Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/05/2006 'B A K E R S F I E L D ~" ~ Zack Scrivner, Chair Staff: Alan Christensen Sue Benham For: Alan Tandy, City Manager David Couch AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, January 5, 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 OCTOBER 17, 2005 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Staff update on Community Prosecutor Program City Attorney Gennaro gave a report on the six-month pilot Community Prosecutor Program, which began July 1, 2005. Two outside firms were given six-month contracts to prosecute 24 hours per week at the Kern County District Attorney's Office. Approximately 450 cases were disposed of in six months. The cost of the two outsouming contracts was $159,120 at an average cost of $354 per case. The necessary funding is not available in the City Attorney's budget to continue the program in its current format. However, the program could be continued in-house and at the same time significantly reduce the cost per case. Due to the success of the program, City Attorney Gennaro recommended the Community Prosecution Program continue and become a permanent element of the City Attorney's Office. The goal of the program would not be to prosecute all of the LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 2 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Thursday, January 5, 2006 misdemeanors cited by the Bakersfield Police Department, but rather, to focus on misdemeanor citations of the Bakersfield Municipal Code and quality of life crimes as designated by this Committee and approved by the City Council. A list of sample crimes that could be handled by the Community Prosecution Program was reviewed. Several cities including Glendale, Riverside, Modesto, Stockton and Fresno have at least one attorney, if not more, handling quality of life crimes in-house. Police Captain Taylor expressed the program has worked very well, even better than was anticipated. Committee Member Benham made a motion the Committee recommend to the City Council that the Community Prosecution Program be continued and made a permanent program in the City Attorney's Office with a focus on quality of life crimes. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Review and Committee recommendation on reapportionment procedures Assistant City Manager Christensen provided an overview of the current procedures to adjust ward boundaries. When populations in any ward exceed a given percentage, staff develops a number of alternative boundary adjustments for the City Council to review to get the process started. Based upon comments from the City Council, different versions of the proposed ward boundary maps are prepared for Councilmembers to review. The item is then placed back on the Council agenda for discussion and/or action. There was a referral to this Committee regarding forming an ad hoc committee appointed by the Council to do the initial reapportionment work now being done by the Council. The ad hoc committee would analyze, make changes to ward boundaries and make its recommendations to the Council. According to the City Charter, the Council would still be the body responsible to approve and adopt the ward boundaries. Committee Chair Scrivner provided a sheet with suggested criteria on forming an ad hoc committee on reapportionment. He suggested if an ad hoc committee were formed, it have five members, so there would not be an impression that each Councilmember were represented separately. Committee Member Couch requested more time to review the criteria for forming an ad hoc committee on reapportionment, as the list of criteria was not available in time for packet delivery. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 3 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Thursday, January 5, 2006 Committee Member Benham expressed she felt the process currently in place works well and the public's interest has been well served. She further expressed she was not in favor of forming an ad hoc committee on reapportionment due to the burden that would be placed on staff to train the members. However, she was in agreement with discussing it further at the Committee level. Due to the time frame for completing the current reapportionment, everyone agreed there was not enough time for the Council to form a committee and get the committee brought up to speed for the current process. City Attorney Gennaro explained the Charter only calls for reapportionment every decade. Due to public interest, it would be in the Council's best interest to complete the process that has been started. However, the City Attorney recommended reapportionment not be done again until the year 2010. Committee Chair Scrivner with the agreement of the Committee Members requested staff to bring the issue back to the Committee for further review. B. Discussion and Committee recommendation on Noise Ordinance City Attorney Gennaro gave a report on vehicle stereo noise ordinances. In response to the referral request, the Cities of Fresno and Los Angeles were contacted for their ordinances. However, Bakersfield's ordinances provide for protection from more sources of noise than either Los Angeles' or Fresno's. The City Attorney explained that if the noise is coming from a vehicle operating on a public street, those violations fall under the California Vehicle Code. Cities and counties are prohibited from enacting legislation, which is already addressed in the Vehicle Code. Mr. Hipolito Rocha spoke and explained that the loud stereo noise he is able to hear inside his home is coming from vehicles parked on the street, vehicles parked in the Jack In The Box Restaurant parking lot on the corner of Colony and Panama Lane, and from a house two doors down. The Jack In The Box is open 24 hours a day. He has called the Police Department many times, but it is a Iow- priority call and they cannot respond before the vehicles leave the area. He has a decibel meter and is able to record the readout. Police Captain Taylor said he will have the officers who patrol that area check for car stereo noise as they go by the Jack In The Box and will also have an officer contact the offending neighbor. The City Attorney's Office will write a letter to the Jack In The Box and to the neighbor playing the loud music if the police officer feels it is necessary after the neighbor has been contacted. The Committee took no further action on the noise ordinance. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 4 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Thursday, January 5, 2006 C. Discussion and Committee recommendation on 2006 Committee meeting schedule The Committee unanimously adopted the 2006 meeting schedule. The Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. on the following dates, which are subject to change if needed due to other scheduling conflicts: February 14 March 14 April 18 May 16 June 13 July 18 August 15 September 12 October 10 November 14 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m. Staff: City Manager Alan Tandy; City Attorney Ginny Gennaro; Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen; Development Services Director Stan Grady; City Clerk Pam McCarthy; Assistant City Attorney Janice Scanlan; and Police Captain Tim Taylor Others present: James Burger, reporter, The Bakersfield Californian; and Hipolito R. Rocha cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~C\06 Legislative&Litigation~LL 06 jan 05 summary, doc