Burbank Police Department (California) - Government

Government

In 1916, the original Burbank City Hall was constructed after bonds were issued to finance the project and pay for fire apparatus. Burbank's current City Hall was constructed from 1941 to 1942 in a neo-federalist Moderne style popular in the late Depression era. The structure was built at a total cost of $409,000, with funding from the Federal Works Agency and Works Project Administration programs. City Hall was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi and completed in 1943.

Originally, the City Hall building housed all city services, including the police and fire departments, an emergency medical ward, a courthouse and a jail. One of the most distinctive features of the cream-colored concrete building is its 77-foot (23 m) tower, which serves as the main lobby. The lobby interior features more than 20 types of marble, which can be found in the city seal on the floor, the trim, walls and in the treads and risers of the grand stairway. Artist Hugo Ballin created a "Four Freedoms" mural in Burbank's City Council chambers during World War II, although it was covered up for decades until art aficionados convinced the city to have the mural fully revealed. Ballin's work illustrates the "Four Freedoms" outlined in President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 speech at the signing of the Atlantic Charter.

In 1996, the City Hall was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, becoming the second building in Burbank to be listed on the register. The first was Burbank's main post office just blocks away from City Hall on Olive Avenue. In 1998, Burbank's state-of-the-art Police/Fire facility opened.

In the state legislature Burbank is located in the 21st Senate District, represented by Carol Liu, and in the 43rd Assembly District, represented by Mike Gatto. Federally, Burbank is located in California's 27th and 29th congressional districts, which have Cook PVIs of D +13 and D +12 respectively and are represented by Democrats Brad Sherman and Adam Schiff respectively.

Burbank is a charter city that operates under the City Council-City Manager form of government. In 1927, voters approved the Council-Manager form of government. The five-member City Council is elected for four-year overlapping terms, with the Mayor appointed annually from among the Council. The City Clerk and the City Treasurer are also elected officials.

Burbank is a full-service, independent city, with offices of the City Manager and City Attorney, and departments of Community Development, Financial Services, Fire, Information Technology, Library Services, Management Services, Police, Parks-Recreation & Community Services, Public Works, and Burbank Water and Power (BWP). The first power was distributed within the city limits of Burbank in 1913, supplied then by Southern California Edison Company. Today, the city-owned BWP serves 45,000 households and 6,000 businesses in Burbank with water and electricity. Additionally, the $382-million annual revenue utility offers fiber optic services. Burbank's city garbage pickup service began in 1920; outhouses were banned in 1922.

At the height of California's 2001 energy crisis, BWP unveiled a mini-power plant at its landfill. It marked the world's first commercial landfill power plant using Capstone microturbine technology. Ten microturbines run on naturally occurring landfill gas, producing 300 kilowatts of renewable energy for Burbank. That's enough energy to serve the daily needs of about 250 homes. The landfill is located in the Verdugo Mountains in the northeastern portion of the city.

Most of Burbank's current power comes from the Magnolia Power Project, a 328-megawatt power plant located on Magnolia Boulevard near the Interstate 5 freeway. The municipal power plant, jointly owned by six Southern California cities (Burbank, Glendale, Anaheim. Pasadena, Colton and Cerritos), began generating electricity in 2005. It replaced a 1941 facility that had served the customers of Burbank for almost 60 years.

The Burbank City Council lost a court case in 2000 involving the right to begin meetings with a sectarian prayer. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that prayers referencing specific religions violated the principle of separation of church and state in the First Amendment. While invocations were still allowed, Burbank officials were required to advise all clerics that sectarian prayer as part of Council meetings was not permitted under the Constitution.

Like other California cities, Burbank took a financial hit after Californians passed Proposition 13 in 1977. The city dealt with the ramifications of maintaining service levels expected by the community but with lower tax revenues. As a result, Burbank officials opted to cut some services and implement user fees for specialized services.

In September 2012, Burbank City Manager Mike Flad announced plans to quit after having held the job since 2009. Flad worked his way up in the city government after serving 23 years as a city employee. He left to take the position of City Manager for the City of South Gate, California. His last day as Burbank City Manager was October 26, 2012, according to a press release issued by the city. Burbank City Council named Ken Pulskamp to serve as interim City Manager, effective starting December 3, 2012. Pulskamp comes to Burbank after serving since 2002 as City Manager of Santa Clarita, California.