Council Provided Information - 2/21/2023CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY
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COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY
TO:City Council Members
FROM: Sylvia Richards
Budget & Policy Analyst
DATE:February 14, 2023
RE: Proposed City Code Changes to Sister City Board
ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE
The Administration is proposing several changes to the Ordinance amending Chapter 2.82 of
the Salt Lake City Code pertaining to the Salt Lake Sister Cities Board for Council
consideration as follows:
1.Voting and Non-Voting:
Economic Development recommends establishing a board of seven to nine (7-9) voting
members, and up to six (6) non-voting members.
2.Residence of Board Members:
Currently, Board Members are not required to live within City boundaries. To bring the
ordinance more in line with other City ordinances, and address equity and inclusion
efforts, the transmittal recommends that seven (7) of the new voting Board Members
represent each of the seven (7) districts within Salt Lake City boundaries. Additionally, all
board members must be residents of Salt Lake City with an option for the Council and the
Mayor to appoint someone who lives outside the boundaries.
3.Boundaries for Board Meetings:
Currently, board meetings are not required to be held within Salt Lake City boundaries. In
compliance with Utah Open and Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and to keep the program
more accessible to residents, it is recommended that all Board meetings be held in a public
location within city boundaries AND require quarterly (vs. annual) board meetings.
4.Board Member Term Limits: Currently, the number of terms a board member can
serve is unlimited. It is recommended that terms be limited to two four-year terms. Upon
expiration of the second term a voting member may continue to serve as a nonvoting
member.
Item Schedule:
Briefing: Feb. 14, 2023
Action: Feb. 21, 2023
Page | 2
5.Youth: Economic Development recommends allowing up to two non-voting board
members to be youth members, ages 15-18.
6.New Sister City Relationship Requests:
Previously the ordinance did not specify that new sister city requests needed to come from
within Salt Lake City boundaries. It is proposed that individuals or organizations
proposing new relationships must reside or be headquartered within Salt Lake City
boundaries.
POLICY QUESTIONS
➢Council Members may wish to ask if any additional City budget
resources will be needed to improve the operations of this program.
➢Council Members may wish to ask what types of public outreach
Economic Development will be engaged in to inform the public of the
City’s Sister City relationships, activities and events.
➢The Council may wish to discuss their thoughts and ideas of how they
would like to see sister city relationships move forward in the future.
SISTER CITIES
“To promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation - one individual, one community at a time.”
History of SLC Sister Cities Program
•First established (locally) in 1958 with Matsumoto, Japan
•Has expanded to include six (6) cities
○Matsumoto, Japan (1958)
○Keelung, Taiwan (1979)
○Chernivtsi, Ukraine (1989)
○Izhevsk, Russia (2003)
○Trujillo, Peru (2005)
○Torino, Italy (2007)
•DED was assigned to manage the program in approximately 2017
* 3 cities emeritus status: Oruro, Bolivia, Quezon, Philippines, Thurles, Ireland
Proposed Ordinance Updates
The WHY
Activity and engagement of the program from the city’s side has ebbed and flowed over the past few years.
•Program Ordinance has not been updated since the early 2000’s
•Program could benefit from enhanced responsiveness to new Sister City inquiries and better maintenance of current relationships
•Implement Diversity/Equity/Inclusion (Board)
•Efficient stewards of taxpayer dollars
•Better alignment with other Boards and Commissions within Salt Lake City
•Rejuvenation of program
•Strengthening the Sister Cities program - request from the Mayor’s Work Plan 2022
Background Research
Conversations with:
○World Trade Center
○Sister Cities International
○Department of State
○Director of International Trade & Diplomacy, GOEO
○Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy
○San Antonio, TX
○Santa Barbara, CA
○Alpine, CO
○Visit Salt Lake
The HOW
Ordinance changes summarized into three categories (details on next slide):
•Geographic Boundaries
•Residence of board members•Boundaries for board meetings
•Board of Directors•Term limits•Voting and non-voting•Youth
•New Sister Cities Requests
Old Ordinance Proposed Change Why
Sister Cities Board
No limits on number of members
Only voting members
7-9 Voting Members
Up to 6 non-voting with no term limits [Line 43-45, 56-58]
●DEI
●Allows for responsiveness in essential long
term diplomatic relationships
No term limits Limit of two (2) four (4) year terms
(option to be non-voting member upon expiration)* [Line
73-77]
●Rejuvenation of program & members
Members must be 18+Allows for up to two youth members (ages 15-18 years)
[Line 53-54; 66-68]
●Inclusion & youth component for program
(Racial Equity & Policing (REP) precedent)
Geographic Boundaries
No requirement for board members to
live in SLC boundaries
Propose Board members represent each of the seven (7)
SLC Districts [Line 65-66]
●Implement DEI
●Stewards of SLC tax dollars
●7 represent districts, 2 at large
Meetings not required within SLC
boundaries
Recommend meetings occur in SLC and must happen at
public locations [Line 84-85]
●Recommended by City Attorney’s: OMPA
New Sister City Requests
Functioned as County-wide program Request must be made by organization/person within city
boundaries [Line 105-106]
●Better stewards of SLC tax dollars
Next Steps
•Board Members Appointed & Training
•City Task Force - Japanese delegation visit (summer 2023)•Mayor’s Office•Council Staff•DED •Arts Council
Questions?