HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-07-29 Packet - SpecialJuly 29, 2009
4:00 a.m.
WORK STUDY SESSION
1. ROLL CALL
2. WORK STUDY SESSION
a. CHECK-I: New Member Comments Regarding Strategic Planning Process
and Group Discussion
b. Report by the City Manager and Discussion of Summit Meeting with City,
County, School (CCS) Regarding Local Government Funding Issues, and
State Take-Away Impacts on City of Ukiah
C. Discussion regarding City of Ukiah Next Steps and Future Actions to Address
Current and Future Financial Issues.
d. Further Discussion on Above Topics, as Desired
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
4. ADJOURNMENT
Please be advised that the City needs to be notified 24 hours in advance of a meeting if any specific accommodations or
interpreter services are needed in order for you to attend. The City complies with ADA requirements and will attempt to
reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities upon request.
Materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for
public inspection at the front counter at the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, CA 95482, during normal business
hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm
I hereby certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing agenda was posted on the
bulletin board at the main entrance of the City of Ukiah City Hall, located at 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, California, not less than
24 hours prior to the meeting set forth on this agenda.
Dated this 24th day of July, 2009.
JoAnne Currie, City Clerk
Item 2b
July 29, 2009
Summit on State Governance and Fiscal Reform
July 17-18, 2009
Cities Coufzties Schools (CCS) Partnership
REBUILDING CALIFORNIA
From the Ground Lp
California government is broken.
The failure to adopt a sustainable budget is only the most obvious manifestation of a
dysfunctional state government. The State is not investing in the future, whether in
needed infrastructure, economic development, or in education. New laws and regulations
are piled on without balancing costs against any clear added value. Long-term
implications of current actions are ignored. Urgent current problems go unaddressed.
The inherent strength of community level governments is dissipated.
Some say that "politics has failed us." Others focus on the failure of the structure of
government and the institutional rules within which State Government operates.
Whatever the perspective, it is clear that there must be a new and better way of governing
a large, complex and dynamic state.
The local governments of California are the key to the solution. The Core Principle of
any successful reform is that each level of government and each agency of government
must be given the authority and the resources to do what it does best. We can restore
functional state and local governments only by aligning authority, responsibility,
resources and accountability.
A more effective State Government requires more effective cities, counties and school
districts. The CCS Partnership offers a set of possible principles to guide reform efforts
and a series of reform options that embody those principles. We invite a continuing
conversation about whether these or other options are best.
We encourage a vigorous debate about how to rebuild California government. There can
be no doubt, however, that substantial reform is necessary and that it must be done from
the ground up--building a stronger foundation of community government.
SuglZested Principles and Reform Options for Discussion
1. Responsive and Accountable Local Governments. Local governments should have
broad authority, subject to voter- approval for bonds and tax increases, to raise and
expend a diverse and broad set of revenues necessary to provide critical local
services. Concentrating these decisions at the local level will ensure greater
transparency and accountability to the voters.
July 2, 2009
a) Option-Protect Local Revenue Sources: The state should not be able to
divert or borrow local tax revenues to fund state programs or state mandated
services.
b) Option-Change Requirements for Approval of Local Taxes: Existing law
requires voter approval of local general taxes (majority), special taxes (2/3),
and parcel taxes (2/3). The reform options could include:
(1) Option-Approve Local Taxes With <2/3 Vote: Given the active
involvement of voters in all decisions on local taxes, the 2/3 threshold for
voter approval of taxes or bonds should be reduced (e.g., the current 55%
vote for school bonds).
(2) Option-Approve Local Taxes Without Voter Approval: Local
elected governing bodies should be authorized to approve increases in
local taxes without the requirement of seeking prior voter approval,
subject to voter referenda.
C) Option-Allow Regional or County-wide Taxes for Regional Services with
Voter Approval. Authorize counties, schools, cities, or any combination
thereof to seek voter approval to levy income, sales, property (parcel or ad
valorem within some limit), utility, vehicle or business taxes to finance
important countywide or regional education, health, human services, public
safety, environmental, or other services.
2. State Preemption of Local Control. Local control should be the rule and state
preemption the exception.
a) Option-Require Findings and Supermaiority Vote to Preempt Local Control:
When state preemption of local regulatory, taxation and other local powers is
deemed necessary, the legislature should make specific findings setting forth
the reasons and necessity of having a statewide rule or program, and the
preemptive statute should only be adopted with a supermajority legislative
vote of both the Assembly and Senate. Implied preemption of local control
should be prohibited.
3. Enhanced Protection from State Mandates. Local governments need additional
protection from state mandates that attempt to micromanage local affairs.
a) Option-Modernize Mandate Claims Process: Reform the existing state
mandate claims process to remove unreasonable burdens and delays on local
agencies seeking. to recover costs.
b) Option-Require Mandate Reimbursement Even if Local Fees Possible:
Prohibit the state from avoiding mandate claims by prohibiting the state from
requiring local governments to pass on costs through local fees.
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4. Personnel Policies and Pensions. All local governments should have broad
authority and flexibility in personnel matters.
a) Option-Allow Local Control of Employee Retirement Benefits: All local
governments, including schools, should be able to design and implement their
own appropriate pension and post-retirement health benefits program,
including the ability to establish new benefit tiers for new hires and to
implement cost-saving measures otherwise allowed by the constitution.
5. Focus on Outcomes in Mate Funding of Locally Delivered Services. When local
agencies administer state programs and mandates with state funds, they should be
held accountable for the measureable outcomes and given extensive administrative
flexibility over the means and methods chosen by local leaders to achieve those
outcomes.
a) Option-Expand Block Grants: Make greater use of block grant programs
that give local government flexibility in the administration of state funded
services.
b) Option-Allow Contracting for Services and Reward Innovation; Remove
obstacles to contracting out services as opposed to using employees of the
local agency. Create financial incentives for lowering administrative
overhead.
6. Modernize State Budgeting. The state budget process should be modernized to
reflect the best practices in state financial management from across the country.
a) Option-Institute Performance-Based Budgeting and Prudent Reserves:
Implement best practices in performance-based, multi-year budgeting and
establish prudent reserves in order to achieve measurable outcomes and
improved stability during periods of financial turmoil.
b) Option-Require New Funding for New Mandates: New programs or
mandated funding obligations should be approved only if the budget
authorizes a new, dedicated, reliable and adequate funding source or explicitly
provides for measurable offsetting savings in state or local operations.
c) Option-Require New Funding Sources for Statewide Ballot Measures that
Impose New Obligations: Every new ballot measure that imposes new funding
obligations on state or local governments should authorize a new, dedicated
and reliable funding source or provide for measurable offsetting savings in
state or local operations to finance the entire cost of the new obligations.
d) Option-Change Requirements for Legislative Approval of State Budget and
Tax Increases. Current law requires a 2/3 vote of the state legislature to
approve a state budget or increase taxes. Possible reforms of this requirement
include:
(1) Option-Require Voter Approval of State Tax Increases. All state tax
increases should be approved by less than a 2/3 vote of the electorate
before taking effect.
(2) Option-Reduce Vote Required for Legislative Approval of State
Budget and Tax Increases. The 2/3 vote of the state legislature
required to approve a state budget and increase taxes should be
reduced.
(3) Option-Reduce Vote Required for State Budget Only: The
Legislature should be authorized to approve the state budget with less
than a 2/3 vote but the 2/3 vote required to increase taxes should be
retained.
7e Update the State and Local Revenue Systems. The laws governing the major state
and local tax revenues should be regularly updated and revised to reflect the
transformation to a service-based economy and the tax equity concerns that have
arisen over time.
a) OptionModernize the Sales Tax: Broaden the sales tax base to cover major
services and lower the rate to ensure a revenue neutral effect in the short-term.
b) Option-Equalize Tax Inequities Among Similar Property Owners. Over
time equalize inequities in property values among similar property tax payers
that have arisen based on differences in the date of property acquisition.
8. Governance and Responsiveness. State government should periodically review and
recommend improvements to the structure, functions and financing of state
government operations in order to assure citizens that decisions are being made and
services are being delivered in the most responsive and efficient manner possible.
a) Option-Require Periodic Legislative Reauthorization of Existin Pro rg_ams:
At least every 10 years the Legislative Analyst should identify for the
legislature those state programs that have increased in cost at a rate faster than
state revenue growth or some other relevant factor or which for reasons of
inefficiency or ineffectiveness should be the subject of legislative oversight
and reauthorization. Upon completion of the evaluation of the programs by the
LAO and the legislature, the continuation of the programs should be
contingent upon reauthorization and funding by the legislature.
b) Option- Require Voter Approval for Reauthorization of Fast-Growing
Programs. Except for federally mandated services and programs, upon
completion of the evaluation of programs by the LAO and the legislature, the
legislature shall not appropriate any funds for a program it reauthorizes in
excess of the average state revenue growth unless it is first approved by the
voters.
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9. Organization of the State Legislature: The legislature should be modernized in
order to achieve greater effectiveness and responsiveness to the priorities of the
people of the state, including changes in how legislators are elected, limits on the
length of their terms, the duration of the legislative session, and the way in which the
legislature operates.
a) Option--Reform Term Limits: Term limits should be eliminated or reformed
to extend the length of service of members of the legislature. As a result of
the rapid turnover of representatives in the current system, a large number of
representatives are always new and inexperienced. This has resulted in a loss
of historical memory, a system where representatives feel more loyalty to their
respective parties than to the constituents that elected them, and a greater
concentration of power among unelected staff members and lobbyists.
b) Option-Institute Open Primaries: The ideological extremes in the state
legislature have impeded the accomplishment of the people's business, and a
system of nonpartisan open primaries should be approved by the voters, such
as SCA 4 ("Two Top Primaries Act") approved by the legislature in February
2009 for the June 2010 ballot. Voters should be able to vote for any state or
congressional candidate in the primary, regardless of the voter's party
registration, and the top two vote getters, regardless of party, should compete
in the general election.
c) Option-Increase Legislative Transparency: Public confidence in the
legislature has declined in part due to the fact it operates largely in secret. The
legislature should function under the same open meetings and open records
requirements as local governments, and no legislation should be enacted
without being first published and publicly available for at least 24 hours prior
to action.
d) Option-Shorten Legislative Sessions and Financially Reward Time in
District: The legislative session should be shortened (e.g., 90 - 180 days per
year), and legislators should receive a financial incentive to hold hearings and
spend time in their districts meeting with constituents rather than in
Sacramento.
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