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Cerritos council approves BCC handbook edits, rejects one‑time memorial bench exception
Summary
Council approved final edits to the Boards, Commissions & Committees handbook and ordinance language on term dates (both 3–2 votes where recorded); a motion to grant a one‑time exception to the naming policy for a memorial bench was defeated 2–3 after extensive public testimony.
The Cerritos City Council on Feb. 13 approved several governance changes to advisory bodies while declining a request to make a one‑time exception to the city’s naming policy for a memorial bench.
After detailed public testimony and edits suggested by residents and volunteers, councilmembers voted 3–2 to adopt final revisions to the Boards, Commissions & Committees handbook (item 7f). The approved changes standardized gendered pronouns and kept term‑end language consistent with municipal code, including up to a 90‑day extension for incumbents pending successor qualification. The motion was made and passed with the electronic vote recorded as 3–2.
On a related ordinance (item 7h), council voted 3–2 to introduce language clarifying that advisory board terms commence on the first day of the month after the mayoral transition or within 90 days thereof, whichever is earlier. City attorney language will be incorporated prior to formal reading and second‑reading steps required to amend the municipal code.
During public comment dozens of residents and stakeholders addressed the council on the memorial bench proposal (item 7g). Courtney Bankhead, whose sister passed in 2023, urged a memorial bench program to allow families to fund named benches, describing a specific site request at Friendship Park. Supporters said premium, paid benches provide a durable, personal memorial; opponents and some council members raised concerns about commercializing public parks, equitable access, maintenance costs and the possibility that affluent donors could dominate bench naming. Council considered but ultimately rejected (2–3) a motion to make a single exception to the city’s existing naming/renaming policy to authorize one bench for the Bankhead family.
Why it matters: The handbook and ordinance changes affect how advisory panels are staffed and when terms end, which has operational impacts on appointments and quorum management; the memorial bench debate highlighted tradeoffs between resident memorialization and the city’s public‑space and fiscal priorities.
What’s next: Staff will incorporate the attorney’s ordinance language for a future reading; the council left open the option to consider targeted exceptions on a case‑by‑case basis rather than adopt a broad memorial‑bench program.
