05.04.03 Procedures for Requesting Ceremonial Doc
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY MANUAL CHAPTER: 05 Public Relations Policy No. 05.04.03 SECTION: 04 Ceremonial Documents Page 1 of 3 SUBJECT: 03 Internal Procedures
for Requesting Ceremonial Documents Internal Procedures for Requesting Ceremonial Documents (Ceremonial documents originating from members of the City Commission are exempt from these
procedures.) Ceremonial documents provide an opportunity for the City to recognize exceptional events and people within the City of Boynton Beach. Proclamations, Tributes, Citations,
Letters of Greeting/Congratulation and Certificates of Recognition are issued for civic celebrations, organizations and individuals celebrating significant events or contributions to
society. Internal requests for ceremonial documents must be submitted to the City Manager’s office at least 30 days prior to the date of issuance so that the Mayor may approve the request.
The Public Affairs office reserves the right to determine if the proper document type has been requested and to make the appropriate substitution. Guidelines Proclamations • Recognize
a day, week or month • Are issued for non-profit organizations • Are not issued for conferences, birthdays, retirements, weddings or anniversaries • Will not name specific organizations
unless they are non-profit • Are issued for one date only* (*For example, if “Water Professional Day” is proclaimed on January 1, then “Water Professional Week,” “Water Professional
Month,” or “Water Professional Year” will not be proclaimed later in the year. Departments are encouraged to request Proclamations that coincide with national or state-designated dates.)
Requests that are similar to already issued Proclamations will be declined. For example, if “Public Works Week” was proclaimed in January and a request for “Public Works & Solid Waste
Month” is received in June, the request for “Public Works & Solid Waste Month” would be declined.) Procedures • All requests must include the name and extension of the person making
the request. • Requests must include draft language and/or background information that will be used to prepare the Proclamation. **
• If the Proclamation is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be responsible for completing the Agenda Request Form and submitting it to
the City Clerk’s office prior to the deadline established on the form. • If the Proclamation is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be
responsible for providing the name of the person(s) who will be accepting the document on the Agenda Request Form. • Because of the cost involved in writing and printing Proclamations,
a maximum of three originals of issued Proclamations will be provided per year, per department. Tributes • Recognize the contributions to the community made by an organization • Are
issued to civic, religious, fraternal and social organizations • May be issued to commercial enterprises, if they have made a contribution to the community Procedures • All requests
must include the name and extension of the person making the request. • Requests must include draft language and/or background information that will be used to prepare the Tribute.**
• If the Tribute is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be responsible for completing the Agenda Request Form and submitting it to the
City Clerk’s office prior to the deadline established on the form. • If the Tribute is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be responsible
for providing the name of the person(s) who will be accepting the document on the Agenda Request Form. • Because of the cost involved in writing and printing Tributes, a maximum of three
originals of issued Tributes will be provided per year, per department. Citations • Recognize the contributions to the community made by an individual • May be presented posthumously.
Procedures • All requests must include the name and extension of the person making the request. • Requests must include draft language and/or background information that will be used
to prepare the Citation. ** • If the Citation is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be responsible for completing the Agenda Request
Form and submitting it to the City Clerk’s office prior to the deadline established on the form. • If the Citation is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting
department will be responsible for providing the name of the person(s) who will be accepting the document on the Agenda Request Form. • Because of the cost involved in writing and printing
Citations, a maximum of three originals of issued Tributes will be provided per year, per department.
Letters of Greeting • Conventions • Conferences • Seminars • Other large events being held in Boynton Beach Letters of Congratulation or Certificates of Recognition • Significant birthdays
or anniversaries • Religious anniversaries and celebrations • Professional celebrations • Award recipients • Retirements • Eagle Scout Awards Procedures • All requests must include the
name and extension of the person making the request. • Requests must include draft language and/or background information that will be used to prepare the Letter. ** • For Certificates,
it is the responsibility of the requesting department to produce the Certificate, provide a sample to the Public Affairs office, and after obtaining approval of the Certificate, to obtain
the necessary signatures for the Certificates. • If the Letter or Certificate is to be presented at a meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be responsible for
completing the Agenda Request Form and submitting it to the City Clerk’s office prior to the deadline established on the form. • If the Letter or Certificate is to be presented at a
meeting of the City Commission, the requesting department will be responsible for providing the name of the person(s) who will be accepting the document on the Agenda Request Form. •
If Certificates are to be presented to a large group of people (e.g., members of a sports team), the requesting department will be responsible for providing the name of the group’s lead
person(s) on the Agenda Request Form. • Because of the cost involved in writing and printing Letters and Citations, a maximum of three originals of issued Letters or Citations will be
provided per year, per department. • The cost of Certificates will be the responsibility of the requesting department. **Any draft language provided may be edited or rewritten at the
discretion of the Public Affairs office. While many governmental entities that issue ceremonial documents use the formal “Whereas …” style in which each sentence is a new line that begins
with the word “Whereas,” Boynton Beach style is distinctive in that it does not use “Whereas” and is in normal paragraph format. However, the “Whereas” format remains acceptable. EFFECTIVE
DATE: January 2, 2009 Kurt Bressner Kurt Bressner City Manager