DATE: September 9, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nerland, County Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: New Administrative Policy Number 81 - Department Celebrations and Recognitions
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and Adopt Administrative Policy 81 - Department Celebrations and Recognitions
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will adopt Administrative Policy (AP) 81 regarding department official and public celebrations and recognitions. This item is Countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could choose to not approve the recommended action, which would keep the status quo on department official and public celebrations and recognitions.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The recommended action does not have a specific fiscal impact, but the official and public celebration and recognition of days, weeks, or months have a cost for activities or recognitions.
DISCUSSION:
During the Board of Supervisors’ Committee Reports and Comments section of the June 10, 2025, meeting, your Board discussed department sponsorships and financial contributions to community events. Your Board, by consensus, gave direction to the County Administrative Officer (CAO) to create a process for approval for events that County departments may participate in or contribute funding towards. Additionally, your Board directed that the CAO return at a later date to discuss and recommend what County departments may celebrate or participate in.
On July 8, 2025, the CAO presented your Board with Administrative Policy 80 - Department Contributions of Funds for Non-County Events or Causes, which your Board approved ensuring that the County follows a consistent process when departments seek to make contributions of funds for non-County events, causes, or anything similar.
On August 5, 2025, based on your Board’s request from the June 10, 2025 meeting, the CAO presented your Board with the following three options and sought direction on a process for departments when celebrating or recognizing holidays, themes, days, weeks or months:
Option 1 – Board Approval: County departments may celebrate all approved County holidays and any theme, event, day, week or month that is approved by the Board of Supervisors by resolution or proclamation. Other recognition or celebrations must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Option 2 – CAO Approval: County departments may celebrate all approved County holidays and any theme, event, day, week or month that is approved by the Board of Supervisors by resolution or proclamation. All other celebrations or recognition must be approved by the CAO, who is accountable to the Board of Supervisors.
Option 3 – County Holidays & Board Resolution/Proclamations Only: County departments may celebrate all approved County holidays and any theme, event, day, week or month that is approved by the Board of Supervisors by resolution or proclamation only.
At that meeting, your Board directed the CAO to create a policy based on Option 1 – Board Approval. Based on that direction, the CAO presents to your Board AP 81 for your consideration. AP 81 allows County departments to officially and publicly celebrate or recognize those holidays, themes, events, days, weeks, or months approved prior to their occurrence by a majority of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors by resolution or proclamation through the Agenda Item process.
To accomplish this, the CAO would implement a MD, whereby departments may bring an agenda item to your Board with a list of all requested celebrations or recognitions excluding County holidays and those already approved by resolution or proclamation. Ideally, departments would plan in advance and submit an item to the Board for the next six or twelve months.
The recommended AP 81 provides that it does not affect ordinary workplace festivities by and among employees, such as those for employee birthdays, employee retirements, employee milestones, and employee-organized holiday festivities. If a Celebration opportunity arises that, in the CAO’s judgment, would be approved by the Board, but comes to a Department Head’s attention prior the next scheduled Board meeting, and would occur or begin prior to the next scheduled Board meeting, this policy grants discretion to the CAO to approve the Celebration subject to ratification by the Board. The requesting department must then submit an Agenda Item to the Board of Supervisors for the earliest practicable Board date after the CAO’s approval.
Additionally, AP 81 allows departments to celebrate the following paid holidays that the County celebrates where many County offices are closed in recognition:
- January 1st - New Year’s Day
- January 20th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- February 17th President’s Day
- March 31st - Cesar Chavez Day
- May 26th - Memorial Day
- June 19th - Juneteenth
- July 4th - Independence Day
- September 1st - Labor Day
- November 11th - Veterans Day
- November 27th - Thanksgiving Day
- November 28th - Day after Thanksgiving Day
- December 25th - Christmas
Approval of the recommended action will implement this new AP. Upon approval of this AP, the CAO will release a MD, which details the process for departments seeking to officially and publicly celebrate or recognize any theme, event, day, week or month.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #9 August 5, 2025
BAI #9 July 8, 2025
BAI #11 June 10, 2025
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
AP 81 - Department Celebrations and Recognitions
CAO ANALYST:
Sevag Tateosian