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CC 2014-01-14_09.a. Proposed City Charter o� p,RRO YO C INCORPORATED 92 * JULY 10, 1811 Q4<<F010%% MEMORANDUM TO: CITY COUNCIL FROM: STEVEN ADAMS, CITY MANAGER 04 SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER DATE: JANUARY 14, 2014 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended the City Council: 1) hold a public hearing on the proposed City Charter; 2) review the recommendations of the City Charter Advisory Committee; 3) receive community comments and suggestions and provide direction on any changes to the recommended proposed charter; 4) direct staff to proceed with the process of placing a charter measure on the ballot at the election to be held on November 4, 2014 by scheduling an additional public hearing; and 5) appropriate $10,000 for public education efforts. IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES: The cost impact of the recommendation is $10,000, which is recommended to be paid from the General Fund unappropriated fund balance. The additional cost of placing the measure on the November ballot is estimated to be approximately $5,000. If successful and if the recently adopted statute known as S137 (Chapter 794, Statutes of 2013) is ultimately invalidated, it is estimated that the measure could result in savings of $50,000 to $200,000 annually. The City Council may want to consider an additional appropriation for further public educations efforts if it is ultimately decided to place the measure on the ballot. Placing a measure on the ballot will require a substantial amount of staff time. However, it was identified in the City's major citywide goals for FY 2013-14. BACKGROUND: In California, there are two types of cities — general law cities and charter cities. The authority of a general law city is derived from the powers granted to it by the general laws adopted by the State Legislature and from the police power granted to it by the State Constitution. A charter city derives its powers directly from the State Constitution, subject to enactments of the legislature on matters of statewide concern. Charter cities maintain authority over matters determined to be municipal affairs. Item 9.a. - Page 1 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 2 A charter is a set of bylaws, which acts as a local constitution for the city. Pursuant to State Law, a charter may only be adopted, amended or repealed by a majority vote of the City's residents (reference Government Code Sections 34450 et seq.). The City of Arroyo Grande is currently a general law city. There are over 120 charter cities in California, which amounts to more than 25%. At the January 24, 2012 meeting, staff presented recommendations to address the projected budget shortfall at that time. One of the strategies was to place on the November 6, 2012 ballot a measure that would establish a city charter. The City Council directed staff to prepare a draft charter for City Council review and consideration. Government Code Section 344580) requires that two public hearings be held prior to placing a city charter measure on the ballot. The first draft was presented to the City Council at an initial public hearing at the April 24, 2012 meeting. At Council's direction, changes were incorporated and presented at a second public hearing on June 12, 2012. At that time, the City Council decided to postpone placing the measure on the ballot and directed staff to present recommendations for a more thorough public participation process. At the July 10, 2012 meeting, the City Council approved the public participation process, which included establishing a City Charter Advisory Committee. The purpose of the makeup of the committee was to provide a broad range of community representation. As a result, the City Charter Advisory Committee included the following individuals and representation: Judith Bean Chamber of Commerce Representative Tom Goss Arroyo Grande in Bloom Representative Patricia Hardy Rotary/Kiwanis Representative Vard Ikeda Agriculture Representative Kirk Scott South County Historical Society Representative Randy Steiger Village Improvement Association Representative Bob Lund Mayor Ferrara Appointee Zachary Hall Council Member Guthrie Appointee Andrea Montes Council Member Costello Appointee Duke Sterling Council Member Brown Appointee John Keen Council Member Ray Appointee Judith Bean was elected Chair and John Keen was elected Vice Chair. The purpose of the City Charter Advisory Committee was to develop recommendations on the draft City Charter and whether or not to proceed to place a measure on the ballot. The Committee began meeting in March 2013. Seven Item 9.a. - Page 2 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 3 meetings were held. All meetings were open to the public, publicly noticed, and a number of individuals attended the meetings and provided input. ANALYSIS OF ISSUES: Purpose The California Constitution vests charter cities with authority over municipal affairs, significantly strengthening their home rule. There is no precise definition of the term "municipal affair." Whether a given activity is a municipal affair over which a charter city has sovereignty or a statewide concern over which the legislature has authority is a question of law. A charter city has many options when considering how to handle municipal affairs. Activities which the courts have determined are municipal affairs include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Construction and maintenance contracting; 2. Land use; 3. City finances; and 4. City government structure. By adopting a charter, the City will have far greater flexibility in the operations of its municipal government, which, if properly utilized, can translate to greater efficiency, effectiveness and innovation. Process Two required public hearings have been held. However, given the change in the process, changes to the recommended City Charter, and the time that has lapsed since it was last discussed, staff recommends the process start again. Therefore, this meeting would be the first required public hearing. SB 311 (Chapter 184, Statutes of 2013), which was recently approved by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor, amended Government Code Sections 34457 and 34458 and now requires any proposed city charter to be placed on the ballot of a statewide general election. The City Charter Advisory Committee utilized the draft City Charter prepared by staff and modified by the City Council as a base document for development of their recommendations. They reviewed and discussed each section. Recommended changes were made where they determined to be desirable, which were voted upon. They then considered overall strategies of how and whether to proceed. City Charter Advisory Committee Recommendations A copy of the draft City Charter with changes made by the City Charter Advisory Committee is attached. The following is a summary of the changes: Item 9.a. - Page 3 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 4 • Language was added to the preamble to emphasize the goal of preserving the City's small town character and agricultural heritage. • Language limiting the City's powers, rights and responsibilities under the charter to only those expressly described was moved to the Municipal Affairs section for clarification and to avoid conflicting language. • The Elections section was modified to specify that the only additional authority provided by the charter with regard to elections is to enable the City to use mail- in or other electronic voting systems for special elections other than those to amend the charter. • Alternate language was recommended under the Public Works Contracts section to grant the City power to establish alternative standards, procedures, rules and regulations for public projects in specified areas rather than fully exempting the City from the State Public Works Contract Code. • Language under the Prevailing Wage section specifying that the City would not pay prevailing wage on contracts except in certain circumstances was replaced with language granting the City Council the authority to establish criteria and guidelines for determining when payment of prevailing wages will apply to contracts. • A section was added to clarify that prevailing wage provisions are consistent with SB 7 and will only become operational if SB 7 is determined to be invalid by the courts. The City Charter Advisory Committee recommended the City Council proceed to place a measure on the November 4, 2014 ballot to consider the proposed City Charter as drafted. Prevailing Wage The most significant item involving the charter is the issue of prevailing wage requirements. A number of representatives from various labor union organizations spoke at City Charter Advisory Committee meetings in opposition to any provisions modifying State prevailing wage requirements. The revised draft City Charter would not prohibit or preclude requirements to pay prevailing wage on public works projects. It would simply provide the City Council the authority to make that determination rather than the State Legislature. The purpose of providing increased flexibility to the City on prevailing wage requirements is to ensure projects are constructed in the most cost effective manner. The proposed language would enable the City Council to establish guidelines Item 9.a. - Page 4 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 5 whereby prevailing wage requirements could be applied when determined to be in the best interest of the City and also waived when determined to be more cost efficient for other projects. Staffs research indicates that State prevailing wage requirements increase costs of public works projects by 5% to 30% on the average. The most conclusive information was provided by the City of Dinuba, which established a charter in 1994. They bid a water tower project as non-prevailing wage and the cost increased by over 14% after they received grant funding and had to modify the contract to meet prevailing wage requirements. A consultant hired by Dinuba to survey other cities that had incorporated non-prevailing wage provisions into their charter "found most cities saw a savings of between 20% and 30% on public works projects." The City of Santa Maria recently rebid their street sweeping contract in order to comply with provisions of SB 7 and experienced a 33% increase in the cost from the low bidder. SB 7 One of the concerns identified by the City Council when the draft City Charter was originally considered was an ongoing State Supreme Court case involving prevailing wage requirements. On July 2, 2012, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in State Building and Constructions Trades Councils of California, AFL — CIO v. City of Vista. The court held that locally funded public works projects performed by chartered cities are municipal affairs under the California Constitution and, as a result, the wages paid to workers on charter city projects are not subject to California's prevailing wage law. Shortly following the ruling, the State legislature proposed and later approved SB 7, which prohibits a charter city from receiving or using State funding or financial assistance for a construction project if the city has a voter-approved charter provision or ordinance that authorizes a contractor to not comply with State prevailing wage requirements on local construction projects funded by (non-State) city funds. The Governor signed the bill in October 2013. The bill is now expected to be contested in court. Due to its inconsistency with the City of Vista ruling, the City Attorney's Office review concluded that it is likely to be invalidated. However, it could take several years before the constitutionality of S67 is finally decided by the courts. If the City Council determines it is in the best interest of the City to proceed with a city charter measure, one of the primary issues for consideration then becomes whether to place the measure on the ballot at the next general election or to wait until the validity of SB 7 is determined by the courts. The City Attorney's Office has prepared a recommended section added to the draft City Charter that sets forth that provisions regarding prevailing wage will only be operational if SB 7 is upheld in court. It also includes language that enables the section to be deleted at that time. This provision enables the City Council to proceed with the charter measure at this time if it prefers not to wait until the issue is finally decided. I Item 9.a. - Page 5 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 6 Public Works Contracts The City Charter Advisory Committee determined there are benefits of utilizing the State Public Works Contract Code to avoid the need by the City to entirely establish its own policies and procedures. As a result, rather than exempting the City from the entire State Public Works Contract Code, they instead recommended language that would authorize the City to establish its own standards, procedures, rules or regulations for those areas where staff identified it could result in significant improvements. These areas include the ability to establish the City's own criteria for determining award of public works contract bids, to accept gifts and donations of material or labor, and to use in-house staff or coordinate with other public agencies to construct public works projects. These changes would better enable the City to reject bids from contractors with a history of low quality work, more easily accept work provided by local contractors at reduced rates as part of community project efforts, and to construct small scale projects more efficiently. City Council Salaries A common concern of city charter measures and a claim made in a mailer to Arroyo Grande residents by.opponents to the draft City Charter is that it would enable council members to raise their own pay. This is due partly to the fact that the City of Bell used their city charter to help carry out their salary increase abuses. The draft City Charter addresses this through .Section 204, which states that the salary.of the Mayor and Council Members shall continue to be set pursuant to the Stae law applicable to general law cities. Therefore, there will be no change. It should also be noted to the public that the City Council could already increase their compensation because it is well below what is allowed for general law cities. However, no adjustments to Council compensation have been made since 2000. Tax Increases Another concern stemming from abuses in the City of Bell is the ability of charter cities to increase taxes. This is also addressed in the draft City Charter in Section 102, which specifies that the City Charter does not provide any authority for new or increased taxes beyond that provided to general law cities. City Powers and Rights Granted by the City Charter A concern discussed by the City Charter Advisory Committee was language previously added to the draft City Charter by the City Council, which specifies that the City Council may not establish by ordinance any powers, rights, and responsibilities that are not expressly described in the City Charter. The purpose of the language is to address any potential public concern that the City Charter provides the City Council authority that could be abused in the future. A concern with this language is that it reduces the benefits of being a charter city because it will eliminate any authority the City may have in the future to avoid new requirements the State may impose that are considered municipal affairs if they are not already spelled out in the City Charter. However, the City Charter Advisory Committee did not make any I Item 9.a. - Page 6 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 7 recommendation to delete the language and for clarification it was added to Section 100 in order to avoid any conflict with other language in that section. Public Education It is proposed a professional public relations-firm be contracted to prepare a mailer to provide basic education on key issues related to the draft City Charter and to clarify any claims made by the recent mailer distributed to City residents. As a result, it is proposed to communicate a simple message on only key points. Information proposed would include the following points: • The purpose of proposing a city charter is to increase local control from the State of California. • The City has undertaken extensive efforts to involve the public in an open and transparent process. • The City Charter would only provide the City the additional authority specifically outlined in the City Charter and cannot be modified without a vote of the public. • The City Charter specifically prevents any additional authority to raise Council compensation. • The City Charter specifically prevents any additional authority to increase taxes. • The City Charter does not require elimination of prevailing wage requirements — it only transfers the authority to make that determination from the State Legislature to the City Council, and will duly be operative if SB 7 is found to be unconstitutional. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are provided for City Council consideration: 1. Approve staffs recommendations; 2. Delay placing the Charter on the ballot until court rulings involving SB 7 are completed; 3. Remove the prevailing wage section from the proposed City Charter; 4. Propose the draft City Charter without the prevailing wage section and place the prevailing wage clause as a separate measure on the ballot or on the ballot at a subsequent election; 5. Remove the language from the draft City Charter that specifies the City Council may not establish by ordinance any powers, rights, and responsibilities that are not expressly described in the Charter; 6. Make other changes to the draft City Charter and direct staff to proceed; 7. Direct staff to take no further action on the charter measure; or 8. Provide staff other direction. ADVANTAGES: Adopting the draft City Charter would increase the City's autonomy from the State; may enable the City to reduce the costs of capital improvements in the future; would increase the City's ability to award bids only to competent contractors; and would increase the ability to utilize in-house staff, volunteers and contractors donating work Item 9.a. - Page 7 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED CITY CHARTER JANUARY 14, 2014 PAGE 8 on capital projects. Proceeding at this time would enable the City Council to adopt its own guidelines on when to require prevailing wage rates, subject to a final ruling that SB 7 is invalid. DISADVANTAGES: There will be costs and staff time associated with placing a city charter measure on the ballot and educating the public. There will likely be strong organized opposition from labor union organizations. Since SB 7 is unresolved, it may add some confusion in educating the public regarding its impact on the provisions of the proposed City Charter. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: No environmental review is required for this item. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS: Pursuant to Government Code Section 34458, a notice of public hearing was published in The Tribune on Wednesday, December 25, 2013 and Tuesday, December 31, 2013 and posted in three public places at City Hall, Five Cities Fire Authority, and Elm Street Community Center/Recreation Services Office. In addition, the notice of public hearing was posted on the City's website. Attachment: 1. Draft City Charter Item 9.a. - Page 8 Attachment 1 CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE ARTICLE I. MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS ARTICLE II. FORM OF GOVERNMENT ARTICLE III. CONTRACTS, PUBLIC FINANCING AND FRANCHISES ARTICLE IV. REVENUE RETENTION ARTICLE V. GENERAL LAWS ARTICLE VI. INTERPRETATION PREAMBLE WE THE PEOPLE of the City of Arroyo Grande declare our intent to restore our community to the historic principles of self-governance inherent in the doctrine of home- rule. Sincerely committed to the belief that local government has the closest affinity to the people governed, and firm in the conviction that the economic and fiscal independence of our local government will promote the health, safety and welfare of all the citizens of this City and better preserve its small town character and agricultural herita e,we do hereby exercise the express right granted by the Constitution of the State of California to enact and adopt this Charter for the City of Arroyo Grande. ARTICLE I. MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS Section 100. Municipal Affairs. The City shall have full power and authority to adopt, make, exercise and enforce all legislation, laws, and regulations and to take all actions relating to municipal affairs,without limitation,which may be lawfully adopted, made, exercised, taken or enforced under the Constitution of the State of California, provided however that the City Council may not establish by Ordinance any powers, rights, and responsibilities that are not either expressly described in this Charter or allowed by State law applicable to general law cities. Without limiting in any manner the foregoing power and authority, each of the powers, rights, and responsibilities described in this Charter is hereby declared to be a municipal affair, the performance of which is unique to the benefit and welfare of the citizens of the City of Arroyo Grande. Section 101. Incorporation and Succession. The City of Arroyo Grande, in the County of San Luis Obispo, State of California, shall continue to be a municipal corporation under its present name City of Arroyo Grande. The boundaries of the City of Arroyo Grande shall continue as now established until changed in the manner authorized by law. The City of Arroyo Grande shall remain vested with and shall continue to own, have, possess, control and enjoy all property, rights of property and rights of action of every nature and description owned, had, possessed, controlled or enjoyed by it at the time this Charter takes effect, and is hereby declared to be the 1 Item 9.a. - Page 9 Attachment 1 successor of same. It shall be subject to all debts, obligations and liabilities,which exist against the municipality at the time this Charter takes effect.All lawful ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations, or portions thereof, in force at the time this Charter takes effect and not in conflict with or inconsistent herewith, are hereby continued in force until the same have been duly repealed, amended, changed or superseded by proper authority. Section 102. No Increased Power to Tax.This Charter shall not be interpreted as giving the City greater authority to raise the level of taxes or to create new taxes beyond the powers granted to general law cities nor to exempt the City from any procedures for raising the level of taxes or for creating new taxes required by the law applicable to general law cities. Section 103. Zoning and General Plan Consistency. Zoning shall continue to be to be consistent with the City's General Plan, pursuant to requirements of the State law applicable to general law cities. Deleted:Section 104. Powers Established by Ordinance. The City Council may not establish by Ordinance any powers,rights,and ARTICLE II. FORM OF GOVERNMENT responsibilities that are not either expressly described in this Charter or allowed by State law applicable to general law cities. Section 200. Form of Government.The City shall continue to be governed under this Charter by a"Council-Manager"form of government. The City Council will establish the policy of the City and the City Manager will carry out that policy. Section 201. Elected Officials.The elective officers of the City of Arroyo Grande shall be a Mayor and four Council members each of whom, including the Mayor, shall have the right to vote on all questions coming before the Council. The minimum qualifications for these offices shall be as provided by law for general law cities and any vacancy in office shall be filled in the manner provided by that law. The Mayor shall be elected at the general municipal election from the City at large. The Council members shall be elected at the general municipal election from the City at large, two being selected biennially. The term of the Mayor shall be two years and the terms of the Council members shall be four years. Section 203. Mayor. Powers and Duties. The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the City Council. As presiding officer of the Council the Mayor will faithfully communicate the will of the Council majority to the administrative officers in matters of policy. The Mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the City for all ceremonial purposes. Section 204. Council Member Compensation. The salary of the Mayor and Council Members shall continue to be set pursuant to the State law applicable to general law cities. Section 205. Elections.The City Council may approve by ordinance use of a mail-in ballot or other electronic voting ai ms for special elections, excerpt that mail-in ballot 2 Item 9.a. - Page 10 Attachment 1 or other electronic voting system elections shall not be used for elections to amend this Charter. All elections shall be held in accordance with all other provisions of the law applicable to general law cities. Deleted:¶ 4 ARTICLE III. CONTRACTS, PUBLIC FINANCING AND FRANCHISES section 205.Elections.¶ All elections shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the law applicable to general Section 300. Economic and Community Development.The City shall encourage, law cities.¶ support, and promote economic and community development and preserve and enhance the small-town and historic character of Arroyo Grande. Section 301. Public Works Contracts. f II1E)r llty fQlllQA[bg V[PY� uSu0111c M tlhE' C all1oii°Iiinia yujNllic Contract C odfP and its standards, V2rgggduj1l°aPy, I111JE)S 011-II-)gujlfftll0111S p° jtu111 te Pflddujy, fusjud 2.0c �a ffujj � E)s ally 12uj�bfl W011 11,S yllItIl-a t .f X a Pt that ... tlha. C uty,,,,§b2lll Il)Dy tlha...RQsLff t,y a stjLll„ii„ylh by 011.611 aiiICE.,Mta a lliatusa� standards, plCrga,g6jii°aPs, Iru E)S eau°II-E)gu llDtlloily for PujLl C I12EQ"(--------------- ju°aP js: ..l ut � j1l oll ii nay, byouduulailICE, a)st.”. l l ls� a„°ut u j i yu da t uuyuu till I th )Q t f 9'49ud Qf 2g[2Ilu c woiillas Contracts to tlha.' QW st uE)SPgosuPf,lk and iinoy:t. u°aPllu jll llaP IlflicidaPu° u1. ju y I u°f aPa,t js WE.flll as tllIaPu° js aPa;ts sf Ilw liddliu° j ju°d g.Ull1 Ilia ufufp usauIa EP...M ally woiijlas Contract t tlh„at it da «.Tuns to b u111 tlhf„f„ P E.'st Illl to Ilma,sts M':tlha. C uty,, Illin Iluucill,ling, but 111.01 Illlllnllta,A tea, tlhf' a QuMll §D[j 10111, Egtgs tea bE) Ilpg d Pfau°tlhaP IlwfPu°ff ii-iinaiiI E)Of SUCh W011 1la, t„i„ut f..lha C oty„yll�jllll I gya tlha. IC„tausa a to...ac a Ilat gifts and dou°aat'ii„ons, 1indujdilling d,oiinatuoiins M uuja[E.'1lJM and IIabo ,,,i„ua tlha� a,yuastuuja tii,oila oaf a,Pny ll g[)lua,, woii°Ilas. omt spat. Q„i„uut f lha. C oty„yll�jllll I gya tlha IC„tausa.a to...Vaa qmn Djly W2 1S Q f uu°f11Q rasa.u°af„a 1111 by USE' M'uts aaa 111 f011-CE.S and is 11101 urE. !L,:aad to co Itu°ja t f'a u°tll�aa a,a uastu°uja tua ua �f' "WytEol j 2: plCujll llua uutfllaEQyEflnE oft t.i.Ct f lha C ut°C 10Egy 9ll§2 g2 itiira t With fatlha a I auf„I!bfla aga .,iil ua s f'yu tlha� a 011IStu uja 1l011l. aa„fW011llas.df IlaujP)Ilua, III1lnR Qy llna ll°1t Deleted:Except as provided by ordinance or by agreement approved by the City Council,the .. City of Arroyo Grande,as a Charter City,is exempt from the provisions of the California „ Public Contract Code.The City shall have the Section 302. Prevailing Wage. power to establish standards,procedures,rules „I- jyllajall"1t � a',r"WF°u`II a'allltllrr�at i�lla!"u?r�llllll"1„ or regulations to regulate all aspects of the V y a Il ua sffulluuj f f.. V V y y rf "Wr"u"rr a.s.,shM1 r�llso rr �a all I,If bidding,award and performance of any public I works contract,including,but not limited to,the l"IV f l:gyg IIIl"WMu"ggg II,S G.P,gg y II"G.PW;i,QjIIIl and G.,:f"1111stlltQjtllf"1111M1y I�G.PII"Ili"111ttG.Pd, to IDG.P compensation rates to be paid for the performance of such work.The City shall have III the power to accept gifts and donations, aP„W pjllll"G°Pd IIw II GPdG°Pllall trrtGP II rrll"1ts ujll"suj jlllt tf II"GPdGaII"rrll f ll" tta!a Ilrr including donations of material and labor,in the 0;,1111 t"jaP C,IIt C;a"apjllla;ll df"1G.",.+Il1f"at a;a�alllsllda:."II"111"11" all"f"a a"a;t tf"a laa"rr Ilajujll111a;11.aj rrffrrllll construction of any public works project.The II y P P P V f .. ., V r City shall have the power to perform any work of improvement by use of its own forces and is not required to contract for the construction of works of public improvement.The City may also contract with other public agencies for the construction of works of public improvement. 3 Item 9.a. - Page 11 Attachment 1 Section 303. Purchasing.The City shall have the power to establish standards, Deleted:No city contract shall require procedures, rules or regulations related to the purchasing of goods, property, or payment of the prevailing wage schedule unless:¶ services, including, but not limited to,the establishment of local preferences. <#>the prevailing wage is legally required, and constitutionally permitted,to be imposed;¶ Section 304. Public Financing.The City shall have the power to establish standards, <#>required by Federal or State grants procedures, rules or regulations related to any public financing. <#>the Cit pursuant Federal orState Icon ty Council does not consider the project to be a municipal affair;oM Section 305. Utility Franchises.The City shall have the power to adopt any ordinance schpaymentofthe prevailing wage schedule is authorized by resolution of the providing for the acquisition, development, or operation by the City of any utility, or to City Council.Q adopt any ordinance providing for the granting of a franchise to any utility not owned by the City which proposes to use or is using City streets, highways or other rights-of-way. Section 306.Supporting Volunteers in Arroyo Grande The City seeks to support volunteers in creating a higher quality of life for Arroyo Grande citizens and declares itself exempt from any State laws or regulations that would make it more difficult or expensive for volunteers in any community project, whether funded with City revenues or not. Ssctfouiu 307 Ssctfouius 301 aind 3 aind Laboir Code Ssctfouiu f"x"32 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ IVa utlha u..., a luau 1s 301 ,il°302, a°l.o ally§g[)sa r;!L., itl ado taPci su°u�uu uu a,aP sll�ullll I!w�aP I a ,... �a ul112rPa-E)IEA or alClplbd uiif ally unanI lEfl-that wsuu d auutlhoijizaP ally..gg itira tour is avoid c susli 11 affil a� With tlha ua a;Uu I-EfllnEfllft of Cep°H Ila 2 oaf C Ihalpj u I sf..Egq /M tlha C aflfsuu°Hint a[)oi Cod E., a y,p,sun IC11„ply With....Sa a tosu:f.. 1 770,ii„°a atl12 tlha pgyun uut.,.M I 1212y9flilling y go's tau w:A)llu c u�rsu°Ilas P�1-0 L'cts. Suu�;llI J-ovlislisu s liu° SaPa;tusu°s ytV uu°ci ytVy sll�ullll su°II l aP tap [gjt a duuu uu°q tiff„psa that a a suuil M a su°C.ICa to Illt IlUuusdi HQIin a u°lIlsii„p1s tlha 022[21u0111 Of: aboir C,,,od SE.'G Dill 1 782 QC Ih�,tl, tau 794, Stah]ta s M 2013, Ms ua fa a uE.,d is asSl f/t, Q[fit„ tuu gull daPa§0111 has bE.E.'111 a°EflidEfli-d by a Couurt of col npaP gD[ "�tusu tll�ut II ul!w�su°C;su�aP SE)CHisu°1 1/yy is uu s�ull d and uunE.'1llf01l-C P�ubk.' Repo°suuaclh a f iinull u�aPa,iislisu°1 Ilhas PbE.E.'u°1 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ua ui a ua?.. unvu u...ut .,� �u 1782,ths ..a t� � :... s�u....u�� �u..g a ia y.p uutVE' g!1d May L2 di .fla'[E.,d troiin tlhos CClhall-taPii ARTICLE IV. REVENUE RETENTION Section 400. Reductions Prohibited.Any revenues raised and collected by the City shall not be subject to subtraction, retention, attachment,withdrawal or any other form of involuntary reduction by any other level of government. Section 401. Mandates Limited. No person,whether elected or appointed, acting on behalf of the City, shall be required to perform any function which is mandated by any other level of government, unless and until funds sufficient for the performance of such function are provided by said mandating authority. 4 Item 9.a. - Page 12 Attachment 1 ARTICLE V. GENERAL LAWS Section 500.General Law Powers. In addition to the power and authority granted by the terms of this Charter and the Constitution of the State of California, the City shall have the power and authority to adopt, make,exercise and enforce all legislation, laws and regulations and to take all actions and to exercise any and all rights, powers, and privileges heretofore or hereafter established,granted or prescribed by any law of the State of California or by any other lawful authority. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this Charter and the provisions of the general laws of the State of California, the provisions of this Charter shall control. ARTICLE VI. INTERPRETATION Section 600. Construction and Interpretation. The language contained in this Charter is intended to be permissive rather than conclusive or limiting and shall be liberally and broadly construed in favor of the exercise by the City of its power to govern with respect to any matter which is a municipal affair. Section 601.Severability. If any provision of this Charter should be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or otherwise unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. Authentication And Certification Authenticated and certified to be a true copy by Mayor and City Clerk Date of Municipal Election: ATTEST: Mayor City Clerk s Item 9.a. - Page 13 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Item 9.a. - Page 14