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Sister Cities, Friendship Cities, and International Delegations - 09.01.2016 CUPERTINO POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ON SISTER CITIES,FRIENDSHIP CITIES,AND INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS FOR THE CITY OF CUPERTINO September 2016 Backaround: Presently, Cupertino has four active sister cities registered with Sister Cities International, the cities of Toyokawa, Japan, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Copertino, Italy and Bhubaneswar, India. In addition, Cupertino has established several friendship city relationships and attracts many international delegations for business and economic development reasons. SISTER CITIES Intent of Sister City Affiliations: The city recognizes the value of developing people-to-people contacts as a way to further international communication and understanding. Sister city partnerships have proved very successful in fostering educational,technical, economic and cultural exchanges. Sister city relationships are effective only when organizations of interested residents in one community work with interested residents in another city to promote communication and understanding among people of different cultures. The ideal affiliation should involve a large number of citizens and organizations in both cities, engaging in exchanges of people, ideas and cultures on a long-term, continuing basis. The City intends to provide limited financial support to those Sister City Committees that operate student exchange programs. Those Sister City organizations which do not operate student exchange programs shall be completely financially independent from the City, except for limited City facility use. Sister City Citizen Committee Responsibilities(Receiving City Support): ❑ Identify, manage, coordinate and implement all activities related to the sister city program ❑ Establish a formal, incorporated 501(c)(3) structure, with officers and appropriate functional subcommittees ❑ Solicit donations and in-kind contributions from the local community as appropriate ❑ Maintain communication with the affiliate sister city committee,ensuring the counterpart committee is equally committed to the program ❑ Finance from fundraising efforts and resources other than public funding,all travel and program expenses beyond reasonable postage, fax, copying and printing costs for events in which the City is participating. This includes fundraising or securing gifts for special celebrations, such as anniversaries. ❑ Prepare a detailed budget from fundraising efforts other than public (City) funding for events and activities and keep track of expenses. The budget should show funds available and should identify adequate, ongoing funding sources for program activities. ❑ Work with city staff at least two months in advance in arranging official promotional gifts and meetings for foreign delegations. For local groups traveling abroad and bringing city gifts, similar notice is required,unless waived by the City Manager. ❑ Meet the following eligibility requirements/annual submittals: • Proof of 501 (c) (3) status • Detailed account of prior year actual revenue and expenses • Summary of prior year activities • Proposed budget plan • Fundraising plan • Work plan Sister City Citizen Committee Responsibilities(Not Receiving City Support): ❑ Identify, manage, coordinate and implement all activities related to the sister city program ❑ Establish a formal, incorporated 501 (c) (3) structure,with officers and appropriate functional sub committees ❑ Solicit donations and in-kind contributions from the local community as appropriate ❑ Maintain communication with the affiliate sister city committee,ensuring the counterpart committee is equally committed to the program City of Cupertino Responsibilities(With regard to City supported Sister City Committees): Coordinated through the City Manager's Office,the City will serve as a support for programs and activities by: ❑ Providing for set-up and complimentary access to a large City facility for three community event per Sister City per fiscal year. All cost of food, drinks, and materials are the responsibility of the Sister City Committee ❑ Accepting gifts from the Sister City. Said gifts are the property of the City and shall be displayed at a City facility or distributed at the City's discretion ❑ Providing up to $2,500 per year for a Sister City with a student exchange program of 5 to 9 student delegates and up to $5,000 per year for a Sister City with a student exchange program of 10 or more student delegates Coordinated through the City Manager's Office,the City will serve as a support for Sister City programs and activities by: ❑ Providing access to postage, fax,copying and printing equipment to Sister City Committee members for support for sister city events in which the City is participating. City staff is not responsible for preparing mailings or printed materials ❑ Providing the use of meeting room space(up to 18 per calendar year)at no cost to the Sister City Committee for related activities. Meeting room space does not include Community Hall or the Quinlan Cupertino Room ❑ Providing City promotional gift items typically given at community events to government representatives from visiting countries. These include, but are not limited to: city t-shirts, pens, reusable bags, and lapel pins. The cost of each promotional gift or gift bag shall not exceed $15. Additional gifts presented to members of a Sister City delegation are the responsibility of the Sister City Committee City of Cupertino Responsibilities(With regard to non-City supported Sister City Committees): ❑ The City shall maintain registration with the Sister Cities International organization and shall charge the Non-City Supported Sister City Committees resident rates on the rental of any City facility ❑ Provide the use of meeting room space (up to 4 per calendar year) at no cost to the Sister City Committee for related activities. Meeting room space does not include Community Hall or the Quinlan Center-Cupertino Room Travel and Program Expenses: Program Expenses: ❑ The City Council will, as part of its annual budget adoption process,establish a program budget for anticipated City supported Sister City program activities. This budget will include up to $2,500 for a Sister City with a student exchange program of 5 to 9 student delegates and up to $5,000 for a Sister City with a student exchange program of 10 or more student delegates, as funds allow. This adopted budget, less the cost of the Sister City membership fee, will be remitted to the Committee once an accounting of the prior year expenditures have been received/reviewed by the Finance Department. These funds represent the City's sole monetary commitment each fiscal year with the exception of the items listed above. Travel Expenses: ❑ The City will pay for one-half of the airfare per year,per council member,provided the trip is in conjunction with an official delegation. All other Council or City Staff travel for Sister City programs must be funded by Sister City Committee fundraising activities, or by the individual traveling council or staff member, unless authorized in advance by the City Council. New Affiliations: To ensure that there is a broad base of community support for a global partnership, the citizen committee responsible for implementing the sister city program should include at least 10 active Cupertino residents who are committed to making a new affiliation successful. No more than one sister city relationship may be established in any given country. Proposal Process The new Sister City Committee will prepare and submit the following to the City of Cupertino: ❑ Detailed demographic profile of the prospective city ❑ Application for a formal,incorporated 501 (c)(3) structure,with officers and appropriate subcommittees ❑ Documentation of broad-based community support,with a minimum of 10 members on the organizing committee 11 A preliminary program plan outlining objectives and funding sources If the City Council adopts a resolution establishing a new Sister City relationship, the City shall register that new Sister City with Sister Cities International. If the proposed new Sister City Committee desires to operate a student exchange program (with a minimum of 5 student delegates and open to any school within the Cupertino Unified School District and/or Fremont Union High School District boundaries)and demonstrates that it can meet its responsibilities as a City supported Sister City Committee, the City shall adjust the budget for the following year to provide for financial support. Terminating a Sister City Affiliation While regrettable, it is sometimes necessary for a city to terminate a sister city affiliation. Sister city affiliations are meant to be long-standing, official city linkages that involve extensive community participation beyond government. For a variety of reasons, a sister city relationship may lose community interest and support, and Cupertino or the sister city may opt to terminate the sister city relationship. If a sister city affiliation is inactive for a period of three years and there is a lack of community support for the sister city relationship to continue, the City may initiate the process to terminate the sister city affiliation with the sister city and Sister Cities International. FRIENDSHIP CITIES Intent of Friendship City Affiliations: The City recognizes the value of developing people-to-people contacts as a way to further international communication and understanding. Friendship city partnerships can be effective in fostering increased global cooperation and communication. Friendship cities may be established, however, they will not be considered official sister cities and are not eligible for City funding. Friendship cities must contact city staff at least 30 days in advance to arrange visits, unless waived by the City Manager. Friendship City Committee Responsibilities: ❑ Identify, manage, coordinate and implement all activities related to the friendship city program ❑ Maintain communication with the affiliate friendship city, ensuring the counterpart is equally committed ❑ Work with city staff at least two months in advance in arranging official promotional gifts and meetings for foreign delegations. For local groups traveling abroad and bringing city gifts, similar notice is required,unless waived by the City Manager. City of Cupertino Responsibilities: Coordinated through the City Manager's Office,the City will: ❑ Issue a signed Letter of Intent establishing the friendship city relationship in an effort to assist international delegation visits from the friendship city ❑ Provide City promotional items typically given at community events to government representatives from visiting countries as the budget allows. These may include, but are not limited to: city t-shirts,pens,reusable bags, and lapel pins,to the extent there remains a budgeted amount to purchase such gifts and promotional items 11 Conduct tours of city facilities Travel and Program Expenses: Friendship city travel and program expenses will be treated as those of international delegations and will follow the guidelines outlined in this policy in the "Travel and Program Expenses" section under "INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS." New Affiliations: All proposed friendship city relationships must have Councilmember or community sponsorship and be approved by the City Council. If approved, the City will issue a signed Letter of Intent establishing the friendship city relationship. Terminating a Friendship City Affiliation: A friendship city affiliation will be effective for two years. After two years the friendship city affiliation will automatically expire unless renewed. While regrettable,it is sometimes necessary for a city to terminate a friendship city affiliation prior to the end of the two year term. For a variety of reasons a friendship city relationship may no longer be mutually beneficial, and Cupertino or the friendship city may opt to terminate the friendship city relationship. INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS Intent of International Delegations: The City recognizes the value of developing people-to-people contacts as a way to further international communication and understanding. Delegations must contact city staff at least 60 days in advance in arranging meetings, unless waived by the City Manager. City of Cupertino Responsibilities: Coordinated through the City Manager's Office,the City will: ❑ Provide City promotional items typically given at community events to government representatives from visiting countries. These may include,but are not limited to: city t-shirts, pens,reusable bags, and lapel pins,to the extent there remains a budgeted amount to purchase such gifts and promotional items ❑ Conduct tours of city facilities Travel and Program Expenses: Program Expenses- The City Council will, as part of its annual budget adoption process,establish a program budget for promotional items for delegations. Promotional gifts or gift bags shall not exceed the cost of$15 each. Travel Expenses- International travel shall be at the expense of the traveling council member unless authorized in advance by the City Council.