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HomeMy WebLinkAbout21. 22-220 MAY 24, 2022 22-220 RESOLUTION (CARRIED__6-0 ____LOST________LAID OVER_________WITHDRAWN________) PURPOSE: APPROVE PROCLAMATIONS POLICY INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION WHEREAS, City of Oshkosh Code permits the Mayor to issue proclamations on behalf of the City; and WHEREAS, the City wishes to adopt a policy to provide a formal process for requests for proclamations and to provide guidance to the Mayor in the issuance of proclamations consistent with the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the attached Proclamations Policy for the City of Oshkosh is hereby adopted and staff is directed to take such actions as reasonable and necessary to publish this policy and provide information and assistance to the public in the administration of the policy. City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney DATE: May 19, 2022 RE: Approve Proclamations Policy BACKGROUND City of Oshkosh Code permits the Mayor to issue proclamations on behalf of the City. This provision provides no detailed guidance on the process or considerations that may go into the determination to issue a proclamation. On May 2, 2022 the United State Supreme Court issued a decision in Shurtleff v. City of Boston (the Boston Flag Case). In that case, the plaintiff sought to fly a flag on a flagpole located in City Hall Plaza in Boston. Boston had a practice of flying the American Flag, the Flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston Flag from the three flag poles. The City had for years allowed groups to hold ceremonies in the plaza and in connection therewith had allowed those groups to fly a flag of their choosing in place of the city’s flag. In 2017, the City denied the request of the plaintiff Shurtleff to fly a “Christian Flag” due to the concerns of Boston staff that flying the flag would run counter to the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The Supreme Court accepted the case to address the potential conflicting interpretations of the Establishment Clause and Free Speech Clauses of the Constitution in the context of government speech. The Court determined that the Free Speech Clause does not prevent the government from declining to express a particular viewpoint. The Court reaffirmed previous case law that held that the government can decide what to say and not say when it states on opinion on behalf of the government of the community. However, the Court noted that when the government invites persons to participate in a program as it did in this case inviting persons to fly other flags on city poles, the government can blur the line between government and private expression. In the Boston flag case, the Court determined that the City of Boston had no policy or clear internal guidance controlling what flags could fly and what those flags could communicate and had a long history of neither actively controlling nor shaping the messages the flags sent. Given this determination, the Court determined that the flag-raising program did not express government speech and that the refusal to fly the plaintiff’s flag violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment as viewpoint discrimination. Historically, the proclamations process has been non-controversial within the City. Over the past several years staff has looked at this issue and had developed a draft policy. After the issuance of the Boston flag decision, we have reviewed and modified the policy to more closely identify the interest of the City in maintaining control of the proclamation process and language and are now bringing this matter to Council for review. ANALYSIS As noted above, proclamations are currently referenced in Chapter 2 of the City’s Municipal Code and discretion in regard to the issuance and wording of proclamations is left with the Mayor. There are no definitions or limitations explicitly provided for in the Municipal Code. Proclamations are a public or official announcements that do not have the force of law. They are a traditional and symbolic means of recognition of people and events. Historically proclamations have been intended to be an announcement or recognition of a community matter or interest. The proposed policy limits requests for formal proclamations to persons, organizations, matters or events which have some demonstrable local impact or connection; and to requests from Oshkosh residents, persons/organizations owning real property in the City of Oshkosh or local organizations operating within the City of Oshkosh. Because proclamations are official public actions, there are some reasonable inferences that would apply to a proclamation from a government body: o Proclamations cannot conflict with Constitution, Statutes or Ordinances:  Proclamations cannot have the effect of advancing one religion over another or targeting one set of religious beliefs  Proclamations should not advocate discriminatory viewpoints or this policy be applied in a discriminatory manner: gender or sexual orientation, race, national origin, disability, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy and genetic information  Proclamations cannot proclaim something illegal to be legal o Proclamations are not to be used for partisan political statements o Proclamations cannot conflict or substantially interfere with the Council’s legislative authority and should not be made with the intention to influence current matters before the body for legislative action o Proclamations cannot conflict or substantially interfere with the City Manager’s Administrative/Executive Authority o Proclamations are not used for commercial benefit or advertisement The attached policy was drafted with the above inferences in mind. The proposed policy separates proclamations requests for recognition of personal milestones or events which are left in the discretion of the Mayor to recognize by letters, note or other less formal means, limiting proclamations to:  significant local events or celebrations  arts and cultural celebrations  charitable events of local non-profit organizations  promotion of events or programs of local service clubs  public awareness campaigns  organizations/person(s) who have achieved extraordinary distinction or accomplishment  organizations/person(s) whose contributions to the community warrants significant public recognition  days that are noteworthy or historically significant Under this policy the City might issue proclamations for generally recognized dates or events such as Fire Prevention Month or Public Transit Day, Charitable Events such as Special Olympics Day, Public Awareness Campaigns such as White Cane Day, or recognize special accomplishments such as a local high school championship. The language is intended to be generally consistent with the City’s Gift Policy limiting recognition to persons and events of local significance with focus on locally relevant persons and events and state and national days or events with significant local ties or representation. The proposed policy also sets forth a procedure for requests as well as a procedure for other council members to object to proposed proclamations. The policy also specifically retains the City’s rights to reject, modify or edit language of any proposed proclamation. Attached to the policy is a simple Proclamation Request form showing the information anticipated to be included with a Proclamation Request. If the Policy is adopted, staff will adapt this basic form for requests and anticipates making it available on the City’s webpage for requests. FISCAL IMPACT There is no anticipated fiscal impact to this policy. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City of Oshkosh establish a policy for the issuance of proclamations to assure that the City is compliant with the recent United States Supreme Court decision in the Boston flag case and so that the City may retain its historical discretion when dealing with requests for proclamations within the City. The proposed policy is consistent with current practices and provides guidance for the issuance of proclamations moving forward, along with a method for clarification or objection for other council members should a question ever arise. Respectfully Submitted, Approved: Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager Proclamations The City provides for the issuance of proclamations as a discretionary act by the Mayor within Chapter 2 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code. The City of Oshkosh respects the desire of individuals to observe certain dates, provide public awareness, commemorate special events and recognize milestones for persons or organizations through the issuance of local proclamations. The City also recognizes the important contributions of many individuals and organizations to community life and that it is simply impossible to recognize all of those contributions. A proclamation is an official announcement and/or declaration intended to encourage public awareness and provide recognition for certain dates, events, achievements and activities that are significant to the City of Oshkosh. Proclamations are ceremonial and do not have any legislative or legal force of law. Issuance of a proclamation acknowledges the effort and commitment of an organization or individual(s) but does not constitute official sponsorship of a particular viewpoint, matter or event. A proclamation is an expression of the community and the local government and should reflect the principles and policies of the City of Oshkosh including inclusiveness and promotion of the City of Oshkosh as a welcoming place. To this end, the City Council adopts the following policy to guide the Mayor in the issuance of proclamations. Timing Requests for proclamations may be submitted 30 days in advance of the date/event requested to be proclaimed and shall be made no less than 2 weeks in advance whenever possible. Proclamations will generally be issued and read at the beginning of Council meetings. Guidelines for Issuance of Proclamations Requests for proclamations will be accepted from City of Oshkosh residents; persons/organizations owning real property within the City of Oshkosh; or local organizations operating within the City of Oshkosh. Proclamations will be issued at no cost to the group or individual(s) requesting or receiving such proclamation. Proclamations may recognize a particular day, week or month; event; organization; or person. Proclamations may overlap. No person or entity shall have exclusive rights to any particular day, week or month. Proclamations must be completed each time a request is made. There shall be no standing or continuing requests for proclamations. Proclamations will be issued only for persons, organizations, matters or events which have some demonstrable local impact or connection. Proclamations may recognize:  significant local events or celebrations  local arts and cultural celebrations  charitable events of local non-profit organizations  promotion of local events or programs of local service clubs  public awareness campaigns with local connection or significance  local organizations/person(s) who have achieved extraordinary distinction or accomplishment  organizations/person(s) whose contributions to the community warrants significant public recognition  days that are locally noteworthy or historically significant General Restrictions The City through the Mayor of the City reserves the right to approve, approve with modifications or reject any request for a proclamation and to vary from the specific provisions of this policy when the Mayor or Council in their sole discretion find it to be in the public interest to do so. The City Council is a non-partisan elected body and proclamations will not be issued for political purposes or upon issues with obvious or controversial partisan political viewpoints, political controversy or which are matters of personal conviction. Proclamations cannot conflict with or be contrary to the United States Constitution, Federal laws, Wisconsin Constitution or Statutes, or City Ordinances. The City of Oshkosh is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for its citizens. Proclamations will not further discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability. Proclamations cannot conflict or substantially interfere with the Council’s legislative authority. Proclamations will not be issued for any matter under consideration or vote by the City Council. Proclamations cannot conflict or substantially interfere with the City Manager’s Administrative/Executive Authority. Requests for proclamations that are the same or substantially the same as proclamations already done for the particular calendar year may be declined. Proclamations will not be issued for individual birthdays, retirements, weddings, anniversaries, or similar personal milestones. The Mayor in her/his discretion may recognize such dates as she/he is able and deems appropriate. Proclamations will not be issued for commercial for-profit promotion or advertisement, including for business conferences and commercial events. Procedure Requests must be made in writing on a form available through the City Manager’s office. Requests must include the name and contact information of the requester, a brief summary and background of the event and organization, the name and date(s) to be proclaimed. If the proclamation is to be issued at a council meeting, the request shall include the name of the individual(s) who will be present to accept the proclamation. Draft language may be provided with a request for a proclamation, however, any draft language may be edited or rewritten at the discretion of the Mayor/Designee. The Mayor will review all requests for proclamations and make the final determination on whether to issue a proclamation and whether the proclamation will be placed on the council agenda for issuance. The Mayor may choose to recognize a person or event in a manner other than formal proclamation at the Mayor’s discretion. If the determination is made not to issue the proclamation, the requester may be informed of such determination. If the Mayor determines to issue a proclamation, the City Manager shall have the item placed on the council agenda. Upon request, a copy of the proclamation will be provided to council members prior to the council meeting. If any council member objects to the proclamation, they should advise the Mayor, City Clerk and City Manager of their objection in advance of the meeting. If an objection is made prior to issuance, the Mayor may withdraw the proclamation, edit or delay the proclamation if the objection may be addressed by amendment to the language of the proclamation. If the objection continues, the matter may be placed on the agenda and is open for consideration and vote on the issuance of the proclamation. If the measure fails to achieve a majority of the members present and voting, the proclamation shall not be issued or read. Proclamation Request Form Name: Address: Telephone Number: Email Address: Organization/Affiliation: Title of Proclamation: Is this associated with a National or State proclamation or event? Name/Date of Associated Event: Requested Dates Associated with the Proclamation: Brief summary and/or Background of the Event or Organization: Suggested Text of Proclamation: Please include all text for the proclamation below. Your draft should be 3-6 whereas clauses that show the importance and relevance of the proclamation to the City of Oshkosh and a paragraph issuing the proclamation. Requests submitted without text may not be processed. Requested text may be edited for length, grammar, to comply with the City’s policy on proclamations or for other reasons in the City’s sole discretion. Sources: To assist with verification of any statistics or other information included in the text of the proposed proclamation please provide cites to sources used in your suggested text. Will you or someone from your organization be present to receive the proclamation? Name and Title: Name and Title: Name and Title: