Long Beach Municipal Code Ch. 2.52 Public Safety Advisory Commission

There is created a Commission to be known as the Public Safety Advisory Commission.

(Ord. C-6069 § 1 (part), 1984)

The purpose of the Commission shall be to make advisory policy recommendations to the City Council on public safety issues, to serve as a forum for community discussion of these public safety policy issues, and to encourage input and participation from all sectors of the community. The Commission is to consider only those public safety policy matters over which the City Council has control that are related to police and fire services. Specific emphasis shall be placed on:

A. Support and encouragement for expansion of the neighborhood watch and Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs. To this end, block captains of each organized neighborhood watch shall be invited to meet with the Commission at least twice each calendar year;

B. Specific public safety needs of the community, as directed by the City Council;

C. Methods of increasing public safety awareness by making recommendations on the best means of communication, such as through the schools, etc.;

D. Recommending commendations to private citizens and public employees for significant contributions to public safety;

E. Consideration of traffic flow within the City;

F. Special projects and programs furthering the interests of public safety, including promotion of a City-wide public safety fair; and

G. Methods of enhancing community relations with City departments involved in public safety.

All recommendations of the Commission shall be submitted to the City Council in writing and shall include a summary of citizen testimony before the Commission on each particular recommendation presented for consideration.

The Commission shall not sit as an adjudicatory body on any matter and shall have no authority to compel the attendance of persons before it.

The Commission shall not consider and/or attempt to resolve citizen complaints about specific incidents or allegations against public safety officers or other employees of the City, but may only address those broad policy issues set forth above which may be presented by such complaints.

(ORD-07-0031 § 1, 2007: Ord. C-6069 § 1 (part), 1984)

The Commission shall neither interfere with nor impose itself on the powers and duties of the officers of the City as set forth in the City Charter, nor shall the Commission interfere with the management operations of the City. Likewise, the Commission shall have no authority over employees of the City, and the provisions of Section 208 of the City Charter shall be applicable.

(Ord. C-6069 § 1 (part), 1984)

A. The Commission shall be comprised of a total of thirteen (13) members. There shall be one (1) Commission member representing each of the nine (9) Councilmanic districts and four (4) members appointed at-large.

B. All members shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by the City Council. The members representing each Councilmanic district shall be appointed from a pool of at least three (3) nominees to be submitted by each member of the City Council to represent their respective Councilmanic district.

C. Three of the at-large members shall be appointed as a representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Latin Americans and the Asian Pacific Family Outreach, respectively, and shall be selected from a pool of at least three (3) nominees submitted to the Mayor by each of the organizations. The Mayor shall appoint the fourth at-large member as a representative of a minority group in the community which is not represented by the three (3) other at-large members.

D. It is the intent of the City Council that the Commission shall be constituted to provide a representative balance of members based on the demographic makeup of the City as reported by City's Department of Planning and Building; and, that the at-large appointments will be made to achieve this balance.

E. Whenever a member desires to resign from the Commission, he or she shall inform the Chairperson in writing. Any member of the Commission may be removed by the Mayor with the consent and approval of the City Council. If a member is absent without the consent of the Commission from three (3) consecutive meetings, whether regular or special, such absence shall cause the member's retirement from the Commission. In the event a vacancy is created, it shall immediately be filled by the same method by which the member was appointed.

(Ord. C-6069 § 1 (part), 1984)

The term of office for members of the Commission shall be four (4) years. No member shall serve for more than two (2) consecutive terms. This Commission shall be deemed the successor to the Public Safety Advisory Committee created by the City Council by Resolution No. C-23492. Officers and members of that Committee on the effective date of this Chapter, shall automatically become officers and members of the Public Safety Advisory Commission serving in the same capacities as previously on the Public Safety Advisory Committee. For those officers and members who automatically become officers and members of the Public Safety Advisory Commission, their terms of office shall expire on the date such terms would have expired if the Public Safety Advisory Committee continued in existence. However, prior service on the Public Safety Advisory Committee and overlapping terms from the Public Safety Advisory Committee to the Public Safety Advisory Commission shall not be counted in the limitation of service on this commission to two (2) consecutive four (4) year terms.

(Ord. C-6069 § 1 (part), 1984)

Except as provided in this Chapter, the Commission shall operate and conduct its business in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 2.18 of this Code entitled "Advisory Boards, Commissions and Committees."

(Ord. C-6069 § 1 (part), 1984)