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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSS3 - League of California Cities MembershipFebruary 27, 2024 Agenda Item No. SS3 Correspondence LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITI ES Value of League of California Cities (Cal Cities) Membership Prepared for: City of Newport Beach City's 2024 Annual Dues: $24,799 Contact: Connor Medina, Regional Public Affairs Manager, cmedina@calcities.org or (949) 421-9898 Return on Investment Cal Cities has delivered consistent fiscal benefit to the City of Newport Beach that far exceeds the dues the city pays annually. The customized return on investment (ROI) report below details various funding allocations and revenue protections that Cal Cities secured on behalf of members. CALIFORNIA Cal Cities Membership — A Great Investment CITIES Membership in Cal Cities is an invaluable investment. The fiscal benefit to cities outweighs the annual dues, providing members with unique opportunities to advocate for the state-wide interests of cities and learn from each other. Investing in Cal Cities strengthens the collective power of local communities. Customized Return on Investment Report — December 2023 NEWPORT BEACH FY2018-19 FY2019-20 FY2020-21 FY2021-22 FY2022-23 FY2023-24 Total Dues 22,016 22,676 22,676 23,357 24,057 24,779 139,561 VLF/PropertyTaxSwap ill 4,447,635 4,928,178 5,025,426 5,322,388 5,693,806 6,695,711 32,113,144 Local Revenues Protected by Prop. 22 12; 1,763,345 2,194,324 1,724,489 2,1 15,419 2,343,190 2,309,188 12,449,955 SB 89 VLF Shift -519,837 -543,692 -566,527 -590,321 -615,115 -747,583 -3,583,375 SB 1 - Local Streets and Roads Funds 1,477,319 1,550,370 1,593,608 1,726,128 2,129,176 2,063,464 10,540,065 CARES Act 1,059,137 1,059,137 American Rescue Plan Act 131 10,141,272 10,141,272 Total Return 7,163,463 8,129,180 8,836,133 18,714,8861 9,551,0571 10,320,4801 62,720,198 111111 Rate of Return 326:1 358:1 390:1 801:1 397:1 417:1 449:1 1. Net gain in revenues by virtue of the VLF/Property Tax Swap. Growth in PropTox in Lieu of VLF versus estimated growth in VLF had If remained. 2. Prop. 22 ended the Legislature's ability to borrow or delay HUTA and Prop. 42 gas fax funds. 3. American Rescue Plan Act allocations were allocated in FY2021-22 and distributed as two trenches of funding over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23). Our mission is to expand and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians. LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES • The City's membership has provided a ROI of $449:1 on average since FY 2018-19, with a low of 326:1 that year and a high of 801:1 in FY 2021-222. • Cal Cities was an essential leader in the development and passage of Prop 1 A (2004) and Prop 22 (2010) to protect Newport Beach's revenues from state raids and backfill lost revenue. • Cal Cities was the primary stakeholder advocating for California cities during the development of the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan. Cal Cities also provided a detailed Guide to Local Recovery for its members to take full advantage of these grants. Membership Enaaaement The City continues to take advantage of event, roundtable, and webinar opportunities. City Clerk Leilani Brown was elected by City Clerks statewide to serve as 2nd Vice President of the City Clerks Department, where she is on track to have a substantial role in guiding our City Clerks programming throughout her tenure as an officer. This includes directing staff in content development for Cal Cities' annual City Clerks New Law and Elections Seminar. If the City did not renew its membership, City Clerk Brown would no longer serve as an officer. Fire Chief Jeff Boyles served as President of the Fire Chiefs Department in 2021- 2022, where he played an instrumental part in the development of the 2021 Cal Cities Fire Chiefs Leadership Seminar and remains an active participant in Department activities. Membership is required to be involved in the Fire Chiefs Department. Council Member Grant was elected by her peers to serve as the 5th District Representative on the Orange County Division Board of Directors. Her regular participation provides the City an important voice on the Board and her perspective is highly valuable for the entire Orange County Division. City staff/Council Members have participated in the following conferences: LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES • City Managers Conference (Feb. 2024) - City Manager Grace Leung, Assistant City Manager (ACM) Tara Finnigan, ACM Seimone Jurjis o City Manager Leung elevated the City's profile among city managers across the state by speaking on a panel discussing civility and effective resident engagement. City Manager Leung touted the City's Citizens' Police Academy, Distinguished Citizens Program, Community Emergency Response Team and Mayor's Youth Council. • Fire Chiefs Leadership Seminar (Dec. 2023) - Fire Chief Jeff Boyles, Assistant Fire Chief Justin Carr, Fire Marshal James Gillespie, Fire Captain Adam Novak, Training Battalion Chief Phil Puhek, Fire Captain Chad Spiker • City Clerks New Law and Elections Seminar (Dec. 2023) - City Clerk Leilani Brown • Orange County Q4 Division Meeting at Mission San Juan Capistrano (Dec. 2023) - Council Member Robyn Grant • Annual Conference (Sep. 2023) - Fire Chief Boyles, Fire Marshal Gillespie, City Manager Leung, Fire Battalion Chief Brian McDonough, Deputy City Attorney Chris Sorich, Fire Battalion Chief Nicholas Stocks, Assistant City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill • Orange County Q3 Division Meeting at Huntington Beach Senior Center (Aug. 2023) - Council Member Robyn Grant • City Attorneys Spring Conference (May 2023) - Asst. City Attorney Summerhill, Deputy City Attorney Joseph Meeks • Public Works Officers Institute (Mar. 2023) - Deputy Public Works Director Jim Houlihan, Public Works Finance/Admin Manager Theresa Schweitzer • City Managers Conference (Feb. 2023) - City Manager Leung, ACM Finnigan • New Mayors and Council Members Academy (Jan. 2023) - Council Member Robyn Grant City staff/Council Members have participated in the following recent webinars at no cost as a member benefit: • New Legislation Overview (Mar. 2024) - Council Member Grant LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES • Understanding California's Fire Insurance Crisis (Dec. 2023) - ACM Finnigan, Asst. City Attorney Summerhill, Fire Marshal Gillespie, Deputy City Attorney Jeremy Jung • Practical Tips for Implementing New Human Resources Laws (Dec. 2023) - Human Resources Director Barbara Salvini • Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Grant Opportunities Webinar (Oct. 2023) - City Engineer Jim Houlihan, Budget Analyst Abigail Marin • New Laws Impacting Cities (Oct. 2023) - Council Member Grant • How CA's New Single -Use Packaging and Plastic Pollution Prevention Law Will Impact Local Governments (Oct. 2023) - Deputy City Attorney Jung The City has two appointed representatives to Policy Committees this year. Policy Committees debate, shape, and steer Cal Cities' policy -making process and advocacy efforts and meet up to four times annually to provide recommendations to the Board of Directors. It is crucial for Orange County to have strong voices in these committees to ensure the region's perspective is conveyed during discussions on bills and regulations. Participation in policy committees is contingent on membership. • Council Member Robyn Grant - Community Services Committee (appointed as Orange County Division representative by Division President) • Fire Battalion Chief Brian McDonough - Revenue and Taxation Committee (appointed as Fire Chiefs Department representative by Department President) A representative from the Newport Beach City Attorney's office serves on the City Attorneys Department ad hoc housing group, where she plays an important role in determining the content of training provided to city attorneys statewide on housing and land use laws. Cal Cities also manages a Coastal Cities Group comprised of 61 cities within the state's coastal zone. The group works with Coastal Commission representatives LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES on issues related to sea level rise mitigation efforts, other land use regulations that impact cities in the coastal zone, and the updating of local coastal programs. Legislative Advocacy Cal Cities remains actively engaged in legislation with positions that consistently align with the City's 2023 Legislative Platform. Cal Cities is perceived by lawmakers and regulators as the premier representative for cities on policy matters. Cal Cities utilizes a Legislative Director, seven lobbyists covering different issue areas of municipal interest, and three policy analysts to achieve legislative victories for cities. Though not intended to be comprehensive, the list below highlights how Cal Cities has worked recently to support Newport Beach's legislative platform and cities statewide: Sober Living Facilities In 2024, Cal Cities is sponsoring AB 2547 (Valencia), AB XX (Dixon), and SB XX (Umberg), and co -sponsoring AB 2081 (Davies). Cal Cities remains committed to pursuing this legislation and supporting further legislative proposals to empower local governments and increase accountability among residential recovery facility operators. o AB 2547 (Valencia) would codify Dana Point v. New Method Wellness, Inc., a case that determined that unlicensed sober living homes that operate a part of a licensed drug treatment facility located elsewhere may be considered an unlawful business use within a residential zone (consistent with Platform Issue 11, section a). o AB XX (Dixon) would enforce distancing requirements between sober living facilities licensed by the Department of Social Services and the Department of Health Care Services (consistent with Platform Issue 11, section a). Details for this legislation are in development and the bill number is not yet determined at the time of writing. LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES o SB XX (Umberg) would empower local governments to enforce existing state licensing laws (consistent with Platform Issue II, section a). The bill number is not yet determined at the time of writing. o AB 2081 (Davies) would require state -licensed and/or certified programs to disclose, on their own websites, if a legal, disciplinary, or other enforcement action has been brought by state regulators, and the program was found to be in violation (consistent with Platform Issue II, section b). Cal Cities' strong support of this legislation has already received coverage via Southern California News Group. Housing and Land Use: • In 2023, Cal Cities led a coalition of cities (244), including Newport Beach, in staunch opposition to SB 423, a bill applying SB 35 mandates to the Coastal Zone (consistent with Platform Issue II and Platform Issue Vill, section d). • In 2023, Cal Cities secured veto of AB 309, which would have clearly authorized he state to build housing on state-owned or state -leased land without abiding by local zoning standards (consistent with Platform Issue II). • In 2023, Cal Cities opposed AB 68 (Ward), AB 1532 (Haney), and SB 634 (Becker). These bills would have bypassed local planning and zoning and would have mandated cities to approve certain housing projects, by -right, without public comment or environmental review (consistent with Guiding Principle I and Platform Issue II, section i). • Cal Cities was on the steering committee supporting the 2017 statewide housing bond, which allocated $4 billion for affordable housing projects and veteran housing (consistent with Platform Issue II, section g). • In 2024, Cal Cities is working with key Senators to request an audit of the entire RHNA process (consistent with Platform Issue II, sections I and m). LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES Labor Relations • Cal Cities secured Governor's veto on SB 799, which would have allowed striking city workers to collect unemployment benefits after two weeks, and AB 504, which would have made sympathy striking a human right (consistent with Platform Issue IV, sections b and c). Public Safety • Cal Cities represents cities as part of a coalition effort to reduce retail crime. In addition to providing ongoing feedback to legislators and the Governor with cities' perspectives on this issue, Cal Cities has testified to the Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft at both of their meetings to date. • Cal Cities sponsored legislation in 2023 (AB 1708) to reform Proposition 47 and continues to urge the Legislature and Governor to implement Prop 47 reforms through legislation in 2024 (consistent with Platform Issue IX, section c). • Cal Cities strongly supports legislation to increase penalties for fentanyl distributors, including AB 367 and AB 701 in 2023, the latterbeing signed by the Governor. Cal Cities rallied nearly 400 local leaders to sign a letter to Assembly leadership urging swift action to address the fentanyl crisis and continues to be an up-to- date resource for information on the status of bills related to this issue (consistent with Platform Issue IX, section a). • Cal Cities sponsored AB 1 168 (Bennettl, which would clarify a city or fire district's right to retain its authority over emergency ambulance services if they are in a Joint Powers Authority. Cal Cities also supported AB 40 (Rodriguez, 2023, Chapter 793) which will establish a statewide standard for ambulance patient offload time and requires a protocol to reduce ambulance patient offload time (consistent with Platform Issue IX, section j). • Cal Cities has opposed efforts for the past several years to remove local control on cannabis related to dispensaries. Cal Cities supported AB 1448 (Wallis, 2024, Chapter 843) which allows a 50/50 state -local split of the statutory penalties recovered in actions brought by local jurisdictions for illicit cannabis activity. LEAGUE OF I ki CALIFORNIA CITIES Homelessness • Since December 2022, Cal Cities has urged the state to allocate a permanent funding stream of $3 billion annually to local governments directly to increase affordable housing and reduce homelessness. This bipartisan effort was supported by Senator Janet Nguyen (consistent with Platform Issue X, sections a and e). Environmental Quality • Cal Cities has taken a Support if Amended position on multiple legislative climate bonds (AB 1567 and SB 867), which would include planning and implementation bond funding for local agencies to address coastal resilience and sea level rise, water supply, water quality, solid waste, parks and open space access, wildfire preparedness, and extreme heat planning and implementation efforts (consistent with Platform Issue VII, section a and Platform Issue VIII) . • Cal Cities is sponsoring legislation in 2024 related to improving organic waste programs statewide (consistent with Platform Issue VI, section b) . Cal Cities continues its advocacy on recyclable materials, as SB 54 (2022), the state's single use plastic and packaging material recyclability law, moves through the formal rulemaking and regulatory process in 2024. Cal Cities' nominee was appointed to the SB 54 Advisory Board, representing cities statewide to ensure local authority and finances are protected in the regulatory and non -regulatory discussion with the plastic and packaging producer responsibility organization (PRO). The purpose of this law is to ensure that plastic producers are responsible for the end -of -life costs associated with recycling plastic and packaging materials, to fully reimburse local jurisdictions costs, and to mitigate plastic pollution with a $5 Billion fund that will be administered over 10 years (consistent with Platform Issue III, section b, and Section VI, section b). LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES Water Supply and Coastal Resources • Cal Cities is the lead stakeholder organizing city input to critically analyze draft regulations that would create long-term water conservation targets for urban water suppliers. According to the Municipal Water District of Orange County, these regulations would cost the City of Newport Beach an additional $22.9M over 1 1 years. Cal Cities continues mobilizing local jurisdictions and has engaged in negotiations with the State Water Resources Control Board to propose alternative local pathways to achieve the water efficiency goals and reduce the technical and financial challenges associated with complying with these significant water reduction targets (consistent with Platform Issue III, section b, and Platform Issue VII) . • In 2024, the Cal Cities Coastal Cities Group is organizing Quarterly Forums and Newport Beach staff and elected officials have been invited to participate to elevate coastal resilience issues (consistent with Platform Issue Vill). • In 2024, Cal Cities will be engaging in advocacy efforts on two sea - level rise guidance documents: the Ocean Protection Council's SLR science guidance (which is currently open for public comments) and California Coastal Commission's SLR planning guidance, required by SB 272 (2023), as part of Cal Cities' continued advocacy to protect local control in the coastal zones and support the development and implementation of city coastal programs (consistent with Platform Issue VIII). Revenue and Taxation • Cal Cities was the lead opposition against SB 584 (Lim6n) which would have established a statewide transient occupancy tax of 15% on short-term rentals. Cal Cities defeated this measure in 2023 (consistent with Platform Issue III). • In 2024, the state is facing a substantial budget deficit (ranging between $38 and $68 billion dollars). Cal Cities will counter any efforts by the state to skim or erode local revenues and will oppose efforts to reduce or eliminate existing funds to cities (consistent with Platform Issue III). LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES Transportation, Communications, Public Works In 2021,Cal Cities took the lead to oppose SB 556 (Dodd, an which would have undermined local authority in broadband permitting while making no meaningful progress towards closing the digital divide in California's unserved and underserved communities. The bill was vetoed. (consistent with Platform Issue II, section i). • Between 2021 and 2023, Cal Cities took the lead role among local government organizations to testify against CARB's Advance Clean Fleet regulation related to transitioning public fleets to zero emission vehicles. In doing so, Cal Cities successfully secured nearly a dozen provisions, extensions and delays to provide local governments greater flexibility and options when complying. Lecial AdvocacX As a member of Cal Cities, Newport Beach may bring legal issues to the Cal Cities City Attorneys Department to request an amicus brief in support of the City. The City has consistently taken advantage of this support. Additionally, Cal Cities has submitted amicus briefs supporting cities engaged in litigation on matters relevant to the City of Newport Beach and its legislative platform. • Cal Cities submitted an amicus brief in October 2023 supporting the City of Costa Mesa in Ohio House LLC v. City of Costa Mesa in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. • Cal Cities submitted amicus briefs supporting the City of Newport Beach in Pacific Shores Properties v. City of Newport Beach, both in the Ninth Circuit and on petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. • Cal Cities supported the City of Newport Beach with amicus briefs in Vos v. City of Newport Beach and Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach. • Cal Cities submitted amicus briefs supporting the City of Costa Mesa in two other cases pertaining to sober living facilities: SoCal Recovery LLC v. City of Costa Mesa and Yellowstone Women's First Step House v. City Costa Mesa. LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES • Cal Cities urged the Los Angeles Superior Court to rule in favor of charter cities, arguing that SB 9 unconstitutionally interferes with home rule authority in a 2023 amicus brief. • Like Newport Beach, Cal Cities submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court for City of Grants Pass v. Johnson on petition for writ of certiorari and anticipates submitting an amicus brief on the merits of the case soon.