Burbank City Council recesses to closed session to discuss labor and real estate negotiations

The Burbank City Council recessed into closed session at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss labor negotiations with the Burbank City Employees Association and real property negotiations concerning several parcels on North Lake Street and North Victory Boulevard, the City Attorney said.

City Attorney identified two closed-session items: “conference with the city's labor negotiator, Management Services Director Betsy McClinton, pursuant to California Government Code section 54957.6 concerning negotiations with the Burbank City Employees Association,” and “conference with the city's real property negotiator, Assistant Director of Community Development Simone McFarland, concerning several properties on Lake Street and North Victory Boulevard concerning price and terms pursuant to California Government Code section 54956.8.”

The City Clerk reported there were no in-person or telephonic public comments on the closed-session items. The council stated it would reconvene the public meeting at 6 p.m. in council chambers. The city provided public-comment instructions and time limits for the general public comment period: callers use (818) 238-3335; speaking time varies by the number of speakers on the day’s public comment roster.

The closed session agenda items were limited to (1) labor negotiations with the Burbank City Employees Association and (2) discussions of price and terms for specific real property parcels. The transcript lists the real property addresses as 725 North Lake Street; 724 North Victory Boulevard; 7302 North Victory Boulevard; and 7306 North Victory Boulevard. No formal actions or votes on those items were recorded in the public portion of the transcript, and the council provided no public detail on the substance or outcome of the closed discussions in the segments provided.

Management Services Director Betsy McClinton and Assistant Director of Community Development Simone McFarland were identified as the city’s negotiators for the respective items. The council did not accept additional public-comment cards for the closed-session portion, and the City Clerk confirmed no callers had registered to speak on the closed-session items prior to the recess.

The council’s closed-session authority was cited as California Government Code sections 54957.6 (labor negotiations) and 54956.8 (real property negotiations). The public portion of the meeting was set to resume at 6 p.m.; the transcript excerpts provided do not record any formal decisions, votes, or further public remarks about the closed-session items.