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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 (DALY) RELATING TO THE OCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORSAgenda Item 16 AGENDA REPORT Reviewed: d, City Manager Finance Director NIA J MEETING DATE: APRIL 21, 2015 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: JEFFREY PARKER, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 (DALY) RELATING TO THE ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS SUMMARY: This item seeks direction from the City Council to take a position on AB 1217, a bill pending in the State Legislature that proposes to alter the number and selection process for County and city representatives on the OCFA Board of Directors. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Council: 1. Adopt the Resolution attached hereto as Exhibit A, and entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, OPPOSING ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 (DALY)." 2. Direct staff to send copies of the Resolution to Assemblymember Daly and the Orange County Fire Authority Board of Directors. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: The City of Tustin is a member of the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), a Joint Powers Authority established for the purpose of providing regional fire suppression service to various cities and unincorporated county territories in Orange County. The OCFA Board of Directors is comprised of one director for each of the 23 member cities and two members of the County Board of Supervisors, for a total board membership of 25. Each member city selects its own representative. 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 2 Assemblymember Tom Daly (D- Anaheim) has introduced Assembly Bill 1217, to alter the composition of the Board of Directors by reducing the number of members to 13 and changing the selection process. (A copy of AB 1217 is attached as Exhibit B.) Based on the discussion below, it is recommended that the Council adopt a resolution opposing Assembly Bill 1217. Analysis First and foremost, there is no indication that there is a current problem with the OCFA Board structure or selection process that requires correction through unique state legislation. In correspondence to the OCFA Board Chair, Assemblymember Daly references "bureaucracy, redundancy and board member turnover" as reasons for the change, but provides no examples or instances demonstrating an ineffectiveness of the Board or inefficiency of its operations. (It should be noted that Assemblymember Daly has no direct experience with the OCFA Board of Directors as he has never served on that body, nor is the City where he previously served as Mayor (Anaheim) a member of OCFA.) Moreover, even if the current structure of the Board was a problem in need of an answer, there is no reason that the solution to such a problem should be determined by a distant legislative body with members elected throughout California rather than in Orange County by the member agencies of the OCFA. Joint powers agreements are, by their nature, agreements among the local agencies that make up the joint powers authority, and amendments to such agreements can be made by agreements of those local agencies. Under its own JPA Agreement, the OCFA has the authority and ability to make changes to the Board's composition and selection process by a 2/3 vote of its member agencies. This decision should remain with OCFA and its representatives, and special legislation by the State Legislature is not necessary to effectuate the change. This is also the position that the group of City Managers from the member cities in the OCFA recommends: there is no need for Sacramento to dictate the makeup of the board of OCFA, or any local joint powers agency, for that matter. If AB 1217 passes as presently drafted, future changes to the OCFA Board would require approval from the State Legislature, no matter how desirable the changes may be to the member agencies of the OCFA. So AB 1217 would unnecessarily shift control over the makeup governing body of the OCFA from local agencies in Orange County to the State Capitol. In addition, the Board structure proposed by AB 1217 would alter the balance of representation in favor of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, which would be disproportionate to the populations served by OCFA. Presently, the Board of Supervisors 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 3 has two of the 25 Board seats, accounting for approximately eight percent of the Board, and the population they represent accounts for approximately seven percent of the total population served by OCFA. Under AB 1217, the Board of Supervisors would have three out of 13 seats, accounting for 23 percent of the Board. Yet, they would still represent only seven percent of the total population served by OCFA, resulting in a disproportionate number of seats to population served. Third, the proposed city representative selection process is unequitable. AB 1217 seeks to create a new selection system broken apart by supervisorial district. There would be two seats in each supervisorial district; one would be selected on a population weighted voted, and the second would be selected on a one -city, one -vote basis. It is not entirely clear whether all cities of the new city selection committee would vote for each supervisorial seat or only those cities in each supervisorial district would vote for each supervisorial seat. Because not every city in the County is a member of OCFA, each of the supervisorial districts has a different population. The average population of each district is between 590,000 and 610,000, or roughly 20 percent of the County's total population. The cities and approximate population, including any unincorporated county areas, of each district for voting purposes under this bill would be as follows: District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 Santa Ana* Buena Park* Irvine Buena Park* Alisa Viejo Westminster* Cypress Tustin* Placentia* Dana Point La Palma Villa Park Irvine Los Alamitos Yorba Linda Laguna Beach Seal Beach* Laguna Hills Stanton* Laguna Niguel Laguna Woods Lake Forest Mission Viejo RSM San Clemente* SJC 422,833 170,398 383,573 109,977 600,000 (Asterisk ( *) denotes a cash contract city.)' Based on this analysis, the cities and residents in those supervisorial districts with higher populations served by OCFA would have less representation on the OCFA Board of Note: AB 1217 provides that if a city is located in more than one Supervisorial District, then for purposes of voting for OCFA representatives, the city is counted within the District where the greatest proportion of the city's population resides. 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 4 Directors on a proportional basis than those supervisorial districts with smaller populations served by OCFA. It should be noted that AB 1217 would, if adopted as proposed, have one potential benefit for Tustin: the "cash contract" cities (a group that includes Tustin) could wind up with a greater percentage of seats on the Board under the proposed structure than currently exists. This is because in Districts 1 and 4, there are only two cities per District (e.g., Santa Ana, Westminster, Buena Park, and Placentia) and all four of those cities are "cash contract" cities. Thus, each would likely have one representative on the revised Board — representing a bit over 30 percent of the full Board under the proposed bill. Even if Tustin ends up with no direct representation on the Board, it might benefit from that particular dynamic, although indirectly. However, the selection process could result in a large city having two representatives on the Board by receiving both the population- weighted vote and the per -city vote for their supervisorial district. The impact of such a disproportionate selection system could undermine the balance of representation on the regional Board that was achieved through the current agreed -upon Board. Finally, it should be noted that the proposed OCFA Board composition and selection process is similar, although not identical, to the board composition and selection process for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which Assemblymember Daly cites as being the example for this change. Whether that is a desirable similarity, though, is a matter of judgment. Tustin pays OCFA for fire and emergency medical services directly from the City's General Fund, so the City has a direct stake in ensuring that operation costs that affect it are controlled. In contrast, cities do not contract with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and they do not provide funding directly from city General Fund budgets to OCTA, nor do residents pay directly from their property taxes into OCTA. General funding for OCTA comes from Measure M (sales tax) funds, federal funds, and service fees (i.e. bus /Metrolink fares). While it manages the transportation systems for the entire county and administers various grant funds that are provided to cities, the decisions at the OCTA Board level do not have a direct contractual and fiscal impact on their participating cities. Additionally, all cities are essentially "members" of OCTA, and the supervisorial districts account for equal population in each district. 1081665] ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 5 Alternatives The City Council could choose to not take a positon, or to take a or neutral) on the proposed legislation. The City Council could feedback to the bill's author with suggested amendments. Attachments: 1. Resolution 2. AB 1217 1@3Gb1f1 different position (support also direct staff to provide ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 6 Exhibit A RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, OPPOSING ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 (DALY) The City Council of the City of Tustin, California, hereby finds, determines, declares, and resolves as follows: WHEREAS, the City of Tustin (City) is a member of the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), a Joint Powers Authority that provides regional fire suppression and emergency medical service; and WHEREAS, OCFA is governed by a 25- member Board of Directors, comprised of one representative from each of its 23 members cities and two members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors; and WHEREAS, the City Council annually selects one of the Council members to serve as the City's representative on the OCFA Board of Directors; and WHEREAS, the members of the OCFA Board of Directors convene both as a general body and in committees to discuss the operations and finances of OCFA; and WHEREAS, the member agencies of the OCFA may change the composition of the OCFA Board of Directors by a two - thirds vote; and WHEREAS, Assemblymember Tom to significantly alter the composition and st Assembly Bill 1217 (AB 1217); and Daly (D- Anaheim) has authored legislation ucture of the OCFA Board, known as WHEREAS, AB 1217 would reduce the number of Board seats from 25 to 13, increase the proportional representation of the County Board of Supervisors from two to three representatives, and decrease the proportional representation of cities from 23 to 10 representatives; and WHEREAS, AB 1217 would also change the process by which representatives are selected by creating a new city selection committee to vote on two seats per supervisorial district, one on a weighted - population basis and one on a one city, one - vote basis; and 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 7 WHEREAS, the proposed Board composition, structure and selection process would disproportionately favor the County Board of Supervisors, who represent approximately seven percent of the population served by OCFA, but under AB 1217 would account for nearly one - quarter of the Board membership; and WHEREAS, these proposed changes, if approved by the Legislature, would harm member cities of OCFA by reducing the representation of their citizens and minimizing their opportunities for input into important service, operational and budgetary matters relating to fire suppression and emergency medical service; and WHEREAS, as a "cash contract" city, the City of Tustin pays the OCFA for fire and emergency medical services directly from Tustin General Fund revenues, so it has a direct stake in ensuring the prudent and efficient use of funds by the OCFA, so representation on the OCFA Board is a matter of keen interest to the City of Tustin. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, DOES RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE, AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. That the City Council hereby opposes Assembly Bill 1217; SECTION 2. That the City Council opposes any attempts to legislatively alter the composition, structure and selection process of the Orange County Fire Authority Board of Directors, and finds that it is and should remain a matter of local agreement among the public agencies that make up the joint powers authority. SECTION 3. That the City Council hereby authorizes the Mayor and the City's representative on the OCFA Board of Directors to prepare a letter opposing AB 1217, and further directs staff to send a copy of this Resolution and the opposition letter to Assemblymember Daly and other interested parties. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED THIS 21 st DAY OF APRIL, 2015. 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 8 Exhibit B AB 1217 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE- 2U15 -16 RIiGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL loo. 1217 Introduced by Assembly 'Member Dal February ry 27, 2015 An act to add Section 6538 to the Government Code, relating to joint powers. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1217, as introduced, Daly. Change County Fire Authority. Existing law authorizes 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, to form a joint powers authority to exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. Existing late authorizes the agreement to set forth the manner by which the joint powers authority will be governed. Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of any county to contract with any local agency within the comity or with the state for services relating to the prevention and suppression of fires. This bill would. as of January 1. 2018. require the Board of Directors of the Change County Fire Authority a joint powers agency, to consist of 13 members, each serving a term of 2 years. The bill would create the Orange County Fire Authority City Selection Committee to select 10 of those board members from cities that contract with the authority for fire protection services. as specified. The bill would additionally require 3 of the members of the Board of Directors of the Change County Fire Authority to be members of the board of supervisors of the County of Change. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Change County Fire Authority. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State- mandated local program: no. 99 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 9 AB 1217 —2— The people of the State of California do enact as follows I SECTION 1. Section 6538 is added to the Government Code. 2 to read: 3 6538. (a) Notwithstanding any other law and notwithstandine 4 the provisions ofthejoint powers agreement gomming the Orange 5 County Fire Authority, on and after January 1. 2018. the Board of 6 Directors of the Orange County Fire Authority shall be composed 7 of 13 members, as follows: 8 (1) (A) (i) One member from each of the five supersisorial 9 districts of the County of Orange, elected by the Orange Comity 10 Fire Authority City Selection Comnnittee on a population weighted 11 voting basis. 12 (u) One member front each of the five supervisorial districts of 13 the County of Orange, elected by the Orange County Fire Authority 14 City Selection Cormnittee on a "one city, one vote" basis. 15 (B) A city that is within more than one supetvisorial district 16 shall be considered pat of the district where the highest percentage 17 of the city's population resides. Under this circumstance, the entire 18 city's population shall be used for population- weighted voting 19 purposes. 20 (C) Members elected pursuant to this paragraph shall be a mayor 21 or a city council member of a city within the County of Orange. 22 and shall serve for a term of tvo years. A member elected pursuant 23 to this paragraph whose term on the city council or as mayor ends 24 shall also cease to serve as a member of the board. 25 (D) The Orange County Fire Authority City Selection 26 Committee shall consist of either the mayor or a member of the 27 city council of each city that contracts with the Orange County 28 Fire Authority for fire protection .services. 29 (2) Three members of the board of supervisors of the County 30 of Orange, selected by the board of supervisors, to serve a term of 31 two years. 32 (b) Any member of the board serving as of the effective date of 33 this section shall continue to serve until January 1. 2018, or until 34 the expiration of his or her tenu, whichever is sooner. 35 SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law 36 is necessary and that a general law cannot be nude applicable 37 within the meaning of Section 16 of Article N of the California 99 1081665.1 ASSEMBLY BILL 1217 RE OCFA BOARD April 21, 2015 Page 10 —3— AB 1217 Constitution because of the challenges faced as a result of the cutTent governance stnicture of the Orange County Fire Authority. 1081655.1