Western City July 2015 by Western City Magazine

J U LY 2 015 |

The Monthly Magazine of the League of California Cities速

速

Stormwater: The Orphaned Utility p.13

Seeking Sustainability for California

Benicia Turns Green Laws Into Greenbacks for Local Businesses p.16

groundwater

p.10

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Thank you to all of the 2015 League Partners

Platinum ($15,000+) 1,2

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California Grocers Association2 California Restaurant Association Comcast2 DW Development2 Dart Container Corp.2 EMS Management2 Fascination Ranch2 Goldfarb & Lipman LLP Greenwaste Recovery Inc.2

Interwest Consulting Group Inc. Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard1 Merlone Geier2 NBS Northrop Grumman Prometheus Real Estate Group Inc.2 Public Financial Management Inc. James Ramos

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CONTENTS 2 Calendar of League Events 3 Executive Director’s Message The Rise of City Leadership in an Age of Dwindling Discretionary Federal Resources

By Chris McKenzie

The new federal landscape will require innovative leadership from city officials and other civic leaders.

7 City Forum

Find Information at Your Fingertips

esources and information on a broad R range of local government topics are available in a helpful archive.

8 News From the Institute for Local Government

Advancing Climate Action, Sustainability and Community Well-Being A recent symposium brought together state and local leaders to explore opportunities for accelerating sustainability activities in California.

eeding the Call for H Water Conservation

By Dave Cogdill

If every home in the state were retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, over 300 billion gallons of water could be saved per year.

eeking Sustainability for S California Groundwater

By Mark W. Cowin The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act establishes a new structure for managing California’s groundwater and gives new authority to local agencies.

Still comparing apples to oranges? U.S. Communities delivers solutions that can’t be matched.

tormwater: The S Orphaned Utility

by Ken Farfsing How quickly can stormwater utilities be rescued from their financial straitjacket so they can start helping resolve the state’s chronic water supply problems?

16 California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence

Benicia Turns Green Laws Into Greenbacks for Local Businesses

he Business Resource Incentive T Program combines economic development and environmental sustainability.

19 California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence

San José’s “Bring Your Own Bag” Ordinance Cuts Plastic Bag Pollution

lastic bag litter and increasingly P stringent regulations signaled it was time to act.

SAVINGS EFFICIENCY VALUE In just two minutes, register and join over 300 California cities already saving with U.S. Communities.

Register today! League of California Cities® Annual Conference & Expo Grand Prize WIN $3,000 TO BE USED ON ANY CONTRACT THROUGH U.S. COMMUNITIES Congratulations to the City of Cudahy, winner of the 2014 Grand Prize!

Job Opportunities 20 Professional Services 28 Directory

On the cover: Anaheim Lake, a groundwater recharge basin Photo: Courtesy of California Department of Water Resources

www.uscommunities.org/lcc

President Stephany Aguilar Council Member Scotts Valley

1400 K Street Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 658-8200 Fax (916) 658-8240

First Vice President Dennis Michael Mayor Rancho Cucamonga

Second Vice President JoAnne Mounce Council Member Lodi

Immediate Past President José Cisneros Treasurer San Francisco

Executive Director Chris McKenzie

For a complete list of the League board of directors, visit www.cacities.org/board.

leaguevents

Magazine Staff Editor in Chief Jude Hudson, Hudson + Associates (916) 658-8234 email: editor@westerncity.com Managing Editor Eva Spiegel (916) 658-8228 email: espiegel@cacities.org

July 16 –17

Board of Directors’ Meeting, Newport Beach The League board reviews, discusses and takes action on a variety of issues affecting cities, including legislation, legal advocacy, education and training, and more.

Advertising Sales Manager Pam Maxwell-Blodgett (916) 658-8256 email: maxwellp@cacities.org Administrative Assistant Kimberly Brady (916) 658-8223 email: kbrady@cacities.org

September 30

Legislative Advocacy Committee Meeting, San José The committee reviews and recommends friend-of-the-court efforts on cases of significant statewide interest to California cities.

Contributors Dan Carrigg Martin Gonzalez Melissa Kuehne Jason Rhine

Policy Committee Meetings, San José The League’s policy committees review issues of interest to cities statewide and make recommendations to the League board of directors.

Associate Editors Carol Malinowski Carolyn Walker Design Taber Creative Group

30 –October 2

Advertising Design ImagePoint Design For photo credits, see page 21. Western City (ISSN 0279-5337) is published monthly by the League of California Cities, 1400 K St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Subscriptions: $39.00/1 year; $63.00/2 years; student: $26.50; foreign: $52.00; single copies: $4.00, including sales tax. Entered as periodical mail January 30, 1930, at the Post Office, Los Angeles, CA 90013, under the Act of April 13, 1879. Periodical postage paid at Sacramento, Calif.

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Postmaster: Send address changes to Western City, 1400 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Western City Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. ©2015 League of California Cities. All rights reserved. Material may not be reprinted without written permission. This issue is Volume XCI, No. 7.

IND EN

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League of California Cities 2015 Annual Conference & Expo, San José This conference offers dozens of educational sessions, numerous professional development opportunities, hundreds of exhibits and a chance to participate in the League’s policy-making activities at the Closing General Assembly.

November 18–20

Board of Directors’ Meeting, Sacramento The League board reviews, discusses and takes action on a variety of issues affecting cities, including legislation, legal advocacy, education and training, and more.

Event and registration information is available at www.cacities.org/events. For the latest information on League conferences and events, follow us on Twitter @CaCitiesLearn. For legislative and policy updates and more, follow @CaCities. Follow Western City @WesternCityMag. Join us on Facebook. www.facebook.com/westerncity www.facebook.com/LeagueofCaCities

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Executive Director’s Message by Chris McKenzie

The Rise of City Leadership in an Age of Dwindling Discretionary Federal Resources Our nation’s Constitution envisioned a national government with both limited and broad powers. The Bill of Rights expanded further on this inconsistency, granting in the first nine amendments broad constitutional “rights” to Americans that protect them from their government and recognizing in the 10th Amendment a fundamental principle governing the power-sharing agreement in the Constitution: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Recently I had the pleasure of joining distinguished leaders from the nonprofit sector, foundations and public agencies at the national, state and local levels at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. We participated in a one-day discussion about whether the federal system of government is undergoing a profound shift of responsibility and leadership — after decades of the national government’s dominance of that system.

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Examining the Federal Landscape In a memo laying out the framework for the discussion, the Brookings staff referred to the work of Alice Rivlin, the highly respected former director of the Office of Management and Budget, who described three essential roles of the national government in her 1992 book Reviving the American Dream. Rivlin wrote: First, there are inherently central responsibilities, like national defense and foreign affairs, for which the federal government must represent and defend the interests of the country as a whole. Second, there are activities whose benefits clearly spill over state lines — such as air traffic control, basic scientific research, and prevention of river pollution or acid rain. Individual states have little incentive to undertake these programs because so much of the benefit would go to people in other states. Third, there are programs whose workability depends on having a uniform national system, such as Social Security.

The Brookings memo states: At the federal level, that means several things: Defend the nation. Invest at scale in research and development that catalyzes innovative growth. Provide a robust safety net for the elderly and the disadvantaged. Address climate change. In other words, do your core job well. The challenge, of course, is that current investment levels are insufficient to meet national priorities. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, for example, has concluded that the United States needs to invest an additional $511 billion over the next decade to grow at the same rate as China relative to its economy. McKinsey has found that an increase in infrastructure investment by one percentage point of GDP, or $150 billion to $180 billion a year, on a sustained basis over the next 15 to 20 years, would compensate for past underinvestment. Tim Bartik, a senior economist at the Upjohn continued

Western City, July 2015

The Rise of City Leadership in an Age of Dwindling Discretionary Federal Resources, continued

Institute, estimates that providing universal pre-Kindergarten and child care for young children would cost about $79 billion a year. Relief will most definitely not come from Washington. The federal government, the largest single investor in cities and metropolitan areas by far, is mired in a seemingly intractable state of partisan gridlock and ideological polarization. It has ceased to be a reliable, predictable investor, as witnessed by the 2013 sequestration debacle and the 2014–15 tussles over the reauthorization of the Highway Trust Fund and the Export-Import Bank.

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On a more structural basis, the allocation of federal resources is shifting radically due to the aging of our society. The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that by 2023 the federal government will spend $1.6 trillion more a year on mandatory programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, squeezing investments in nondefense discretionary spending activities like housing, infrastructure, education and research and development. As a result, non-defense spending is expected to fall to its lowest level as a share of GDP since the 1960s [emphasis added]. In his 2014 book Dead Men Ruling, the Urban Institute’s C. Eugene Steuerle shows how growth in the non-child portions of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and payment on the debt will leave “crumbs for children.” As Steuerle writes, “Even before recent deficit reduction agreements began to significantly constrain discretionary spending for years to come, we projected that children would get just 2 percent of the $1 trillion or so more of the additional spending that the federal government would undertake in 2023 over and above 2012.”

Responsibility Shifts to State and Local Governments The experts at Brookings suggested that cities and metropolitan regions will increasingly be required to fill the gap left

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by the retreat of the national government in the areas of infrastructure investment, investments in services for children, and funding for basic research and development. For example, as I write this we are about to get another short-term extension of the national Highway Trust Fund without any real new funding. At the same time that they showed no optimism that the trend of federal disinvestment in these areas could be stemmed, they also documented the tremendous inefficiency of funding these programs at the federal level, leading to extensive program duplication and overlaps: The General Accounting Office has identified billions of dollars of potential savings in overlapping federal programs. In FY 2011, for example, the federal government had 20 programs aiding the homeless and 80 programs for supporting economic development [emphasis added]. At the city and metro scale, programs and policies often play out side by side incoherently and inconsistently. If cities and metropolitan areas are going to be responsible for doing more with less financial support from the national government, everyone at the meeting agreed the number one obstacle is to loosen the fiscal noose that state governments often have around the necks of their cities so local governments can have a hope of filling some of the gap. In California the most recent example of this problem is the way Proposition 218 prevents cities from using “conservation” water rates to discourage consumption during this time of drought. It similarly makes it difficult to collect stormwater fees because they must first be approved by a vote (see “Stormwater: The Orphaned Utility” on page 13). As city and state officials know, however, many other restrictions on municipal revenues have probably outlived any usefulness — given that city officials are already required to seek voter approval for new revenue sources. Moreover, the sales and use tax base urgently needs to be updated and streamlined to better reflect the shift from continued www.westerncity.com

This new federal landscape will require sustained, innovative and dedicated leadership from city officials and other civic leaders.

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The Rise of City Leadership in an Age of Dwindling Discretionary Federal Resources, continued

retail sales of goods to services, which began about 30 years ago and now is in full bloom.

An Intentional Shift One of the leaders of the conference discussion observed that congressional leaders no longer seem to have the institutional knowledge or capacity to “cut a political deal” around a major policy challenge. In contrast to the rapid congressional response to the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots in L.A. in 1991, he noted, there was no discernible response in any part of the national government to the police shootings in Ferguson or Baltimore — aside from possible Department of Justice civil rights investigations and the appointment of a task force by the President. I later asked privately if he thought the absence of congressional response was really

due to a lack of capacity or actually based on a belief held by those same members of Congress that the national government had neither the financial capacity nor the right from a federalism point of view to get too deeply involved in what has been viewed for centuries as an essentially local government function. He acknowledged that this new practiced “inaction” may be intentional. Many people are familiar with the term “paradigm shift,” which was coined years ago to describe whole new ways of thinking about science, mathematics or policy. The thing about such a shift, however, is that it can create bold results or subtle changes that occur before most people are aware of it. This may be the case with the current rebalancing of the federal system, and it means cities and regions may have profoundly greater leadership roles than before.

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If the Brookings discussion leaders are correct, city governments and their public and private partners in metropolitan regions are identifying — and will continue to find — innovative ways to finance what it takes to meet the infrastructure, research and development, and pre-kindergarten investment demands facing us as a nation and in our local communities. The days of federal response and leadership on every issue under the sun are probably over for cold, hard financial and political reasons. Our perceptions may just be catching up with this reality.

The Changes Ahead This new federal landscape will require sustained, innovative and dedicated leadership from city officials and other civic leaders. It will also likely lead to completely new service delivery and financing models because our “federal uncle” simply won’t have the money to be a significant partner with us, and no one has figured out how to help us better manage our long-term pension and other postemployment benefit (OPEB) liabilities. In fact, the confluence of the pensionOPEB funding crisis at the local and state levels and the Social Security/Medicare/ Medicaid funding crisis at the national level are mirror images of each other, but local leaders may still be able to develop the political will to do what is necessary to meet the growing needs of their cities and regions while congressional leaders simply avoid the difficult task of reducing benefits for the growing numbers of retired Americans. Some federal officials are even talking about expanding such benefits. We have heard a lot in recent years about a number of “new normal” scenarios. This may just be the newest one facing us. Stay tuned — it’s going to be a very interesting ride for all of us at the local level over the next 10 years. ■

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Find Information at Your Fingertips Busy city officials sometimes need a quick way to educate themselves or their staff about issues specific to city government in California. Western City magazine provides numerous resources on its website, which makes it easy to find information that is timely and credible. Whether you seek the most recent perspective on a challenge facing cities or a broader overview and background about an issue, you can find it at www.westerncity.com.

heading on the home page. The site’s content is organized by subject matter in these categories:

Western City provides relevant, interdisciplinary analyses of issues affecting local governance in a format suited for busy people. The magazine offers practical ideas that can be used immediately along with coverage of bigger-picture policy issues and trends.

• Municipal Finance;

The online articles typically include links to related resources and features as well as additional information that can be helpful for those seeking a fuller understanding of the topic at hand.

• Public Works & Infrastructure; and

Archive Covers a Wide Range of Municipal Topics The website provides several ways to search its content, depending on what type of information you are looking for. The “site search” engine, located at the top center of the home page, allows you to search by key word. In addition to offering the current issue of the magazine on its home page, the Western City website includes an archive that extends back through January 2006. Click on “Archive” to access magazines organized by month and year, with the most recent issues shown first. If you are seeking information on a specific topic, it may be useful to take a look at the site’s pull-down menu under the “Topics”

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• Community Services; • Economic Development & Redevelopment; • Environment, Energy and Climate Change; • Governance, Legislation & Law; • Land Use & Planning; • Personnel; • Public Safety; • Public Trust & Ethics; • Youth. You can also browse the magazine content by clicking on the “Articles” pull-down menu on the home page to view: • Executive Director’s Message;

Job Recruitment and RFPs Does your city have a job opening to fill? Are you looking for a new professional opportunity? In addition to the Job Opportunities section in the print version of the magazine, the Western City website features job postings and can be particularly helpful if you missed the print deadline. Organizations and agencies recruiting employees can use the website to post a position. The site also allows agencies to post a request for proposals (RFP). The link to this feature appears under “Post a Job” on the left side of the home page. To view a list of current openings in cities and public agencies as well as RFPs, job seekers can click on “Job Opportunities,” directly under the magazine logo on the home page. For help and answers to your job posting-related questions, contact Kimberly Brady, Western City’s administrative assistant; phone: (916) 658-8223; email: kbrady@cacities.org.

• President’s Message; • City Forum; • News From the Institute for Local Government; • Sustainable Cities; • Features; • California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence; • Legal Notes; and • Everyday Ethics for Local Officials. The website also offers bonus material on a variety of subjects in its “Web Exclusive” features, which appear on the upper right side of the home page.

Looking to Pitch an Article Idea? If your city has a project or program of broad interest to other municipalities, you may wish to consider submitting an article for publication in Western City. The magazine covers a different key topic each month. Clicking on the “Editorial Information” link at the top center of the home page will take you to the editorial overview and links to the writer’s guidelines and editorial calendar. Western City’s Editor in Chief Jude Hudson welcomes ideas and encourages potential authors to contact her to discuss the topic before writing. You can reach her at (916) 658-8234 or editor@ westerncity.com. ■

Western City, July 2015

Symposium participants discuss sustainability. left to right Truckee Council Member Morgan Goodwin, CSDA Legislative Representative Jimmy MacDonald, Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez, ILG Director Martin Gonzalez, Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor.

Advancing Climate Action, Sustainability and Community Well-Being

In his inaugural address, Governor Jerry Brown laid out an ambitious agenda to address climate change. As California prepares to accelerate programs and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency, state officials can benefit from learning about cities’ successful projects and work in these areas.

ILG Convenes Local and State Leaders to Discuss Climate Change and More

To foster collaboration on these issues among California’s decisionmakers, the Institute for Local Government (ILG) convened local and state leaders at a half-day Climate Leadership Symposium in

Is Your City Implementing Sustainability Best Practices and Activities? ILG’s Beacon Program honors local governments’ voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and adopt policies and programs that promote sustainability. It also provides a framework to share best practices that create healthier, more efficient and vibrant communities. Find more information at www.ca-ilg.org/ beaconaward.

ILG Launches Survey on Public Engagement Does your city experience public engagement challenges? The Institute for Local Government (ILG) has launched a survey to gather feedback from local elected officials and staff about the value of ILG resources and assistance to California communities over the past 10 years. Help ILG understand your city’s community engagement experiences and needs by taking the survey, online at bit.ly/1ch26p5. Deadline to respond: July 31, 2015.

League of California Cities

conjunction with the Green California Summit. The symposium featured a leadership dialogue where participants explored opportunities to create and strengthen partnerships and accelerate sustainability activities in California. Participants included Secretary Anna Caballero, Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency; Secretary Brian Kelly, California State Transportation Agency; Secretary John Laird, Natural Resources Agency; Secretary Matt Rodriguez, California Environmental Protection Agency; and Commissioner David Hochschild, California Energy Commission. These state agency representatives engaged in a lively discussion with local leaders to understand how experiences at the local level can help the state design effective climate, energy and sustainability programs. Elected leaders from Arcata, Benicia, Claremont, Richmond, Truckee, Kern County and Yolo County offered local perspectives and information about community sustainability efforts. The executive directors of the League and California State Association of Counties and senior management from the California Special Districts Association (CSDA) and ILG also weighed in. The symposium was designed to help inform policy decisions at the local and state levels. ILG anticipates this conversation will be part of an ongoing dialogue between the state and local governments as communities throughout California implement sustainability policies and practices and work to combat climate change. ILG synthesized key themes from this discussion into an easy-to-read booklet, which is posted at www.ca-ilg.org/climatesymposium.

Cap-and-Trade Resource Center Offers Helpful Information

In conjunction with the Climate Leadership Symposium, ILG developed a Cap-and-Trade Resource Center (www.ca-ilg.org/ cap-and-trade-resource-center) that provides an overview of cap and trade and the funding available to local governments through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. ■ www.cacities.org

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect League policy or positions.

Heeding the Call for

Water Conservation by Dave Cogdill

California’s drought has made most of us keenly aware of the state’s growing water crisis. Whether hearing about it at a community event, in a coffee shop or through the news media, Californians can’t escape the calls to action to reduce water consumption and increase reliable water supplies. Local governments are at the forefront of this crisis. Ultimately the state will ask your communities to implement measures to achieve greater water savings.

Searching for Simple Solutions When it comes to dealing with the drought’s multiple components, we must keep our eye on simple solutions that can have significant, positive and diverse impacts but that do no harm to the local economy or intensify other community problems.

Many local jurisdictions that are already struggling to meet housing demands have been working closely with the building industry on measures that increase water savings and avoid exacerbating California’s growing housing affordability crisis. The governor and the Legislature have rightly acknowledged that drought relief and conservation efforts must also be balanced with the need to protect the state’s recovering economy. Taking into account the full range of economic impacts, new housing construction contributes more than $38.6 billion per year to the state’s economy and annually supports 209,000 jobs throughout the state. With housing still in recovery from the devastating economic crash, limiting new home construction as part of efforts to address California’s drought would have

catastrophic consequences for both the economy and housing affordability.

California’s Housing Affordability Crisis According to a March 2015 Legislative Analyst’s Office report, California’s High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences, the median price of a California home is $440,000, two-and-a-half times the average national home price of $180,000. The average rent statewide is $1,240 per month, 50 percent higher than in the rest of the country. Even more startling, the report exposed the link between high housing costs and California’s worstin-the-nation ranking on poverty. Any extreme solutions to halt new housing will only further decrease home affordability for mid- to low-income Californians and, in turn, will hurt local government budgets. continued on page 25

Former state Senator Dave Cogdill is chief executive officer and president of the California Building Industry Association. He can be reached at DCogdill@cbia.org.

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Western City, July 2015

Seeking Sustainability for California

groundwa by Mark W. Cowin

After decades of debate, in 2015 California lawmakers imposed far-reaching new laws to bring the state’s critically important groundwater basins into a sustainable regimen of pumping and recharge. This change in water management — the most important in a generation — promises a profound payoff.

Mark W. Cowin is director of the California Department of Water Resources and can be reached at Mark.Cowin@water.ca.gov.

League of California Cities

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ter Groundwater helps make California the richest agricultural producer in the nation, and it serves as the savings account that cities and farmers tap during inevitable drought. Groundwater on average makes up about a third of California’s water supply, and without it the state could not fuel its nearly $2 trillion annual economy. Reliance on groundwater will continue to increase as our population grows, climate change shrinks the Sierra Nevada snowpack and restrictions tighten on surface water supplies.

The Cost of the Drought The four-year drought gripping California already has cost the state’s farm industry $1.5 billion in direct losses, according to the University of California, Davis, with more than 400,000 acres fallowed. The idled acreage and losses would be far more severe if farmers could not depend on groundwater to make up for cutbacks to other supplies. In California, we have formally managed surface water supplies for a century. But the other half of that equation — groundwater — has been left largely to landowners to pump without restraint. In some parts of California, groundwater has been pumped at destructively high levels. The San Joaquin Valley, one of the largest expanses of irrigated agriculture in the world, has been especially prone to overdraft and subsidence (the sinking of land elevations), which can permanently eliminate aquifer storage capacity and damage roads, canals and other infrastructure.

As California endured a third year of drought in 2014, the importance of groundwater and the need for better management became painfully clear to policy leaders and lawmakers. Groundwater levels in 2014 reached all-time historical lows in nearly all areas of the state, most notably in the South San Joaquin Valley. Subsidence also afflicted that part of the state, as well as the South Coast, the Central Coast, the Sacramento Valley, and the Coachella and Antelope valleys.

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Gives New Authority to Local Agencies Until 2014, progress toward more sustainable groundwater management in California had moved incrementally and primarily involved improved data collection about pumping and aquifer levels. continued

Anaheim Lake, one of Orange County Water District’s groundwater recharge basins, as it appeared Feb. 26, 2015. Orange County Water District is responsible for managing the groundwater basin that provides drinking water for most of northern and central Orange County.

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Western City, July 2015

Seeking Sustainability for California Groundwater, continued

In the summer of 2014, when hundreds of thousands of acres of California farmland were fallowed for lack of water and rural residents were struggling with dry wells, Governor Jerry Brown’s administration worked with the California Legislature to craft a package of three bills, called the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, to establish a new structure for managing California’s groundwater. The governor strongly believes that groundwater is best managed at the local level. The new laws are crafted so that the state’s primary role is to provide guidance and technical support on how to plan for a more sustainable future and to step in on an interim basis when — but only when — local agencies fail to exercise their responsibilities as set forth in the legislation. The California Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board, the two agencies primarily charged with implementing the laws, recognize that every groundwater basin is different and that solutions must be tailored to the basin and its users. The Department of Water Resources is ready to provide assistance, and the water bond passed by California voters in November 2014 includes $100 million for local and regional groundwater planning and projects. Under the new laws, local water districts must organize and create groundwater sustainability agencies. Those agencies must draft plans to manage any basin identified by the state as medium or high priority, meaning they are subject to conditions of critical overdraft.

able, dependable groundwater supplies throughout California is for each basin to be managed successfully at the local level. Furthermore, the new laws address a real and serious threat to California’s economy, particularly its $43 billion-a-year agricultural industry: Unsustainable water supplies. These new laws are about much more than groundwater. As we consider what it will take to manage our groundwater sustainably, Californians finally will have to acknowledge how groundwater is connected to all other water resources and uses. These new groundwater laws will force a more realistic dialogue and more serious consideration of the other investments we need, such as new storage projects that in wet years capture more water that can be used to gradually recharge our aquifers.

Water Action Plan Looks to the Future The governor’s five-year California Water Action Plan (http://resources.ca.gov/ california_water_action_plan), released in January 2014, describes this broader view of what California needs to meet the demands of the future. Sustainable management of groundwater is an essential

pillar of the plan, which spells out challenges and the decisive actions needed now to put the Golden State on the path to more sustainable water resources. Ten broad tenets support the plan and include: • Making conservation a way of life; • Ensuring that each region does all it can to put its water resources to efficient use; • Protecting and restoring important ecosystems; and • Expanding water storage capacity. It’s time we changed the behavior of individuals spending more and more to sink their wells deeper and deeper — to the brink of becoming too expensive to operate — and instead consider how we as a society can make the needed investments to stabilize groundwater levels. The payoff, especially for our children and grandchildren, could be immense. If we can manage our groundwater so that it is available for future generations while we balance the more immediate needs of our economy and environment, we will be in a much better position to cope with drought, climate change and growing demand. ■

the four -year drought gripping California already has cost the state’s farm industry $1.5 billion in direct losses.

These laws give new authority to local agencies to restrict pumping if necessary to bring chronically overdrafted basins into balance. Some farm groups opposed the laws, arguing that they would create a new regulatory bureaucracy and limit the access to groundwater of farmers who had not contributed to overdraft problems. Some local leaders fear the state will be anxious to exert control of local groundwater basins. But state agencies understand that our best chance of achieving sustainLow water levels in Anaheim Lake reflect the drought’s impact.

League of California Cities

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Stormwater: The Orphaned Utility How much longer can we afford to financially strand stormwater utilities? by Ken Farfsing The idea of capturing and using stormwater and urban runoff to supplement water supplies has gained increasing attention in California’s fourth year of protracted drought. It’s a concept whose full implementation is long overdue. Unfortunately, the Golden State’s communities lack the fundamental financial tools to make this common-sense goal a reality. Convoluted laws and court cases have stranded stormwater utilities in this state, rendering them “orphans” compared to drinking water and sanitary sewer utilities. The question is: How quickly can stormwater utilities be rescued from their financial straitjacket so they can start helping resolve the state’s chronic water supply problems?

The Obstacles to Funding Stormwater should be viewed as a resource that can recharge groundwater supplies via infiltration or be used directly for irrigation. Although systems of storm drains, municipal streets and other conveyances (such as municipal separate storm sewer systems, also known as MS4 systems) are public utilities, they differ from water and wastewater utilities in one significant way: Water and wastewater utilities are financially supported by service fees subject only to the notice and protest requirements of Proposition 218 (1996). With few exceptions, local municipal stormwater utilities are supported by the General Funds of their cities and counties. This presents

major challenges to local elected officials and city and county managers because stormwater funding must be balanced with other programs supported by General Funds, including law enforcement, fire, paramedics, park maintenance, street lighting, libraries and other services.

The Convoluted Universe of Proposition 218 Traditional utilities, like drinking water and sanitary sewer services, rely on the protest process outlined in Prop. 218. Most cities did not have stormwater utilities in 1996 when Prop. 218 was drafted, so they are not mentioned in the law nor in the 1997 Omnibus continued

Ken Farfsing is the former city manager of Signal Hill, where he served for 19 years before retiring in June 2015.

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Western City, July 2015

Stormwater: The Orphaned Utility, continued

Providing long-term and sustainable funding to stormwater utilities is critical to preserving California’s quality of life and economic future.

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Prop. 218 Implementation Act. In the often convoluted universe of Prop. 218, stormwater fees must survive both a protest hearing and a majority landowner vote or a supermajority electorate vote. This incongruity seems far from the voters’ intent in 1997 to recognize that utilities are necessary for public health and safety as well as communities’ economic survival. Imagine that your faucets ran dry and your sewer utility shut down because two-thirds of the voters in your town didn’t approve a fee. To prevent this, Californians created an exemption from the vote requirement for traditional water, sanitary sewer and refuse utilities, stipulating instead that they provide public notice and hold public protest hearings for all new rates and increases. As a result, stormwater is the “orphaned” utility. Fifteen years of failed attempts by numerous local governments to pass stormwater fees have proved this to be true. In the meantime, we have failed to put facilities in place to capture and use stormwater — and squandered precious opportunities.

A Look at Some Practical Examples License No. 0451271

Innovative Solutions. Enduring Principles.

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The most recent examples of this unsustainable position can be seen in the failure of regional stormwater fees in 2012 and 2013 proposed respectively by Contra Costa County and Los Angeles County.

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The quest for a regional stormwater fee in Los Angeles County began in May 2003 with the recommendation of a multi-stakeholder committee led by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The board of supervisors unanimously approved a motion requesting that the flood control district examine options for a stable, long-term regional fee. The effort required special legislation, AB 2554 (Brownley, Chapter 602, Statutes of 2010), which enabled the flood control district to impose the fee subject to the requirements of Prop. 218. The county worked with a large stakeholder group to initiate a rigorous outreach and fee development process, including a draft ordinance, project guidelines, an engineer’s report outlining the rationale for the proposed fee and other documents. Los Angeles County held protest hearings in January and March 2013 and received nearly 120,000 protests, representing 5.18 percent of property owners. The board tabled the measure, and arguments devolved the measure into a spiral of inactivity. Ironically, if the county’s stormwater utility were operated under the same rules as its drinking water and sanitary sewer utilities, the fee could have been adopted. The county invested over $4.8 million in the failed process, with over $2.2 million spent to print and mail the protest hearing notices alone. This issue is not unique to Los Angeles County — the Contra Costa County stormwater fee failed at the ballot

when 59 percent of the voters rejected the measure in May 2014.

Working Toward Solutions The League’s Los Angeles County Division and the California Contract Cities Association formed a work group of local elected officials, city managers and public works officials to examine the funding problems and propose solutions. The group issued a comprehensive set of recommendations in a report to assist the county’s cities in developing funding (Stormwater Funding Options: Providing Sustainable Water Quality Funding in Los Angeles County, October 2014). Some of the report’s recommendations are purely local in nature, while others have statewide implications. Following the report’s release, the governor signed AB 2403 (Rendon, Chapter 78, Statutes of 2014) to broaden the definition of water as it applies to implementation of Prop. 218. The work group also provided a more tailored recommendation to allow Los Angeles County’s cities to partner with its sanitation districts on projects that capture and reuse stormwater. This recommendation resulted in the introduction of SB 485 (Hernandez). In addition, the work group recommended correcting the flaw in Prop. 218 to give stormwater utilities the same financial tools traditional utilities possess to address water supply and water quality issues facing their communities.

Squandered Opportunities California has squandered the opportunities of the past 15 years by not capturing and using stormwater. Studies in Los Angeles County by the Bureau of Reclamation found that in wet years natural runoff from streams and rivers in the region can exceed 700,000 acre-feet and 150,000 acre-feet in drier years. (An acre-foot is the volume of water that will cover an area of one acre to a depth of one foot and equals 43,560 cubic feet.) Not all areas in California can infiltrate stormwater, but there is great potential in these watersheds to capture and use stormwater for irrigating parks and open spaces.

A Wake-Up Call The drought might serve as a wake-up call that we cannot afford to continue constraining stormwater utilities’ ability to fund common-sense rainwater capture and use projects. A recent Los Angeles Times editorial (April 12, 2015) about the complexities of water and the drought cautioned California communities not to shrug, go about business as usual and consider issues like the capture and use of stormwater as “academic quandaries.” Providing long-term and sustainable funding to stormwater utilities is critical to preserving California’s quality of life and economic future. ■

League Website Offers Water-Management Resources A page on the League website offers resources to help cities meet the state’s first emergency water-use restrictions and groundwater management plan mandate. Located at www.cacities.org/Water, the page provides information to assist cities with conservation, groundwater and stormwater issues. The ongoing drought presents cities with unprecedented challenges in all three areas. Other features

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on the page include water news headlines from throughout the state and a guide to Proposition 1 (water bond) programs. League staff also maintains a listserv devoted to water issues, which enables elected officials and city staff to more easily share information. To sign up, visit http://lists.cacities.org/mailman/listinfo/ waterissues.

Western City, July 2015

Benicia Turns Green Laws Into

Greenbacks for Local Businesses In response to the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction laws, in 2009 the City of Benicia adopted a Climate Action Plan that set an overarching goal of slowing the increase in GHG emissions and reducing emission levels by 10 percent in 10 years.

Identifying Opportunities and Developing a Strategy The Benicia Industrial Park presented the most significant area of opportunity to address GHG emissions. The largest development of its type in Solano County, the park encompasses over 7 million square feet of space on 3,000 acres and was generating nearly 50 percent of the city’s General Fund revenue. The Great Recession, however, delayed efforts to reduce GHG emissions. Vacancy rates in the park increased to an all-time high of nearly 20 percent in 2009. Sales and property taxes

decreased dramatically, along with the number of jobs and businesses. Following thoughtful discussions with the local business community, Benicia initiated an update to its economic development strategy that would support its two highest priorities: supporting the local economy and improving the local environment. The cornerstone of Benicia’s economic strategy is a program that provides industrial park businesses free energy and water usage assessments as well as recommendations to increase efficiency in these areas. The city provides grant funding and/or zero- or low-interest loans to businesses to implement the recommendations of the assessments. The concept for this program came from input and support from the Benicia Industrial Park Association, Benicia Chamber of Commerce, Solano Economic Development Corporation,

Solano County Green Business Program and Pacific Gas and Electric.

Funding Partner Makes Project Viable With the city’s General Fund already stretched thin trying to maintain essential city services, finding financial resources to support a new business retention program presented a challenge. Undaunted, city officials, community stakeholders and business leaders sought a funding partner and identified the Valero Benicia Refinery as the strongest prospect. Valero entrusted the City of Benicia with funds to implement local water and energy conservation programs. With a funding source securely in place, city staff moved forward to implement the Business Resource Incentive Program (BRIP), which combines economic development and environmental sustainability.

The City of Benicia won the Award for Excellence in the League Partners Award for Excellence in City-Business Relations category of the 2014 Helen Putnam for Excellence Award program. For more information about the award program, visit www.helenputnam.org.

League of California Cities

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City of Benicia Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani presents BRIP check to East Bay Tire Manager Neil Larimer; Benicia Fabrication and Machine, Inc., owners accept a BRIP check from Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and city staff for new factory and warehouse lighting; and the Benicia Industrial Park comprises over 7 million square feet of space. clockwise from above right

Local Companies Reap Benefits The BRIP began in earnest in 2013 and achieved immediate GHG emission reductions for the city and financial savings for businesses. One of the first Benicia businesses to participate in BRIP was Dunlop Manufacturing, makers of supplies for the music industry including guitar picks. The results of its resource assessment identified significant leakage in their air compressor system, which powers some 50 small industrial machines. Modifications to this system significantly increased efficiency and reduced electrical use, netting Dunlop

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an annual savings of almost $26,000. This also reduces the company’s GHG emissions by 15.2 metric tons annually. The BRIP provided a $10,000 grant. Dunlop financed the remaining cost of their project with PG&E’s On-Bill Financing, which enables a business to utilize its energy cost savings to repay the cost of improvements. Another participant, Alfred Conhagen, Inc. of California, provides rotating equipment repairs, engineering services, industrial fabrication, pump upgrades, field service and structural assemblies for power

plants, refineries, chemical plants, sugar mills, agriculture facilities and water and sewer plants worldwide. The firm proved an excellent candidate for BRIP services. “The City of Benicia’s Business Resource Incentive Program gave us the financial encouragement to do what needed to be done,” says Herb Forthuber, general manager of Conhagen’s Benicia facility. “I’m a hero to my employees for installing new, bright warehouse lighting that comes on quickly. And our monthly utility bill is significantly less, which makes me a hero at our corporate headquarters.” Other industrial park businesses had similar experiences. Since its implementation two and a half years ago, 29 businesses are saving an estimated $225,000 each year and the city is reducing GHG emissions by over 500 metric tons annually; this is equivalent to 56,000 gallons of gas. This program proves that economic development can partner with sustainability to create prosperity. continued on page 22

Western City, July 2015

San Jose’s “Bring Your Own Bag” Ordinance

Cuts Plastic

Information about the bag ordinance appears in multiple languages on shopping carts. facing page Volunteers collect plastic bag litter from area creeks prior to the adoption of the ordinance. at right

League of California Cities

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Bag Pollution More than three years after launching its plastic bag ban in January 2012, the City of San José is seeing results. Plastic bag litter has been significantly reduced in creeks and storm drains, and both residents and businesses have embraced the regulation. “We’re proud of the way our community supported the ordinance,” says Kerrie Romanow, director of the city’s Environmental Services Department. “We hope this encourages other cities throughout the state to implement their own ordinance.” With a population of 1 million, San José is the largest city in the state to successfully implement a plastic bag ban. How did the city change business practices and consumer behavior in such a short time?

The Problem of Plastic Bag Litter As plastic bag use grew over the past few decades, so did plastic bag litter. Much

of it ended up in area creeks and streams. Prior to the passage of the ordinance, city staff removed 1,300 plastic bags from trash “hot spots” in 10 creeks over two one-week periods in 2011. Plastic litter was not only unsightly but also threatened to harm wildlife in creek and bay habitats. At the same time, regulations were becoming increasingly stringent. The current San Francisco Bay Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit requires San José and 75 other Bay Area local governments to reduce trash in storm drains and local creeks by 40 percent in 2014, with the long-term goal of “no adverse impact” from trash by 2022. In addition, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board in October 2011 declared three major San José waterways — Guadalupe River, Silver Creek and Coyote Creek — severely impaired by trash. City leaders knew it was time to act.

Creating a Solution Engaging stakeholders was a key first step. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, San José attracts high-tech talent from all over the world. Its rich multicultural mix includes families who have lived in San José for many generations, recent immigrants adapting to new surroundings, commuters, students and retirees. Add to this a busy downtown, suburbs with their own business districts, and one of the nation’s largest network of creeks and trails with the number of recreational users increasing every year. To develop the ordinance, Environmental Services Department staff sought out more than 300 interested stakeholders. Plastic and paper bag manufacturers, grocery and retail industry representatives, environmental advocates and staff from neighboring cities worked together for more than a continued on page 23

The City of San José won the Award for Excellence in the Planning & Environmental Quality category of the 2014 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program. For more about the award program, visit www.helenputnam.org.

Western City, July 2015

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Call Pam Maxwell-Blodgett at (800) 262-1801 to place a display (boxed) ad or for rate and deadline information, or email admanager@westerncity.com. Website Job Postings Display ads are posted on our website at no additional charge. But if you miss the deadline for getting your job opportunity ad into the magazine, you can post it on the Western City website right away. To post your job opportunity ad on our automated website, visit www.westerncity.com or contact Kimberly Brady, Western City’s administrative assistant; email: kbrady@ cacities.org; phone: (916) 658-8223.

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Economic Vitality Manager The City of Manhattan Beach is seeking a highly skilled professional for the position of Economic Vitality Manager. This position reports directly to the City Manager in the Management Services Division. The city seeks an innovative, positive individual with a proven track record of working effectively with regional business leaders, financial institutions, citizen groups and directors/managers. The individual selected will be responsible for assessing the status of the current market demand and determine how to best match businesses’ needs with available resources. A minimum of five years’ experience and a Bachelor’s degree is required. Salary range is from $115,412 to $155,364 DOQ with competitive benefits. Filing Deadline: July 17, 2015 To Apply: www.citymb.info/

League of California Cities

FROM MAINTENANCE WORKER TO CITY MANAGER We Fill All Positions in Municipal Government!

Call Us Toll Free 1-866-406-MUNI (6864) www.munitemps.com Deputy Director of Planning, City of Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, with a population of 4 million, is the second-largest city in the United States, and the most populous city in the state of California. The City is seeking a talented, energetic, and committed leader who will work collaboratively in a results-oriented organization to serve as the next Deputy Director of Planning. An experienced and innovative manager who is task-oriented and accomplishment driven will be valued. The selected candidate will have a broad working knowledge of California planning principles and practices along with CEQA knowledge and/ or experience. The ideal candidate will be well versed in both current and advanced planning and be capable of implementing a process that allows customers to obtain planning/zoning entitlements without impediment. The City will be working on contracts, master plans, zoning codes, and the updating of the general plan. An individual who can navigate through the governmental bureaucracy will excel in this position. A motivated manager who emphasizes team building and is comfortable working in the public eye will be well suited to the position. A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in urban planning, urban studies, urban design, environmental studies, architecture, landscape architecture, or closely related fields (an advanced degree in the above-mentioned fields and/or AICP certification would be highly desirable); and five years of professional managerial experience in the planning department of a federal, state, or municipal government, directing and managing through subordinate managers and supervisors, long-range and current planning projects, policy planning, and providing planning services to the public. The salary range is $145,867– $181,217 and is based on qualifications. The City also offers an attractive benefits package. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Please contact Gary Phillips at (916) 784-9080 should you have any questions. Brochure available. The first review of resumes will begin July 10, 2015.

phone 916•784•9080 fax 916•784•1985 www.bobmurrayassoc.com

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Chief of Police, City of Pacifica, CA The City of Pacifica (approximate population 40,000) has beckoned travelers for more than 100 years with its natural beauty and unparalleled serenity. The City is now seeking a hands-on professional with proven leadership and organizational skills to serve as the new Chief of Police. The Department has a proposed FY2015/16 budget of $8.9 million and a staff of 37. The ideal candidate will bring energy, enthusiasm, commitment, and passion for the future of this vibrant, quality community. A Bachelor’s degree in Police Science, Criminal Justice, Public Administration, or a related field is required; a Master’s degree is desirable. In addition, nine years of experience as a full-time, paid peace officer in the State of California, three years of which must have been in a management position, including possession of Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced California POST Certificates is required. Successful completion of Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Supervisory and Middle Management training courses and eligibility for the appropriate certifications is also required. The salary range for the Chief of Police is under review and appointment will be made depending upon the qualifications of the selected candidate. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Please contact Joel Bryden at (916) 784-9080 should you have any questions. Closing date July 31, 2015. phone 916•784•9080 fax 916•784•1985 www.bobmurrayassoc.com

Just announced . . .

Building Official Fremont July opportunities . . .

Fire Chief Mountain View

Fire Chief

City of Mountain View, CA

Town Manager

he City of Mountain View is located in the center of the Silicon Valley nestled between the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay. Home to a population of 76,260, the city is a full-service municipality with a vibrant economy, historic downtown core and quiet desirable neighborhoods. One of the few Class 1 ISO rated fire departments in the country, the Mountain View Fire Department serves the community from five fire stations and is supported by a total FY2015-16 budget of $23.4 million and 85.5 authorized positions. The ideal candidate will offer an agile leadership style that is suitable for a multigenerational and diverse workforce. An adaptable contemporary leader who is team oriented, he/she will be a strong people manager who is open to new ideas and innovative solutions. Balanced experience in both operations and administration is desirable. At least two years of management experience at the rank of Battalion Chief or higher and a Bachelor’s degree are required. The salary range for this position is $153,709 - $246,736. Placement within range DOQE. Salary is supplemented by a very attractive benefits package. This recruitment will close on Sunday, July 19, 2015. Visit www.tbcrecruiting.com for brochure and to apply online.

Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

Los Gatos

Director of Information Technology Manhattan Beach

Human Resources Director Newport Beach

Photo/art credits Cover: Courtesy of California Department of Water Resources

Pages 10–12: Courtesy of the California Department of Water Resources

Page 3: Heather Dillon/Shutterstock.com

Page 13: John A. Anderson/Shutterstock.com

Page 4: Capitol image, Orhan Cam/Shutterstock. com; Constitution, David Smart/Shutterstock.com

Pages 14–15: MikhailSh/Shutterstock.com

Page 7: Your Design/Shutterstock.com Page 8: Courtesy of the Institute for Local Government Page 9: Janis Smits/Shutterstock.com

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Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

Pages 16–17, 22: Courtesy of the League of California Cities and City of Benicia Pages 18–19: Courtesy of the League of California Cities and City of San José; plastic bag texture, Milosz_G/Shutterstock.com Page 25: Karamysh/Shutterstock.com

Western City, July 2015

Benicia Turns Green Laws Into Greenbacks for Local Businesses, continued from page 17

General Manager Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside, CA Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM) is a Joint Powers Authority formed by the City of Half Moon Bay, CA; the Granada Community Services District; and the Montara Water & Sanitary District to perform all functions for the treatment and disposal of wastewater. SAM is now seeking a General Manager. Strong candidates will have at least five years of experience in wastewater treatment operations, including three years of supervisory experience in control of an activated sludge plant having primary treatment, solids digestion, and mechanical dewatering, and three additional years of experience in control of a sewer line maintenance crew having responsibility for maintenance of a collection system and pumping stations. A Bachelor’s degree with major course work in science, civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a related field is desirable. Possession of a Grade IV or V Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator or Water Treatment Operator Certificate issued by the State of California Water Resources Control Board (or the equivalent issued by another state) is also desirable. The salary for this position is competitive and open, DOQ. Interested individuals may apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Contact Joel Bryden at (916) 784-9080 with questions. Brochure available. Closing date July 24, 2015. phone 916•784•9080 fax 916•784•1985 www.bobmurrayassoc.com

Signal Solutions, a small data and audiovideo installation business located in Benicia, used a BRIP grant and loan to install new factory and warehouse lighting and a 13.2 kW roof-mounted solar system. Signal Solutions will save just under $5,000 per year in utility costs, and the City of Benicia will reduce GHG emissions by another 4.28 metric tons each year. Signal Solutions was eligible for federal tax credits for the solar portion and $1,292 in PG&E rebates for the lighting portion of its project.

H CITY OF MCFARLAND H

This concept of offering assessments in conjunction with capital for business improvements earned kudos for Benicia in 2012 when it won the International Economic Development Council Gold Award for the program.

Civil Engineer

Program Anticipates Continuing Expansion

The City of McFarland is seeking an experienced Civil Engineer to plan, manage, and coordinate the activities and operations of the Engineering Division. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of theories, principles, practices, standards, methods, and techniques of civil engineering; development, evaluation, and approval practices of engineering plans and specifications related to streets, sewers, storm drains, water mains, and other public works projects and plan review of private development projects; construction, financing and legal requirements associated with civil engineering and public works projects; public works inspection practices; environmental regulations and standards; contract administration practices; effective customer service techniques; manages and designs engineering plans and specifications for the construction of streets, storm drains, parks, signals, buildings and other improvements; decides on design procedures and interprets the application of design criteria. REQUIRES: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Civil Engineering, or a related field OR five (5) years of professional project management experience involving civil engineering work, which includes design, administration, and inspection of public works construction projects and rights-of-ways, and the plan review of private sector development projects is required. College-level course work or certifications in the principles of project management and employee supervision are desirable. Possession of a valid Registration in the State of California by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists as a Civil Engineer and possession of a California Class C driver license. Salary depends on qualifications. Interested applicants can send their resume with a city employment application, and a 5 year salary history to: City of McFarland, Attn: Claudia Ceja, 401 West Kern Avenue, McFarland, CA 93250. You can request an application by calling (661) 792-3091 or on our website www.mcfarlandcity.org. Open until filled. McFarland is an equal opportunity employer.

Benicia’s Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani and Signal Solutions owner Grey Richey view solar panels funded through BRIP.

League of California Cities

With the governor’s recent mandate to reduce water use by 25 percent, Benicia’s economic development staff is focusing on water reduction and reuse projects. The owner of a large office complex proposes to use a $25,000 BRIP grant to cover the cost of removing all the existing grass and replacing it with drought-tolerant plants and other landscape materials. Another industrial park business is exploring the option of reusing water in several of its manufacturing operations. “Our program shows that partnering with the business community can create cooperative solutions to the tough problems we face and build a reputation as a business-friendly and sustainable community,” says Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson. Contact: Mario Giuliani, economic development manager, City of Benicia; phone: (707) 746-4289; email: mgiuliani@ci.benicia.ca.us. ■

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San José’s “Bring Your Own Bag” Ordinance Cuts Plastic Bag Pollution, continued from page 19

As plastic bag use grew over the past few decades, so did plastic bag litter.

year on issues ranging from potential business impacts to public acceptance and implementation. Their efforts created an ordinance that prohibits single-use carryout plastic bags provided at checkout by the 6,250 retail businesses located in or doing business in the City of San José. Stores may sell paper bags with at least 40 percent post-consumer recycled content for a minimum of 10 cents per bag.

The city used direct mail, in-person canvassing, business association newsletters, council district communications and other no-cost media outlets to target local businesses. Outreach materials in three languages — English, Spanish and Vietnamese — informed residents about the ordinance and how their efforts help the environment.

effort,” says Ed Shikada, who served as San José city manager at the time. “We received great support leading up to the start of the ordinance from organizations dedicated to its success, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive.”

A Head Start in Public Acceptance

Several public agencies, nonprofit organizations and other city departments assisted with outreach, including Save the Bay, Clean Water Action, California Grocers Association, the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, Second Harvest Food Bank, CommUniverCity, Our City Forest and the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy.

The campaign partnered with several agencies to reach out to San José’s diverse community. “While there was understandable apprehension from some businesses and the city in pressing forward before other adjacent cities, this was truly a community

As word of the ordinance spread, national news media showed increasing interest. A New York Times article quoted Romanow, who said, “The days of a single candy bar getting its own plastic bag are over.” continued

CITY MANAGER The City of Willows, California The City of Willows (population 6,154) is an attractive, full-service community offering incredible recreational opportunities and a small town ambiance nestled into the agriculturally diverse Northern Sacramento Valley; framed by Mendocino National Forest to the West, Sacramento River to the East, the stately and picturesque Mount Shasta to the North and Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge to the South. Capping an eight year tenure City Manager, Steve Holsinger will be retiring following the appointment of the new City Manager. Mr. Holsinger was preceded by two long tenured City Manager Retirees; spanning thirty-two years in municipal service. These three Managers presided over forty years of community leadership; validating the civic stability and cultural heritage of this picturesque rural community. Mr. Holsinger remains available to consult with interested candidates concerning this outstanding career opportunity. All inquiries will be treated confidentially.

The City boasts a growing economy and diverse community nourished by a friendly “home town” atmosphere. Whether a first-time visitor, prospective new resident or prudent business owner considering relocation, you will appreciate everything Willows has to offer. The City Council is comprised of five members elected at large, serving staggered four-year terms. Municipal services are provided through seven departments: Administration (City Manager’s Office, Finance, Human Resources & Risk Mgmt.); Building; Fire; Police, Public Works (Street Maintenance, Parks, Facilities, Water and Waste Water Treatment Plant), Recreation and Library Services. Planning, Engineering & City Attorney services are provided on a contractual basis. The City is fiscally sound; grounded by the Council’s conservative fiduciary practicality.

The salary is open and negotiable dependent upon qualifications & experience; with appointment anticipated in the range of $105,000 – $125,000. The City also provides a very generous benefits package with PERS Miscellaneous 3%@60 for classic members (New members 2%@62 based on highest three consecutive years). The City of Willows is an Equal Opportunity Provider. All qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply by July 24, 2015. Please send a letter of interest, resume, completed employment application and answers to the supplemental questions to: Natalie Butler, City Clerk, via email at NButler@cityofwillows.org or mail to: CM Recruitment: 201 N Lassen Street, Willows, CA 95988. Phone: 530-934-7041; fax: 530-934-7402.

www.westerncity.com

Western City, July 2015

San José’s “Bring Your Own Bag” Ordinance Cuts Plastic Bag Pollution, continued

Measuring the Results

observations over a one-week period in August 2013, 98 percent of these retail stores are complying with the ordinance.

Retailer Participation City staff randomly selected 93 small, medium and large businesses for observation within all 10 city council districts, as well as the four largest shopping malls in San José. Based on staff ’s in-store J

Consumer Behavior Based on observations of customers leaving retail stores, approximately 58 percent of shoppers have used a reusable bag since R

Town Manager

Town of Los Gatos, CA

ffering an exceptional quality of life just 50 miles south of San Francisco and central to the Silicon Valley, the Town of Los Gatos (pop. 30,497) is seeking a new Town Manager. This charming and picturesque community is one of Santa Clara County’s oldest towns. Los Gatos is a General Law City governed by five Council Members who appoint the Town Manager and Town Attorney. The ideal candidate will be a local government professional capable of leading in an environment with high expectations and standards. He/she will be an outstanding communicator with superior interpersonal skills. Demonstrated success in serving an engaged and caring community that values collaboration and process is desirable. Impressive depth in municipal finance and an understanding of sound land use and planning principles will be considered favorably. Relevant management experience and a Bachelor’s degree are required. A Master’s degree is preferred. Salary will be competitive, DOQE and fiscally responsible. Salary is supplemented by an attractive benefits package. This recruitment will close on Sunday, July 12, 2015. For brochure, submission instructions and to apply online, visit: www.tbcrecruiting.com.

Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

2012, compared with about 4 percent usage prior to adopting the ordinance. Contrary to concerns raised before implementation, paper bag usage has not increased. Creeks and Storm Drains Environmental Services Department Deputy Director Napp Fukuda and the city watershed team worked to gather data on plastic bag litter before and after the ordinance went into effect. • At the 10 creek hot spots studied in 2011, only 145 plastic bags were found in 2014 — an average annual decrease of 71 percent; and • At 65 storm drain catch basins in September 2011, staff found 50 plastic bags. In April 2012, four months after the start of the ordinance, staff found only nine bags in 69 catch basins. In addition, staff reported a 59 percent decrease in plastic bag litter found on city streets and sidewalks. “The ordinance is making a difference,” says Fukuda. Recycling GreenWaste Recovery, a residential recycling hauler for the city, reported a 10 percent drop in film plastics processed — a reduction of approximately 1,380 pounds per day of film plastics since the ordinance was implemented. Volunteers

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS The City of Rancho Mirage, located in the heart of the Palm Springs Valley, is recruiting for a Director of Public Works to replace our retiring director who has held the position for 30 years. This position reports directly to the City Manager and plans, directs and manages the activities, programs and operations for Engineering, Street Maintenance, Facilities and Fleet, Capital Improvement programs, advanced energy systems and a very active grant program. For FY 2015-16 the new Director will manage and implement a capital improvement program of $38 million. The City has approximately 17,800 residents and is 80% developed. Its residents have become used to clean and well-maintained streets, buildings, excellent customer service by the Public Works staff, and regional leadership with local agencies. The ideal candidate will have any combination of education and/or experience that provides the knowledge, skills and abilities. For a more detailed job description or to download an employment application (required) please visit our website at www.ranchomirageca.gov. Salary $125,000 plus excellent benefits.

League of California Cities

For years, community volunteer Loui Tucker has cleaned up San José highways and documented the quantity of litter collected. “In 2007, I cleaned up a small section of Southwest Expressway and picked up a huge pile of plastic bags,” says Tucker. “After the ordinance took effect, nine volunteers cleaned a large area on Highway 280 and gathered a small pile.”

For More Information The Environmental Impact Report and outreach materials for San José’s Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance are available at www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?nid=1526. Contact: Arleen Arimura, marketing and public outreach representative II, Environmental Services Department; phone: (408) 975-2557; email: arleen.arimura@sanjoseca.gov. ■ www.cacities.org

Heeding the Call for Water Conservation, continued from page 9

The good news is that there is an inexpensive and easy opportunity to achieve significant water reductions that we should all promote and work in partnership to implement: Use existing funds from voter-approved water bonds to motivate homeowners to install more water-efficient fixtures in their homes.

New housing in California meets stringent water conservation requirements.

It’s simple and cost-effective and will create jobs, while saving the state hundreds of billions of gallons of water annually. California has a total existing housing stock of 13.6 million dwelling units and of that, 9.2 million (67 percent) were constructed under building standards that contained no required provisions for energy or water efficiency. Simply put, two out of three homes were built and equipped with fixtures like toilets and showerheads that can use up to three times more water than the current models required under the new California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen). Four years ago, CALGreen’s mandatory building standards were implemented, requiring a 20 percent reduction in indoor water use for new homes. Today, a new single-family, three-bedroom home with four occupants uses about 46,500 gallons of water per year compared to 92,500 gallons per year used by homes built before 1980.

Retrofits Offer Significant Water Savings Further, effective indoor water-use retrofits do not necessarily have to be accompanied by an exorbitant price tag or complicated labor. Some of the most cost-effective, successful, indoor wateruse retrofits are simply swapping out old showerheads, toilets and faucets and replacing these fixtures with low-flow models. Recent research shows that indoor water use in three-bedroom single-family homes has been reduced by 50 percent by implementing low-flow fixtures and appliance requirements for new homes. In fact, 70 percent of this reduction comes from the installation of low-flow showerheads and low-flow toilets alone, with waterefficient washing machines contributing an additional 17 percent.

E S

Assistant Director of Community Services City of Palo Alto, CA Located 35 miles south of San Francisco and 14 miles north of San Jose, Palo Alto is a community of approximately 63,000. The City is now seeking a knowledgeable, capable, and technically experienced individual to serve as the new Assistant Community Services Director. The ideal candidate will provide strategic planning and effective leadership for the Department. The chosen candidate will have excellent interpersonal, facilitation, public speaking and written skills. He/she will embrace the opportunity to serve in a hands-on capacity and will form positive, cohesive working relationships founded upon mutual trust and respect with not only the Department’s staff, but also with other City departments, the City Manager, relevant boards and commissions, and the public. It is envisioned that the position will oversee the Recreation, Parks and Open Space Divisions of the Community Services Department. Candidates must possess excellent leadership skills, considerable experience managing diverse staff teams of managers and non managers, Parks and Recreation programs and services, including capital and operating budget responsibilities. A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and eight years of related experience, including five years of management level experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the position is required. A Master’s degree is preferred. The salary range for the Assistant Community Services Director is $122,158$183,248; placement within the range is dependent upon qualifications. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Please contact Valerie Phillips at (916) 784-9080 should you have any questions. Closing date July 17, 2015.

phone 916•784•9080 fax 916•784•1985 www.bobmurrayassoc.com

Director of Information Technology City of Manhattan Beach, CA

ust south of Silicon Beach is the highly desirable urban coastal community of Manhattan Beach. The City is known for maintaining an incomparable cosmopolitan quality of life with a quaint small town feel. Manhattan Beach (pop. 35,000) is recruiting its first Director of Information Technology who will lead the transition of elevating what is currently a division of the Finance Department to a fully established standalone department that delivers quality services critical to the success of the organization. While superior management skills are expected, this new Director will also be a forward thinking IT professional with exceptional problem solving abilities. He/she will offer impressive customer service standards which support a high performing municipality that is energized by a continuous improvement mindset. Eight (8) years of increasingly responsible relevant experience which includes at least three (3) years of service in a management capacity, public sector experience and a Bachelor’s degree are required Salary range $156,648 to $204,372. Placement within the range DOQE. Salary is supplemented by an attractive benefits package. Closing date: Sunday, July 12, 2015. Detailed recruitment brochure available at www.tbcrecruiting.com.

Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

continued www.westerncity.com

Western City, July 2015

Heeding the Call for Water Conservation, continued

drought relief and conservation efforts must be balanced with the need to protect the state’s recovering economy.

Human Resources Director City of Newport Beach, CA

ewport Beach is the majestic center of Orange County’s highly desirable Southern California coastline. Home to a population of 86,874, the City of Newport Beach is known for its exceptional standards, outstanding services and quality of life. Municipal services are delivered with the support of 730 full-time and 421 part-time/seasonal employees. The Human Resources Department consists of 11 full-time staff organized across three divisions: Administration, Recruitment & Selection, and Risk Management & Benefits.

If every existing home in the state were retrofitted with the most recent building and plumbing building standards, over 300 billion gallons of water could be saved per year. On average, the cost to upgrade existing housing with new waterefficient showerheads, fixtures and toilets would be $1,500 or less per home. Indoor water retrofits for older homes are the type of simple, effective solutions that can result in significant water savings without damaging the economy or worsening the growing housing supply shortage. If we continue to look for and embrace these types of common-sense drought mitigation measures, we will emerge from this experience smarter and more water-conscious without inflicting additional hardship on California’s working families. ■

The ideal candidate will be a results-oriented administrator with a collaborative management style. He/she will be an accessible and strategic leader who supports innovation and is champion of organizational efficiency and thoughtful change management. Seven (7) years of increasingly responsible and diverse human resources experience including labor relations and risk management, at least three years management experience and a Bachelor’s degree are required. Salary range $134,472 - $201,698. Placement within the range DOQE. Salary is supplemented by an attractive benefits package. Closing date: Sunday, July 19, 2015. Detailed recruitment brochure available at www.tbcrecruiting.com. Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

Protecting Wildlife and Habitat 916.630.4900 www.RalphAndersen.com

Ralph Andersen & Associates

City of Beverly Hills City Manager

The City of Beverly Hills has a longstanding reputation for providing superior customer service to residents, businesses and visitors. This characteristic, combined with outstanding staff in all departments, has been a hallmark of success for this high performance organization. The City Manager of Beverly Hills will oversee a universally acclaimed and prestigious world-class organization. The municipal government provides the highest quality safety services, recreational facilities, municipal services and physical environment. The Beverly Hills Police and Fire Departments are among the finest public safety agencies in the nation – and both are held in high regard and are a strong source of pride for the community. The City Council invites experienced public sector managers and other accomplished executives qualified to provide executive leadership to a highly sophisticated, affluent and involved community to submit interest. Requires a bachelor’s degree in public or business administration from an accredited college or university. A master’s degree is preferred but not required. Candidates are encouraged to apply immediately, with the first review of resumes to begin on July 20, 2015.This recruitment is considered open until filled. Electronic submittals are strongly preferred via email to apply@ralphandersen.com and should include a compelling cover letter, comprehensive resume, Salary history, and five (5) professional references. Confidential inquiries welcomed to Dave Morgan at (916) 630-4900. Detailed brochure available at www.ralphandersen.com.

League of California Cities

How did three cities and a county create a Habitat Conservation Plan and streamline the permitting process? Read “A New Approach to Habitat Conservation in Silicon Valley” online at www.WesternCity.com under “Web Exclusive.”

www.cacities.org

PeckhamMcKenney Presents & Outstanding Career Opportunities City Attorney

Director of Financial Services

Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta with its 1,000 miles of inland waterways, the city of Antioch with a population of over 107,000 is home to 31 parks and 600 acres of open space and is considered by many a recreational paradise positioned for significant growth. The city is seeking an exceptional attorney with demonstrated expertise in municipal law with superior communication and interpersonal skills. Graduation from an accredited law school and active membership in the California State Bar required. Salary up to $202,608 annually DOQ, with benefits.

The full-service City of Milpitas, at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay, is a diverse and progressive community of over 70,000 residents with quality schools and a multitude of recreational opportunities. Reporting directly to the City Manager and leading a department of 22 full-time employees and a $3.3 million budget comprised of financial planning and analysis, accounting, payroll, purchasing, investments, utility billing and collection, risk management, and internal audit, the Director serves as a key member of the city’s executive staff. Bachelor’s degree in related field and five years experience required, Master’s preferred. Salary range is from $135,088 to $190,264 DOQ with excellent benefits.

City of Antioch, CA

Milpitas, CA

Filing deadline: July 6, 2015.

Filing deadline: July 27, 2015.

City Manager

City of Palmdale, CA Located in the heart of the Antelope Valley, the vibrant community of Palmdale (pop. 155,000) allows residents to escape the complexity of the Los Angeles region and enjoy affordable housing and a high quality of life. Appointed by a City Council known for its stability, the new City Manager will embrace the values and strategic plan of the organization, oversee a staff of 184 and 2015/16 proposed total budget of $234.5M, and bring an entrepreneurial approach in leading Palmdale to the next level. Proven local government experience with an emphasis in economic development and strong fiscal management are desired. A Bachelor’s degree in public or business administration or a related field is required; Master’s degree is preferred. Competitive salary DOQ. Filing deadline: July 1, 2015.

Human Resources/Risk Management Administrator City of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Strategically located in south Orange County, beautiful Rancho Santa Margarita (pop. 50,000) is a master-planned community operating as a contract city with 23 positions/8 PTE. Reporting to the City Manager, the Administrator will oversee all human resources and risk management functions. At least five years of increasingly responsible experience, including one year of administrative and supervisory responsibility is required. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in personnel, human resources management, public administration or a related field is required; Master’s desirable. Current salary range: $88,980 - $122,208 (pending City Council approval). Filing deadline: July 6, 2015.

Upcoming Recruitment —

Police Chief, City of Beverly Hills, CA

Please visit our web site for more information on these exciting career opportunities.

Peckham & McKenney

www.peckhamandmckenney.com

www.westerncity.com

Western City, July 2015

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Western City, July 2015