CC 2012-12-11_08.f. City Charter Committee Formation ProcessMEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: STEVEN ADAMS, CITY MANAGER ~
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE FORMATION
PROCESS
DATE: DECEMBER 11,2012
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the City Council: 1) direct staff to proceed with formation of the
City Charter Committee ("Committee"); and 2) delay the commencement of
Committee meetings until the League of California Cities distributes the city charter
"tool kit."
IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES:
No fiscal impact to the FY 2012-13 budget is recommended at this time. When the
FY 2013-14 budget is prepared, it is recommended that $25,000 to $40,000 be
budgeted at that time for consultant services to assist with public education if funding
is available. In addition, the cost of placing the measure on the November 2014
ballot is estimated to be approximately $5,000, which would not occur until the FY
2014-15 budget. If successful, it is estimated that the measure could result in
savings of $50,000 to $300,000 annually.
It is estimated that there would be approximately 40 hours of staff time involved in the
committee process and at least an additional 60 hours for the public education and
election processes if the City Council elects to proceed. However, efficiency
measures are one of the priorities in the Critical Needs Action Plan. The proposal is
also aimed at increasing funding for improvements to streets, sidewalks and the
Brisco Interchange project, which are top priorities in the Critical Needs Action Plan.
BACKGROUND:
At the January 24 1 h meeting, staff presented recommendations to address the
projected budget shortfall. One of the strategies was to place on the November 6th
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. Two public
hearings were held. The City Council decided to postpone placing the measure on
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CITY COUNCIL
CONSIDERATION OF CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE FORMATION PROCESS
DECEMBER 11, 2012
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the ballot and directed staff to develop recommendations for a more thorough public
participation process, which was presented and approved at the July 1oth meeting.
The process approved included forming a City Charter Committee in February 2013.
The proposed membership of the Committee includes the following:
• Five citizen representatives, one recommended by each Council Member;
• One representative recommended by the Chamber of Commerce;
• One representative recommended by Arroyo Grande in Bloom;
• One representative recommended by the South County Historical Society;
• One agricultural property owner representative recommended by staff;
• One representative recommended by the Village Improvement Association; and
• One representative recommended by Rotary or Kiwanis.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES:
Staff is beginning to contact designated organizations to request recommendations
for representatives. However, there were three cities in the State of California that
proposed charter measures on the ballot at the November 2012 election and all
failed. These included the cities of Costa Mesa, Escondido and Grover Beach. The
Grover Beach measure failed by only five votes. Given these results, the purpose of
this item is simply to confirm City Council's support to proceed with the process prior
to any more work being performed by staff.
The objective of the Committee is to develop recommendations on the content of a
proposed charter, as well as whether to proceed with the proposed measure.
Therefore, formation of the Committee does not commit the Council to placing a
measure on the ballot. It will assist the City in making a better informed final decision
by providing additional community input.
Mayor Ferrara also recently reported that the League of California Cities is preparing
a "tool box" to assist cities in establishing charters. Therefore, it is recommended
that the committee not commence meetings until the League of California Cities has
made these materials available.
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CONSIDERATION OF CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE FORMATION PROCESS
DECEMBER 11, 2012
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ALTERNATIVES:
The following alternatives are provided for City Council consideration
1. Direct staff to proceed as recommended;
2. Direct staff to not further pursue the City Charter process; or
3. Provide staff other direction.
ADVANTAGES:
The proposed process will:
• Provide valuable public input and participation;
• Help evaluate the potential feasibility and increase the likelihood of success of
a charter measure; and
• Help lead to a charter that could increase local control and cost efficiency.
DISADVANTAGES:
The following are disadvantages of the proposed process:
• The process will be labor intensive and potentially involve increased costs.
• At the conclusion of the process, some of the same key issues may still exist,
which could result in opposition and failure of the measure despite the effort and
costs invested.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
No environmental review is required for this item.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS:
The agenda was posted in front of City Hall on Thursday, December 6, 2012 and on
the City's website on Friday, December 7, 2012.
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