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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 CONSIDERATION OF SUPPORTING ASSEMBLY BILL 1453 AND REAFFIRMING SUPPORT FOR PROP 13Agenda Item 35 Revis wed: AGENDA REPORT C ty Manager Finance Director MEETING DATE: JUNE 3, 2014 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE- SUBJECT: CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF SUPPORTING ASSEMBLY BILL 1453 — ORANGE COUNTY VETERANS CEMETERY AND RLAF1 IRMING SUPPORT FOR PROPOSITION 13 SUMMARY The City Council has received a request from 65t#' Distrct Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk -Silva for the Council to formally support Assembly Bill 1453 — Orange County Veterans Cemetery and a request from the Association of California Cities -- Orange County (ACC -OC) for the Council to reaffirm support for Proposition 13. City Council direction is requested on both matters. RECOMMENDATION City Council direc.ion is requested regarding the following: 1) AB 1453 a. Direct staff to prepare a Resolution and author. -e the Mayor to sign and transmit, or b. Direct staff to prepare a Letter of Support and author -e the Mayor to sign and transmit, or c Take no action. ?) Propos't on 13 a. Direct staff to prepare a Resolution and authori.,e the Mayor to sign, or b. Direct staff to prepare a Letter of Support and authori-_e the Mayor to sign, or c. Take no action. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact. Agenda Report June 3, 2014 Page 2 ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN Support for AB 1453 and reaffirmation of support for Proposition 13 contributes to the fulfillment of the City's Strategic Plan Goal B on ensuring Tustin is an attractive, safe and well maintained community and Goal D of fostering strong relationships within the community and providing leadership within the region. BACKGROUND /DISCUSSION On January 9, 2014, 65th District Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk -Silva introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1453 — Orange County Veterans Cemetery. AB 1453 would require the State of California Department of Veterans Affairs, in voluntary cooperation with the Orange County Board of Supervisors and city councils of other participating southern California cities, to design, develop, and construct a state -owned and state - operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Orange County. The bill would direct the department to apply to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs State Cemetery Grant Program for the construction of the Veterans Cemetery. AB 1453 would: o Allow all honorably discharged veterans and their spouses /children eligible for interment in the cemetery; o Create the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development Fund — all money received for the design, development, and construction of the cemetery shall be deposited into this fund; o Create the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual Maintenance Fund — all funds received would be allocated for the cemetery's maintenance; and o Authorize the cemetery administrator to accept donations of personal property to be used for the maintenance /beautification of the cemetery. According to the National Cemetery Administration, the closest regional option for Orange County veterans is the Riverside Veterans Cemetery, which offers neither a convenient location nor a long solution for the large number of Orange County veterans and their families. Despite the fact that Orange County is home to Army, Navy, and Marine bases, Orange County has been identified as the state's largest county without a Veterans Cemetery. Recognizing the clear need for establishing a Veterans Cemetery within Orange County, the cities of Brea, Fullerton, Cypress, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Irvine, Anaheim, Buena Park, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Villa Park, and Stanton, as well as the Orange County Board of Supervisors, have come out in support of AB 1453. Support of AB 1453 is in alignment with the Mayor's 2014 Goal #5 of recognizing the value of our military history and veterans in Tustin. Staff is recommending the City Council support AB 1453 and provide direction as to the form of the support. Agenda Report June 3, 2014 Page 3 On June 6, 1978, Proposition 13, officially titled the "People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation," and popularly known as the "Jarvis -Gann Initiative," was overwhelmingly approved by California's voters, reducing property tax rates on homes, businesses, and farms, and capping the rate of increase in the future. Prior to the adoption of Proposition 13, inflation had sent property tax bills in California soaring so high that many families had to sell their homes because they could not afford to pay their taxes. With the approval of Proposition 13, real property values were adjusted to a base value equal to the 1976 assessed value of that real property, thereby introducing an objective standard upon which real property would be taxed and ending the previous subjective standard for assessment that engendered the property tax assessment abuses that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. With the passage of Proposition 13, taxpayers, for the first time, were provided a measure of certainty with respect to their property taxes. In the 36 years following the passage of Proposition 13, the average homeowner has saved tens of thousands of dollars in property tax payments, money that, was able to be spent in the economy to create jobs and foster economic development. The volatility of income and sales tax revenue to the state and local governments is a major flaw in California's tax system, while Proposition 13 has rendered California's property taxes as a stable and predictable source of public revenue, even during economic downturns, that has provided a major benefit to local governments. Since the passage of Proposition 13, proposed alternatives to Proposition 13 would have had a variety of unwelcome effects, including substantial tax increases for low- income and elderly homeowners. In 1992, the voters' 2 -to -1 rejection of Proposition 167 suggests that the split roll alternative to the current system, in which business would pay property taxes at a rate higher than that imposed on residential properties, finds little favor with voters. Friday, June 6, 2014, marks the 36th year following the voters' approval of Proposition 13. In recognition of the positive impact Proposition 13 has had on the State of California, ACC -OC and the cities of Irvine and Buena Park have passed Resolutions, formally reaffirming their support for Proposition 13 and the benefit it provides to individual homeowners, renters, local governments and to the state's overall economy. Staff is recommending the City Council reaffirm support for Proposition 13 and provide direction as to the form of the support.