HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 RESOLUTION MAKING FINDINGS RELATED TO APPROVAL OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO OCFA JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY AGREEMENT - EQUITYAgenda Item 4
Reviewed:
AGENDA REPORT City Manager
Finance Director fu�
MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 21. 2014
TO: JEFFREY C. PARKER, CITY MANAGER
FROM: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION MAKING FINDINGS RELATED TO APPROVAL OF
THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO OCFA JOINT POWERS
AUTHORITY AGREEMENT - EQUITY
SUMMARY:
This item is submitted to request approval of a Resolution by each of the Orange
County Fire Authority's member agencies making findings related to approval of the
Second Amendment to the Amended Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Agreement seeking
to address the equity issue.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve and adopt Resolution 14 -68 making findings related to approval of the Second
Amendment to the Amended Orange County Fire Authority Joint Powers Agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
In March 2012, in response to concerns raised by the City of Irvine, the OCFA Board of
Directors took action to form an Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose of studying equity.
For OCFA, the equity issue refers to the extent to which the revenue received from a
member agency bears a reasonable relationship to the cost of services that a member
receives.
Following 18 months of deliberations, an amendment to the Joint Powers Authority was
prepared and approved by 20 of OCFA's 24 member agencies. Three member cities
rejected the Amendment, and one member agency (County of Orange) did not consider
approval of the Amendment. To become effective, the Amendment was only required to
be approved by 2/3 (16) of OCFA's individual member agencies, which was achieved
on November 18, 2013.
In approving the amendment, the OCFA Board of Directors also authorized General
Counsel to commence a validation action in the Orange County Superior Court to obtain
a judicial declaration of the validity of the "Second Amendment to the Amended JPW
once the amendment had been approved by 2/3 of OCFA's member agencies. Per that
authorization, the OCFA and the City of Irvine jointly filed a Petition seeking validation of
the Second Amendment on December 19, 2013.
On January 28, 2014, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4 -to -1, with
Supervisor Spitzer opposed, to file a formal response in opposition to the validation
action. After hearing the matter, the trial court ruled on August 4, 2014 that the Second
Amendment is invalid. Subsequent to this ruling, both the Irvine City Council and the
OCFA Board of Directors approved filing an appeal in the validation action.
OCFA's Special Litigation Counsel for this matter has drafted the attached Resolution
for consideration and approval by OCFA's member agencies. The Resolution requests
each city to make findings related to approval of the Second Amendment. If approved
by OCFA's member agencies, Special Counsel will submit the approved Resolutions to
the Court of Appeal.
The proposed Resolution includes multiple recitals (WHEREAS clauses) explaining why
cities voted to approve the Second Amendment last year. By adopting the resolution,
the cities would resolve that the recitals are true and correct, and that they are adopted
as findings representing the City Council's intent in approving the Second Amendment.
When cities approved the Second Amendment last year, they were not required or
requested to adopt any resolutions explaining why they were doing so. But now that the
trial court has invalidated the Second Amendment, the adoption of a resolution
explaining why the cities approved the Second Amendment could be helpful to OCFA's
appeal.
M hew S. West
Assistant to the City Manager
Attachment: Resolution 14 -68
:1x.101 to] r Q. 1i. Is] MEI:M
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN
MAKING FINDINGS RELATED TO THE CITY'S PRIOR APPROVAL OF
THE ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY'S SECOND AMENDMENT
TO THE AMENDED JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY AGREEMENT
The City Council of the City of Tustin hereby finds, determines and declares as
follows:
WHEREAS, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) was formed in 1995 to
provide regional fire protection and related services to the County of Orange and 18
member cities; and
WHEREAS, five additional cities have become members of the OCFA, since its
original formation; and
WHEREAS, the original Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Agreement was amended
on September 23, 1999, and thereafter renewed in 2010 by the First Amendment to the
Amended JPA Agreement; and
WHEREAS, under the Amended JPA Agreement, OCFA member agencies pay
for fire services under one of the following two pay structures: (1) the Structural Fire
Fund, or (2) cash contracts; and
WHEREAS, if a member agency is a Structural Fire Fund jurisdiction, the County
of Orange collects property taxes in the member agency's jurisdiction, a portion of which
is paid to OCFA for fire services; and
WHEREAS, if a member agency is a Cash Contract City, the member agency
makes service payments directly to OCFA from the member agency's general funds
pursuant to the terms of a contract entered into by the OCFA and the member agency;
and
WHEREAS, the OCFA and certain member agencies were concerned that these
payment structures created inequity among the member agencies; and
WHEREAS, in light of this perceived inequity, some member agencies expressed
concern that they may need to withdraw from membership in OCFA in 2020, as allowed
by the Amended JPA Agreement; and
WHEREAS, in order to ensure the long -term stability of the OCFA and allow the
OCFA to continue to provide cost - effective fire protection services for the various
member agencies, the OCFA proposed a new Enhanced Hybrid Model payment
structure; and
Resolution No. 14 -68
WHEREAS, the City of Tustin is committed to participating in regional efforts to
provide cost - effective and adequate fire protection services; and
WHEREAS, on November 5, 2013, the City Council approved the Second
Amendment to the Amended JPA Agreement (Second Amendment) to allow for the use
of the Enhanced Hybrid Model payment structure; and
WHEREAS, the City now wishes to affirm its intent in approving the Second
Amendment.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL HEREBY RESOLVES AND ORDERS
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: The City Council hereby affirms that the foregoing recitals are true and
correct, and are adopted as findings representing the City Council's intent in approving
the Second Amendment on November 5, 2013.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Resolution
and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Tustin City Council held on
the 21 st day of October, 2014.
ELWYN A. MURRAY,
Mayor
ATTEST:
JEFFREY C. PARKER,
City Clerk
Resolution No. 14 -68
Page 2 of 3
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS
CITY OF TUSTIN )
I, Jeffrey C. Parker, City Clerk and ex- officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Tustin,
California, do hereby certify that the whole number of the members of the City Council of
the City of Tustin is five; that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 14 -68 was duly
passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Tustin City Council, held on the 21St day of
October, 2014, by the following vote:
COUNCILMEMBER AYES:
COUNCILMEMBER NOES:
COUNCILMEMBER ABSTAINED:
COUNCILMEMBER ABSENT:
JEFFREY C. PARKER,
City Clerk
Resolution No. 14 -68