CAJPA Stewardship Report 2023

STEWARDSHIP REPORT 2023

CAJPA is continuing to thrive. After having cancelled the 2020 fall conference due to COVID, the 2021 conference due to the wildfires, and 2022 being a scaled back version of the event as in-person events were still of public health concern, the 2023 conference was business as usual with strong attendance and professional partner support.

CAJPA has seen substantial turnover on its Board of Directors and committees. New leadership has seamlessly stepped in with staff continuing to support the volunteers through consistency and handling day-to-day operations.

The three CAJPA pillars – Accreditation, Professional Development, and Advocacy – remained the Leadership’s priorities.

Next steps in the public entity data collection project continued to be discussed and were made a priority at the 2023 annual planning session.

Based on the membership survey results shared at the 2023 strategic planning session, CAJPA is most valued for accreditation, training/education, networking, and legislative advocacy. The survey provided great insight to the volunteers and staff on areas for improvement or for change consideration. In 2024, a number of those recommendations have shaped our efforts.

ADMINISTRATION & BOARD RELATIONS

Organizationally, CAJPA saw changes in its staff support at Smith Moore & Associates (SMA). Today’s workplace is much more dynamic and transient with several SMA staff moving on to other opportunities. SMA focused on recruiting new professionals and by the end of the year, was back to full staff with some amazing new talent on the team.

The Board of Directors for 2023 were:

Craig Schweikhard, President

Marinda Griese, Vice President (New 2022)

Gina Dean, Past President

Cindy Wilkerson, Treasurer (New 2023)

Dave George, Secretary (New 2023)

Robert Greenfield, Director (New 2023)

Alex Smith, Director (New 2022)

Brooks Rice, Director (New 2023)

Beth Lyons, Director (New 2022)

The Board held its annual planning session on April 24 – 25, 2023 at the Tiburon Lodge and finalized its 2023-2024 organizational goals.

Goals for 2024

• Organizational Structure – committees added.

• Board Succession – getting more involvement from members deeper in the pool.

Two major changes were set in place by the Board in 2023. First, was the transition from a flat rate dues structure to a tiered membership based on JPA budget recognizing the significant variance in the size of our member pools. Second, there was a split up between the Professional Development Committee and annual conference planning. There will now be a Professional Development Committee charged with oversight of CAJPA’s comprehensive professional development offerings including how to move the CAJPA Summit Series forward. There will be an Annual Conference Subcommittee that will collaborate with staff on planning the annual conference.

FINANCIAL PICTURE (UNAUDITED)

Clean 2022 Audit – completed in 2023.

Assets/Reserves

$539,972 (LAIF and Money Market)

Revenues/Expenditures

$1,270,656.49/$1,009,083.45

Budget v. Actual

The Accreditation Committee continues to improve the standards and oversee a thriving program. They continue to struggle to retain consultants and will be facing a few committee vacancies in 2024. The Accreditation Committee also appointed a new chair David deBernardi to replace Kimberly Dennis.

Goals for 2024

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Technology

Restructured the Technology Committee into two subcommittees – Best Practices and Education. In partnership with the Finance Committee developed a plan to hold the Spring Workshop in Southern California in 2024.

Goals for 2024

• Work with the Accreditation Committee to add standards.

• Hold a successful Spring Workshop in Southern California in 2024.

Finance

Providing communications that reach deeper into the pools. Currently providing social media, weekly email, and other membership campaigns.

Goals for 2024

• Podcasts

• Publications

The Finance Committee took on a new responsibility in 2023 of working with staff to develop a tiered based membership structure that will launch in 2025. In addition, they are working with the Technology Committee to hold the Spring Workshop in Southern California for the first time. This is something that the two committees have been discussing for many years.

Goals for 2024

• Hold a successful Spring Workshop in Southern California in 2024

• Launch the new tiered dues structure in 2024 for membership year 2025.

LITL Programs virtual and in person. Well attended and sponsored.

Goals for 2024

• Provide virtual programs at no cost to members.

• Six programs annually (3 in person/ 3 virtually) Legal Affairs

Professional Development

Number

Number of New Committee Members 0

At the 2023 strategic planning meeting the Board determined that they would like to develop the Annual Conference Subcommittee to allow the Professional Development Committee to focus more broadly on the overall educational offerings CAJPA currently provides and make plans for expanding our education program. At the end of 2023, the Board formed the Annual Conference Subcommittee consisting of 15 CAJPA members. The 2023 membership satisfaction survey indicated there is interest in having higher-level education courses and regional trainings.

The Legal Affairs Committee (LAC) reviews requests for amicus support from California public agencies and determines what type of support, if any, CAJPA should provide. It also compiles a year in review case law update for the annual conference and organizes a speaking session on the topic at the conference.

Goals for 2024

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2023 was the first year of a two-year legislative session. The Legislative Committee focused on bills that would impact the financial health, operations, or governance of public risk pools and by extension, the ability of the member local agencies to serve their constituents. The committee is broken into five subcommittees (JPA, Loss Control, Workers’ Compensation, Tort & Liability (TL), and Healthcare). Through the CAJPA Weekly and emails, staff kept CAJPA members informed about key bills and engaged them in grassroots advocacy when needed. CAJPA continues to support the Legislative Data Portal by updating the membership in each legislative district every two years.

Goals for 2024

• How to address tort reform efforts which is one of the two initiative of the data collection project

• Enhanced offensive advocacy

Goals for 2024

• Fill any vacancies on either the PDC or Subcommittee

• Begin holding meetings to develop strategic educational goals for CAJPA.

The CAJPA Spring Workshop was held on May 16 – 17, 2023 at the Courtyard by Marriott Cal Expo in Sacramento.

Academy

CAJPA has been partnering with AGRiP and NLC Risk both financially and collaboratively in support of the online Pooling Academy. In 2023 the program launched the finance 101 track and two hot topic courses. The finance track consisted of Operating Budgets – Budget Types and Revenues, Operating Budgets - Expenses, Budget Influences and Related Considerations, Internal Controls and Data Management, Financial Reporting Practices –Important Components of Pool Financial Statements, Financial Reporting Practices - Influences on Pool Financial Reporting. The two hot topic courses were The Role of Diversity and Inclusion in Pooling and The Top 5 Influences on Pools Right Now.

Annual Conference

The 2023 annual conference was held in South Lake Tahoe utilizing CAJPA’s past properties (Lake Tahoe Resort, Harrah’s, and Harveys). Due to significant construction at the Lake Tahoe Resort, one reception was moved to the new Tahoe Blue Event Center. There were significant challenges to overcome with the loss of meeting space at the Lake Tahoe Resort, but the Committee and staff were able to work through many of the problems and the conference was a great success.

The conference theme was “CAJPA 2023: The New Wave – It starts with us. Inspiring Change.” The conference continued to offer “loose” tracks including the Governance Track. The opening keynote was Gregory Offner and the conference closed with our annual legislative update and public policy keynote (Nanette Farag).

Number of total attendees: 926

Number of exhibitors: 79 (including sponsor exhibit booths)

Number of sponsors: 18

$3,247.69

CAJPA held four LITL Programs in 2023, two virtual and two in person. The Board also made the decision at the 2023 strategic planning meeting to no longer charge members for virtual LITL Programs.

Legislative Education Day (aka Legislative Action Day)

With the considerable number of new legislators and legislative staff (and construction throughout the Capitol), the Legislative Committee decided to try a new approach to this event and offered a legislator/ staff briefing on CAJPA and the issues of concern to our members. The goal was to introduce them to risk sharing pools, the value and role of the JPAs, and legislative issues that we engage in on behalf of our members.

The event was held on March 28, 2023, at the Fox & Goose in Sacramento California. Mother Nature was not helpful to us again as that day turned out to be one of the wettest, windiest, and wildest storms of the year. Attendance was significantly impacted but the presentations that were prepared by the Legislative Committee members were amazing and will be used in the future.

Goals for 2024

• Increase attendance.

• Go back to the traditional Legislative Action Day format.

Risk Management Practitioner (RMP)

CAJPA is a supporter of the Risk Management Practitioner Program (RMP) and is represented on its board by President Craig Schweikhard. The program provides a certificate, has received strong reviews, and offers networking opportunities.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Public Entity Data Collection Project

The Board appointed a new Data Collection Working Group at the 2023 strategic planning session. There are two clear initiatives in this project. One need is the actual data collection effort and the second is the enhanced committee to determine a path forward regarding the existing data and collection of new data.

Goals for 2024

• Develop clear goals and objectives for the project.

• Identify resources needed to update the data.

In Memory Video

Deputy Director Carmen Berry took the lead to create an amazing video which heighted three CAJPA volunteers who we lost in 2023. Those volunteers were Robin Johnson, Jeanette mason, and Roger Carol. The video was shown at the annual conference and touched the attendees.

Scholarships

In 2023 the CAJPA board appointed a scholarship task force to work to revamp our current scholarship programs and develop an outreach plan for the new Fleming scholarship funded by Alliant. Staff were able to develop the criteria for the Fleming scholarship and to update the criteria for both the Keenan and the John Keenan Memorial Scholarships. Staff also identified a fresh marketing strategy to reach students attending California colleges with risk sharing programs. Unfortunately, we were not able to fully launch the Fleming scholarship on the timeline that Alliant required. The Board determined that the PD Committee can also function as the scholarship body.

Goals for 2024

• Increase marketing to members, career centers and colleges.

• Update the website to include the Keenan Scholarship year around.

Legislative Data Collection Project

CAJPA staff collects data from all members to determine how many people CAJPA represents in each legislative district. This data includes all pool employees and their members employees. This data is used by Legislative Advocate Faith Borges as well as CAJPA members when attending LAD to show legislative members who we represent in their districts.

Goals for 2024

• Improve the collection process.

• Determine other uses for the data.

MEMBERSHIP

CAJPA saw a renewal of all 87 JPA Members, 45 of 49 Associate Members and 2 of 5 Affiliate Members in 2023. At the 2023 strategic planning meeting the Board approved a recommendation from the Finance Committee to transition to a tiered membership structure to be launched in 2025.

Goals for 2024

• Involve members deeper in the pool.

• Look for ways to further involve our associate members.

• Market the new tiered dues structure

This stewardship report is a snapshot of the highlights of CAJPA’s 2023. CAJPA continues to be the voice of California’s public entity risk sharing pools and is also elevating its collaboration with the Association of Governmental Risk Pools (AGRiP) on the national level. Our pillars remain strong. Three of the key indicators for a successful association are fiscal stability, membership retention and member participation. CAJPA has consistently had a clean annual fiscal audit and remains financially solid. CAJPA shows an astonishing retention rate with 100% for Regular Members and 92% for Associate Members. Our attendance at the conference, LITL programs, spring workshop, and other offerings continue to impress.