Transportation. Council also concurred with the mayor's appointments to outside regional boards and directed the city clerk to update and post Form 806.
• WWII Camp Wall Monument advisory committee (9E): After receiving 11 applications, council appointed Russell Akiyama, Lisa Akiyama Robinson, and Stacy Toda to the five-member advisory committee for the World War II Camp Wall Monument at Columbia Park. Two members had already been named by the state.
• Off-leash dog park at Columbia Park (9F): Council unanimously approved creating an off-leash dog park at Columbia Park with an estimated total cost of $88,829, including $60,000 for the facility and a 0.5 FTE parks maintenance worker. It will have separate sections for dogs under and over 35 pounds, municipal code rules, resident volunteer support, and a possible naming opportunity recognizing Torrance Police Canine Heroes. Council members also stressed enforcement in other parks.
• Executive and management employee resolution (9G): Council adopted Resolution 2024-18 setting hours, wages, and working conditions for Executive and Management employees effective April 21, 2024, adding the risk manager classification, updating CPI references, and repealing Resolution 2023-12.
• City Clerk budget restoration (9H): Council approved a $122,794 annual program modification adding 1.0 FTE Deputy City Clerk II to support records management and cross-training. Staff described it as restoring a position cut during COVID.
• City Hall lighting (9I): Council approved a permanent multi-color LED lighting system at City Hall for $21,414, with eight fixtures and Bluetooth control. Councilmember Gerson and Mayor Chen voted no. Staff will develop a policy for when colors are displayed.
• Dodgers ticket resale (9J): Council approved purchase of up to 500 additional Los Angeles Dodgers tickets for July 21, 2024 Torrance Dodgers Day at not-to-exceed $18,000 and resale to community members at $15 each, after the original 1,000 tickets sold out. Councilmember Sheikh said he remained opposed to subsidizing ticket prices, and staff said they would explore a direct Torrance Transit shuttle to Dodger Stadium.
• Downtown signage standards (9K): Council adopted Resolution 2024-19 and determined the project was exempt from CEQA. The amendments apply citywide-standard sign area to downtown arterial frontages, define sign placement area, increase maximum window lettering from six to nine inches, remove color palette restrictions, and shift some review authority to the Community Development Director.
• 2023 Year in Review (9L): Council accepted and filed the City of Torrance 2023 Year in Review annual report.

Charter Amendment Hearings

• Item 10A-1 - City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Treasurer: Special Counsel explained that the current charter provisions for the city manager and city attorney are unusual and that most California cities use employment contracts. Council directed Special Counsel to draft charter amendment language modernizing the City Manager and City Attorney provisions, making them at-will positions, and leaving termination voting and procedures to future employment contracts rather than the charter. Council set the third public hearing for June 4, 2024. Councilmember Kalani voted no because she preferred a supermajority termination requirement in the charter.
• Item 10A-2 - Broader charter amendments: City Attorney and staff presented options on election dates, runoff elections, ranked-choice voting, residency requirements, independent expenditures, council compensation, and the elected/appointed status of the City Clerk and City Treasurer. City Clerk Rebecca Poirier supported appointed status, saying the clerk profession has become more complex; City Treasurer Tim Gooder was neutral but suggested updating treasurer charter language and adding minimum qualifications.

The council directed that draft charter amendments should:

• Move the city election date out of the charter into city ordinance, with November as the near-term preference.
• Move council compensation out of the charter to be set by ordinance.
• Make the City Clerk and City Treasurer appointed rather than elected, with current incumbents completing their terms if the amendment passes.
• Keep the current 30-day residency requirement.
• Not attempt to regulate independent expenditures due to current constitutional and legal limits.
• Not adopt runoff or ranked-choice voting at this time.
• Clean up obsolete charter provisions and use gender-neutral language.
• Set the third public hearing for June 4, 2024.

Key Outcomes

• Consent calendar approved; item 8F was pulled and then approved unanimously.
• Forensic review of financial processes approved with BDO USA at an estimated $68,090.
• Resolutions adopted: 2024-16 honoring Mike Griffiths, 2024-17 on district governance, 2024-18 on executive/management employees, and 2024-19 on downtown signage.
• Columbia Park off-leash dog park approved at approximately $88,829.
• City Hall lighting system approved 5-2, with Councilmember Gerson and Mayor Chen voting no.
• Up to 500 additional Dodgers tickets approved for resale at $15 each.
• WWII Camp Wall Monument advisory committee members appointed: Russell Akiyama, Lisa Akiyama Robinson, and Stacy Toda.
• Charter amendment direction set: city manager and city attorney as at-will; election date and council compensation moved to ordinance; city clerk and city treasurer appointed; third public hearing scheduled for June 4, 2024.
• Meeting adjourned to Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. for closed session and 6:30 p.m. for regular business; April 30, 2024 is a Council Dark Night.