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Home My WebLink About01/28/2002 BAKERSFIELD Alan Tandy, City I~t~nager Sue Benham, Chair Staff: Trudy Slater David Couch Jacquie Sullivan AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMI'I=rEE Regular Meeting Monday, January 28, 2002 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room 1. ROLL CALL Called to order at 1:06 p.m. Members present: Councilmember Sue Benham, Chair Councilmember David Couch Councilmember Jacquie Sullivan, arriving 1:10 p.m. 2. ADOPT NOVEMBER 19, 2001 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None. 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. REVIEW, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO SUBCOMMITTEE'S REVIEW OF ANNEXATION PROCEDURES Committee Chairperson Sue Benham thanked all those who had participated in the dialogue leading to the proposal being presented at the meeting. Deputy City Attorney Virginia Gennaro explained the purpose of the handout. Several topics were brought out in the following discussion. Included in the items discussed was the issue of bundling annexations. Committee Member Couch explained that households non- contiguous to each other could be included in the same annexation area only if 100% of the property owners agreed they wanted to be annexed and the affirmation had to be in writing. This would eliminate the necessity for spending thousands of taxpayers dollars in separate annexation efforts when much less expense would be incurred in a situation where they could cost effectively be combined into one. Committee Member Agenda Summary Report Legislative and Litigation Committee January 28, 2002 Page 2 Couch and other Committee members felt that there was a need for some flexibility as every annexation and every meeting would not be the same. County residents expressed concerns over the divisiveness within a community this could develop, the need for safety checks within the process, timing of informational meetings, and when an individual could request a public meeting. In response to County resident concerns over the statement that a "majority" of FAQ's would be included in annexation information, Committee Chairperson Benham suggested the wording be changed to "standard questions' would appear. Further discussion determined a broad-based statement of intent to use in mailers and public informational meetings was best rather than spelling out specific measures. Committee Chairperson Benham, Committee Member Couch, and Committee Member Sullivan concurred that with the changes agreed upon by the Committee members, the proposal was to be forwarded to Council for its approval. Committee Member Couch indicated his desire for a resolution seeking Bakersfield State legislator authorship of proposed legislation giving the City of Bakersfield a permanent place on the LAFCo board. Committee members concurred and directed staff to forward this to Council for approval. 5, NEW BUSINESS A,REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION REGARDING OPPOSITION TO AB 680: LAND USE: SALES TAX AND PROPERTY TAX REVENUE ALLOCATION Administrative Analyst Trudy Slater noted AB 680, AB 100 and AB 1076 were all bills which had been held in the Assembly from the prior year and that they would "die" at this point unless they passed out of committee and passed by the Assembly prior to the January 31 deadline. City Attorney Bart Thiltgen explained the negative impacts AB 680's proposed sales tax redistribution would have upon the City if such a law were expanded statewide. A motion was made, seconded and carried by the Committee for staff to move forward in notifying Bakersfield State legislators of the City's opposition to AB 680. B. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SUPPORT FOR AB 100: PROPERTY TAX REVENUE SHIFTS: LIMITATION AND AB 1076: LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE (ERAF BILLS) City Attorney Thiltgen explained that AB100 and AB1076, which attempt to "cap" the effects of the original ERAF1992-93 legislation, currently have language within them which detracts from the efficacy of the bills. Concerns within these bills include: a) the 3% reserve tied to the revenue forecast which provides an opportunity for gamesmanship within the forecasting process and b) the relationship to the CPI. Property tax growth is less than the CPI and thus over time revenues will diminish. The Committee directed staff to write letters of support to Bakersfield Assemblymembers indicating City support should the offending sections be amended. Agenda Summa~ Report Legislative and Litigation Committee Janua~ 28,2002 Page 3 C. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION REGARDING 2002 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM Administrative Analyst Trudy Slater explained that one change to the 2001 Legislative Platform was being suggested to ensure that the Platform reflected current legislative priorities for the City of Bakersfield. It was suggested that paragraph four under General Government be deleted and replaced with new language. The existing language, "Support legislation or a constitutional amendment that provides permanent fiscal relief for cities in light of the State budget surplus", would be replaced with .... Support legislation or a constitutional amendment that returns local government revenues previously captured by the State and limits the State's authority to access · revenues which traditionally fund city services, including, but not limited to, property tax, vehicle license fees, and sales tax." The Committee voted unanimously to approve the Platform as proposed. The proposed 2002 Legislative Platform will be forwarded to Council for approval. 6. COMMITrEE COMMENTS None. 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m. Staff Attendees: City Manager Alan Tandy, Assistant City Manager John Stinson, Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen, Administrative Analyst Trudy Slater, City Clerk Pam McCarthy; City Attorney Bart Thiltgen, Deputy City Attorney Virginia Gennaro Other Attendees: Ray Allen, Barbara Fowler, Barbara Fields, Liz Keogh, Ginger Wells, Becky Kaiser, and Raegan Kaiser (LO20128. MIN)