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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/14/2006 B :A K'~.E R ..S 'F I E L. D St(afl'.' ~,tan~'hristensen Sue Benham For: Alan Tandy, City Manager David Couch AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, February 14, 2006 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room, Suite 201 Second Floor - City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 1. ROLL CALL Called to Order at 1:05 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Zack Scrivner, Chair; Sue Benham; and David Couch 2. ADOPT JANUARY 5, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Discussion and Committee recommendation on proposed amendments to the fireworks ordinance and related fees City Attorney Gennaro provided an overview of the memorandum and draft ordinances in the Committee packet regarding Chapter 8.44, which, is the Municipal Code section on Fireworks and Chapter 15.64 regarding the City's ordinance on enforcement under the Uniform Fire Code. On October 17, 2005, the Legislative and Litigation approved the formation of an Ad Hoc Fireworks Task Force. The Fireworks Task Force headed by Councilmember Scrivner and Supervisor Watson has met several times and the Task Force's suggestions are incorporated into the ordinances. Jrl general, the changes deal with efforts to make the ordinances consistent with the County's, regulate the days and hours that fireworks can be sold, and the days and hours that fireworks can be used by the public. The amount of LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 2 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, February 14, 2006 enforcement and public education are proposed to be increased and the cost of these increased efforts to be added to the fireworks permit fees. The fines in the Municipal Code for violations of the Fireworks Ordinance are proposed to be increased from $500 to the maximum State allowed fine of $1,000; with an option to be added to include administrative enforcement fines up to $1,500. Subsequent to the meetings with the Fireworks Task Force, City staff met with the County and in order to be consi§tent made minor changes to the hours of use of "safe and sane" fireworks. Days and hours "safe and sane" fireworks may be sold: 1. On July 1 between the hours of 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m. 2. On July 2 and July 3 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 3. On July 4 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:01 a.m. of the next day. Except for licensed pyrotechnicians, "safe and sane" fireworks may be used: 1. On July 1 between the hours of 12:00 noon to 12:01 a.m. of the next day. 2. On July 2 and July 3 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:01 a.m. of the next day. 3.On July 4 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. of the next day. 4. On December 31, between the hours of 12:00 noon to 12:30 a.m. of the next day. Fire Chief Fraze expressed that the above dates and times are a good workable compromise. City Attorney Gennaro suggested the Committee forward one version of the ordinances relating to Chapters 8.44 and 15.64 to the Council for first reading on February 22nd and second reading on March 8th. The ordinances will go into effect 30 days after adoption. The fees could also be adopted on March 8th and be in place for the upcoming fireworks season. Also, Councilmember Scrivner and Supervisor Watson have requested fireworks regulations be put on the agenda for a staff presentation at the Joint City/County meeting on February 27th. Committee Chair Scrivner opened up the floor for public comments. Committee Member Benham made a motion to approve the amendments to the ordinances as recommended by the Task Force with the changes worked out with the County. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. Staff will forward the administrative report and ordinances to the Council. 5. NEW BUSINESS A, Discussion and Committee recommendation on elimination of the City Council Intergovernmental Relations Committee At the January 25, 2006, City Council meeting, the Council voted to make the Ad Hoc Committee on Crime, Gang Violence and Community Relations a standing LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 3 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, February 14, 2006 Council committee and to change the name to Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee. The Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee has the same membership as the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, as Chair of both committees, Councilmember Carson requested the Legislation and Litigation Committee to review the need for the Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The main function of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee was to prioritize agenda items for the Joint City/County meetings, which occur twice a year. After discussion, Committee Member Benham made a motion to recommend elimination of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee and made a referral to staff regarding how the work previously performed by the Intergovernmental Relations Committee should be handled. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. B. Discussion and Committee recommendation on new law (AB 1234) requirements regarding City Council Compensation City Attorney Gennaro gave an overview of the memorandum in the packet. The State Legislature passed a new law, AB 1234, which became effective January 1,2006, and requires cities that provide reimbursement for expenses to adopt a formal written policy. The policy is required to specify the types of occurrences that would qualify Councilmembers to receive reimbursement for meals, travel and lodging. As a subcomponent, the policy needs to outline the specific rates for reimbursement. Another subcomponent is a requirement that Councilmembers are to complete expense reports and these expense reports are subject to public record disclosure. If reimbursement is received by a Councilmember for attending a meeting, that Councilmember is required to give a brief report at the subsequent Council meeting. In addition, the new law requires Councilmembers who receive reimbursement to complete a two-hour ethics class once every two years. This training must be completed before January 1, 2007; however, this does not apply to Councilmembers whose terms expire before January 1,2007. The ethics class is to be developed by the Attorney General's Office in conjunction with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The City Attorney and City Clerk will be watching for information, but as yet there is not any approved class. The League of California Cities is planning to include the class as part of their annual conferences. City Attorney Gennaro provided a sample resolution and recommended that the Committee forward a resolution to the Council, as AB 1234 became effective on January 1st. The resolution could be referred back to this Committee to be amended or supplemented to further define reimbursable expenses and other policy issues. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 4 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, February 14, 2006 Committee Member Benham made a motion to recommend that the City Attorney forward a resolution to adopt a policy regarding Councilmember reimbursement for expenses with a request for referral back to the Committee for further review. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:08 p.m. Staff: City Manager Alan Tandy; City Attorney Ginny Gennaro; Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen; Assistant City Manager John Stinson; Fire Chief Ron Fraze; City Clerk Pam McCarthy; City Treasurer Cheryl Perkins; and Fire Captain Steve Hollon Others present: James Burger and Dianne Hardisty, The Bakersfield Califomian; Ryne Conder and Scoff Allen, Phantom Fireworks; Louis Kerker, Kern County Shrine Club; Michael Spitzer, Valley Baptist Church; John Singleterry; Jim Wilson, TNT Fireworks; Dennis Revell, Revell Communications; Joel L. Janes, CCL Elk Lodge cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~AC\06 Legislative&Litigation\LL 06 feb 14 summary.doc