City Clerk

Burbank Unified School Board Member Debbie Kukta will be the city's next treasurer, while longtime resident and Glendale Community Relations Coordinator Zizette Mullins was named Burbank city clerk Thursday.  Kukta and Mullins were both unanimously named to the interim positions during a special City Council meeting, necessitated by the retirements of City Clerk Margarita Campos and Treasurer Donna Anderson....

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to the framework for how they will make two interim appointments for the office of city clerk and treasurer during a special meeting on Thursday, including sequestering candidates during the televised interview process. Seventeen people are applying for the two positions, including current city employees and one who submitted an application for both jobs. Written applications and a video presentation from each of the candidates have been available on the city's website in the lead up to the special meeting - the final hurdle before a vote is taken on Thursday.

Contained in this issue is an overview of the 17 applicants vying to be appointed to two hugely important positions at City Hall: city clerk and city treasurer. They're typically elected, but due to early retirements, the City Council will be appointing their successors next week at a special public meeting. Residents may not get a direct vote, but they should still be informed and - gasp! - take part in the quasi-electoral process by bending the ear of the City Council on who they think would best serve in the posts on an interim basis.

When the City Council convenes on June 28 to fill the vacated positions of city clerk and city treasurer, they'll have 17 applicants representing a wide swath of the local political sphere to choose from. The two spots are typically elected positions, but early retirement announcements by former City Clerk Margarita Campos and City Treasurer Donna Anderson prompted the City Council to decide to fill the positions before next year's regularly scheduled election. The 17 candidates each submitted a video presentation along with their applications - all of which are available on the city's website.

The City Council this week decided on a schedule for appointing interim replacements for the elected positions of city clerk and city treasurer as the women who currently hold those offices prepare to retire next month. Beginning May 14, applicants who feel they are qualified will have an opportunity to apply through June 1, although appointments could be made before then, officials said. City Clerk Margarita Campos and City Treasurer Donna Anderson are retiring on June 1 and July 7, respectively - roughly a year before their terms are set to end in May 2013.

The Burbank City Council this week decided to appoint interim replacements for City Clerk Margarita Campos and City Treasurer Donna Anderson - both of whom plan to retire from their elected posts early - rather than hold a special election. Campos and Anderson, who each have held their elected positions for more than a decade, will be retiring on June 1 and July 7, respectively - roughly a year before their terms are set to end in May 2013. Campos, who has worked for the city in various capacities since 1974, said in an interview that the time was right for her to go. “The time comes in everybody's life when they need to make a decision in their personal life,” she said, adding that it was about priorities.

The City Council will consider appropriating $225,000 for a private consulting firm to help conduct the Feb. 24 and April 14 municipal elections. Martin & Chapman Co. will provide election supplies, services and consultation to help facilitate the elections for three seats on the City Council, the city clerk, city treasurer and two members of the school board. The primary election is scheduled for Feb. 14, with the general election set for April 14. WHAT TO EXPECT The council will likely approve the contract.

CITY HALL — Six amendments to the Burbank City Charter — which are up for voter consideration on the general election ballot — are drawing both resistance and support from the community. The proposed changes came after seven months of work from a 15-member Charter Review Committee, which the council tapped in November 2005 to review the 90-year-old document and submit recommendations for possible modifications. The charter provides a blueprint for local government and is often referred to as the city's constitution.

BURBANK — With just four days until the ballots for the all mail-in primary election are counted, about 5,000 votes have already reached the City Clerk's Office. That amount is about on par with the number of ballots submitted by this point in previous elections, City Clerk Margarita Campos said. Burbank has about 50,000 registered voters, she said. In the last two primaries 10,000 to 15,000 votes were cast. "We usually see quite a few come in the last couple of days," she said.