Sister City Program

Sister City Designation Policy

Cerritos-based community organizations may seek City of Cerritos approval for the establishment of a Sister City relationship between a prospective city and the City of Cerritos. All applications will be reviewed by the City Council and approved on a case-by-case basis. Applications are subject to the following:

1. A letter of request will be submitted to the City Council by way of the City Manager providing justification and/ or reasoning for the proposed Sister City relationship. The letter will also be required to outline the goals and objectives of the proposed Sister City relationship such as: 
   1. Developing community partnerships between cities, counties, states of the United States and similar jurisdictions in other nations;
   2. Creating opportunities for city officials and citizens to experience and explore other cultures through long-term community partnerships;
   3. Creating an atmosphere to facilitate economic development opportunities;
   4. Stimulating environments through which communities will creatively learn, work and solve problems together by sharing cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional, and technical experiences; and
   5. Collaborating with local government organizations throughout the United States that share similar interests.
2. A reciprocal Letter of Intent (LOI) from the prospective city should accompany the Sister City application for the purpose of providing information about the organization and reasoning for the proposed relationship.
3. The Cerritos -based community organization will be required to file as a nonprofit organization and obtain a tax exempt 501( c)( 3) status within 120 days. The charter of the non- profit organization should be specific to the Sister City relationship and should detail its goals and objectives.
4. A membership list of all officers and members of the Cerritos -based community organization shall be submitted to the City. The membership must be open to all Cerritos community members and consist of a majority of Cerritos residents totaling not less than fifty one percent pursuant to this Policy.