Western City November 2015

NOVEMBER 2015 |

The Monthly Magazine of the League of California Cities®

®

Forecasting for an Uncertain Fiscal Future

p.17

The Sharing Economy’s Impact on Cities p.9 Public Engagement in Budgeting p.8

www.westerncity.com

PROTECTING

PUBLIC FUNDS

THROUGH RECIPROCAL DEPOSITS

cross the United States, local and state governmental organizations use reciprocal deposit services to access multi-million-dollar FDIC insurance through a single bank relationship.

In this way, they are able to safeguard taxpayer money, keep funds local, and eliminate the burden of ongoing collateral tracking.

Here are a few facts about how public funds are using Insured Cash Sweep® and CDARS®, services provided by Promontory Interfinancial Network, the nation’s leading provider of reciprocal deposit placement services.

AN ACTIVE COMMUNITY OF DEPOSITORS

3600+ $13 Billion

public fund customers across the nation used Promontory services to place reciprocal deposits in excess of

As of 3/31/15.

AMERICAN AS...

39% of all reciprocal deposits placed using Promontory’s services are placed by public organizations.

Based on average principal balance as of 3/31/15.

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA states have laws that allow public entities to protect deposits through the use of reciprocal deposits.

To find a bank that offers ICS and CDARS visit

ICSandCDARS.com

Placement of customer funds through the ICS and CDARS services is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures set forth in the agreements that a participating institution’s customer enters into with that institution, including the applicable deposit placement agreement. Limits apply and customer eligibility criteria may apply. Program withdrawals are limited to six per month when using the ICS savings option. If a depositor is subject to restrictions on the placement of funds in depository institutions, it is the depositor’s responsibility to determine whether the placement of funds through ICS or CDARS, or a particular ICS or CDARS transaction, satisfies these restrictions. Insured Cash Sweep, ICS, and CDARS are registered service marks of Promontory Interfinancial Network, LLC.

CONTENTS 2 Calendar of League Events 3 Executive Director’s Message

A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

By Chris McKenzie

New research on the early brain development of poor children may be useful in helping us rethink our intervention approaches.

7 City Forum

U.S. Communities Provides Savings, Efficiency and Value

By Norman Coppinger

he U.S. Communities purchasing T alliance provides world-class products, resources and solutions.

California cities saved approximately $4.5 million in 2014 through U.S. Communities.

8 News From the Institute for Local Government

Public Engagement in Budgeting Leads to Greater Trust and Transparency

ngaging the community can E inform the budgeting process and help residents understand the hard choices involved.

9

he Sharing Economy’s T Impact on Cities

By Eva Spiegel and Jude Hudson

ide-sharing and home-sharing R services are affecting cities in a variety of ways. Seven California cities report their experiences.

17

orecasting for an F Uncertain Fiscal Future

By Robert Leland

The lingering revenue effects from the Great Recession, changes to pension contributions, rising retiree medical costs and other factors almost guarantee that the financial future for California cities will bear little resemblance to the past.

22 California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence

rea and Fullerton B Merge Fire Command to Maximize Resources

he consolidation occurred withT out layoffs, demotions or loss of pay to the affected employees and provided immediate financial relief for both cities.

Job Opportunities 23 Professional Services 31 Directory

Cover image: crystal ball, Fer Gregory/Shutterstock.com; graph, Polygraphus/shutterstock.com; design work, Taber Creative Group

®

President L. Dennis Michael Mayor Rancho Cucamonga

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

First Vice President JoAnne Mounce Council Member Lodi

Second Vice President James Goodhart Mayor Palos Verdes Estates

Immediate Past President Stephany Aguilar Council Member Scotts Valley

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

November

Managing Editor Eva Spiegel (916) 658-8228 email: espiegel@cacities.org

19–20

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.

Advertising Sales Manager Pam Maxwell-Blodgett (916) 658-8256 email: maxwellp@cacities.org

DECEMBER

Administrative Assistant Kimberly Brady (916) 658-8223 email: kbrady@cacities.org

2–3

Municipal Finance Institute, La Jolla This conference provides essential information for city officials and staff involved in fiscal planning for municipalities.

Contributors Dan Carrigg Martin Gonzalez Melissa Kuehne Bismarck Obando Sarah Rubin

2–4

City Clerks’ New Law & Elections Seminar, La Jolla The seminar covers laws affecting elections as well as many aspects of the clerk’s responsibilities.

Associate Editors Carol Malinowski Carolyn Walker

January 2016

Design Taber Creative Group

20–22

Advertising Design ImagePoint Design For photo credits, see page 24.

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.

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. 11.

New Mayors and Council Members’ Academy, Sacramento This vitally important training prepares newly elected officials for the demands of office and introduces them to the legal constraints on city councils.

21–22

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

22

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

February

NT RI

ED US IN G

P

3–5

W

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0

GY

10

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City Managers’ Department Meeting, Indian Wells Geared to the unique needs of city managers, this conference covers issues affecting cities throughout California.

IND EN

E

Supplied by Community Energy

Event and registration information is available at www.cacities.org/events.

FSC ® is an independent, not-for-profit organization that promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management worldwide. Products with the FSC label are independently certified to ensure that they come from forests managed to meet the needs of present and future generations.

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

Executive Director’s Message by Chris McKenzie

A MIND Is a Terrible Thing to Waste The iconic slogan of the United Negro College Fund is, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in.” It’s a great slogan because it is so authentic and moving. It underscores in a few short words the lifechanging effect of a college education for people of every racial or ethnic origin.

The slogan is painfully relevant to the plight of the vulnerable low-income children of every race and ethnicity in our country who, all too often, have been so deprived that they grow up to join the ranks of our unemployed, incarcerated, homeless and mentally ill. This tragedy is compounded by the fact that they cost

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society billions of dollars to incarcerate, house, feed and treat — and cause immeasurable heartache in the lives of their families and friends.

As we struggle to respond to the growing needs of our homeless, mentally ill, unemployed and imprisoned Americans, some exciting research on the early

brain development of poor children may be useful in helping us rethink our intervention approach and prevent such tragedy for future generations.

New Study Links Poverty and Brain development The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics in its July 20, 2015, issue published the results of a study by psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison of the relationship in children between poverty and brain surface area. While we have known continued

Western City, November 2015

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A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, continued

for years about the link between poverty and academic performance, there has been little direct evidence of the effects of poverty on brain size and subsequent academic performance. In its July 22, 2015, issue Scientific American summarized the study’s astounding findings: Using a sample of 389 healthy children and adolescents from age 4 to 22, psychologist Seth Pollak and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison compared scores on academic achievement tests with tissue volume in select areas of the brain. Researchers placed subjects in a magnetic resonance imaging machine to scan and measure gray matter volume in the temporal lobes, frontal lobes and hippocampus — brain areas that are critical to cognitive processes required for academic success and vulnerable to a person’s early environment.

Some of the individuals came back for reassessment after 24 months and returned for follow-ups over a period of up to six years.

The researchers found that children who grew up in families below the federal poverty line had gray matter volumes 8 to 10 percent below normal development. They did not find differences between children from middle class and affluent families, but those only 50 percent above the poverty line showed gray matter volumes 3 to 4 percent below the norm. In other words, more money does not necessary mean better outcomes but at a certain point a “dropoff” effect of income occurs where a lack of financial resources is detrimental to development.“The reason I think we’re not seeing a continuum is that humans are very hardy,” Pollak says, “I think the human child can learn to

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accommodate quite a wide variety of circumstances — what’s happening in extreme poverty is that we’re moving out of the range where the human brain can cope.”

Pollak was hoping to see the gap closing as children grew older, spent more time in school and outside their homes, but this was not the case. The gap in brain development was still present at age 22.

To solely address the effects of low income, the researchers excluded children who had other factors known to negatively affect brain development, such as a family history of psychiatric diagnosis or a risky pregnancy. The results were clear — the effects of low socioeconomic status are apparent even in kids who grew up otherwise healthy.

“This was an important study,” says Joan Luby, a psychiatrist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who was not part of this study. It went one step further than the existing literature, she notes, and created a link between poverty and academic achievement.

“It gives us a clear road map for future public health action.”

A recent report from the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that in 2013, 51 percent of students in U.S. public schools were from low-income families. Children who grow up in low-income families are exposed to more environmental stressors, such as less access to healthy food, unsafe neighborhoods and stressed parents. Pinpointing the specific causes will be difficult but in future studies Pollak and his group hope to identify how different social programs, such as free lunch programs or housing vouchers, can help children who grow up poor. “I used to think about poverty as a question of social policy. Now I think of it as a biomedical problem, an environmental condition or toxin that’s affecting children,” Pollak says. [emphasis added]

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Find More Information Online For links to sources mentioned here and related resources, read the online version of this article at www.westerncity.com.

Additional Research Confirms Findings As reported by American Public Media’s Marketplace (www.Marketplace.org), Elizabeth Sowell, a neuroscientist and professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California, recently conducted a similar study at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles of the brains of more than 1,000 young people ages 3 to 20 from throughout the nation.

Sowell found that the brains of children whose families made $25,000 or less annually had brain surface areas about 6 percent smaller than families who made $150,000 a year or more.

Describing the significance of her study, Sowell told Marketplace, “I think that what this study has done is shown that there’s an actual physical link with the brain. It’s really exciting to see it. I want this work to be an impetus to really say,

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‘What are we doing with our money?’”

Answering that question will be Sowell’s next research project.

Dr. Sowell’s question “What are we doing with our money?” is the right thing to ask. If we accept too readily that there is nothing we can do to prevent such striking physical differences in the brain sizes of children born into poverty, we are accepting that society will shoulder the long-term costs of their circumstances, instead of seeking support that helps shape young brains.

Envisioning a Different Future Recently we were stunned and moved by photos of a 3-year-old Syrian boy who drowned while trying to migrate with his family to the shores of Europe. This devastating image opened the hearts of many people, resulting in an outpouring of offers of shelter and services. continued

Western City, November 2015

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A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, continued

In a similar vein, perhaps a deeper understanding of the physical effects of poverty on young children’s brains may help us rethink our policies and services. If we start asking how to prevent underdeveloped brains and the lifelong disadvantages they bring, it shifts our focus away from just dealing with the consequences of the outcomes we have today — it makes us curious about how to avoid them altogether. It brings to mind the adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

We have hundreds, if not thousands, of local charitable organizations and government agencies helping the poor and homeless after they have become desperate.

In addition to food assistance, housing and health programs, the federal government funds no less than 20 grant programs for services to the homeless. Much of the federal government’s nondefense domestic

spending, in fact, is focused on services to this population.

What would our communities look like if we did not have to devote so many of our public resources to dealing with the consequences of poverty? Suppose our poorest children had a better chance at a

healthy future. Imagine that, armed with the knowledge from these newest studies, we took a more proactive, preventive approach to helping our neediest people and actually reduced the incidence of underdeveloped brains in poor children.

Picture that, and let’s talk about how to make it happen. ■

How you can Make a Difference City officials who want to help address the effects of poverty on child brain development have access to a wide variety of federal and state resources to help feed and house poor families. One of the quickest ways to make a difference, however, is for city leaders to get directly involved by helping establish a summer meal program at their local library through the Lunch in the Library program of the California Summer Meal Coalition, an initiative of the Institute for Local Government. If your city isn’t already planning such a program for 2016, now is the perfect time to begin. For more information, visit www.ca-ilg. org/california-summer-meal-coalition.

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League of California Cities

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U.S. Communities Provides

Savings, Efficiency and Value

by Norman Coppinger

The League and the California State Association of Counties launched the California Communities purchasing alliance more than 26 years ago. Now operating under the name U.S. Communities, the alliance provides world-class products, resources and solutions.

California cities made purchases through U.S. Communities suppliers in 2014 totaling more than $45.2 million — and saved approximately $4.5 million.

Operating as a national program since 1996, U.S. Communities aggregates the potential purchasing power of more than 90,000 public agencies. Using a lead agency model, procurement contracts with national suppliers are publicly solicited by a large public agency on behalf of all local and state governments, school districts, higher education and nonprofits. Each lead public agency takes responsibility for structuring the bid documents, assembling a national team of experts to review responses, documenting the bid tallies and awarding the contract to one or more qualified firms. The process results in a Master Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement that provides the lowest available government pricing to all U.S. Communities participants regardless of the public agency’s size or volume of purchases.

To validate its pricing, U.S. Communities benchmarks the supplier’s best pricing commitment against another large contract held by the supplier, a competitor’s contract, results of a bid process, and retail pricing in the marketplace. A third-party independent auditing firm audits contract pricing, terms and conditions of compliance. U.S. Communities monitors program oversight and compliance with professional public procurement standards through its 29-member advisory board comprising government purchasing officials from throughout the nation (including four from California). As a result, public agencies will not get better pricing from the supplier through an independent contract or another cooperative.

U.S. Communities’ mission is to provide participating public agencies easy access to competitively solicited contracts with national suppliers offering a broad line of top-quality products and services.

More than 55,000 public agencies use U.S. Communities contracts.

In 2014, these participants procured more than $1.8 billion in products, services and solutions. Over 90 state associations, including the League, support U.S. Communities. National sponsors include the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties and Association of School Business Officials International.

During 2015, U.S. Communities expanded its extensive list of offerings to include utility vehicles, pharmaceuticals, medical

equipment and supplies, and hotel and travel services. The purchasing alliance gives public agencies access to more than 40 national suppliers.

U.S. Communities offers thousands of brands, products, services and solutions in these categories Office and school supplies

Office furniture

Electrical products

Telecommunications supplies

Technology products and solutions

Janitorial supplies

Education furniture

Office machines

Uniforms and work apparel

Park and playground equipment

Athletic supplies and equipment

Homeland security and public safety

Maintenance and hardware supplies

Auto parts and accessories

Synthetic turf and other athletic surfaces

Science and lab supplies

Elevator maintenance and service

Equipment and tool rental services

Paint solutions

Roofing supplies and services

Electric and gas utility vehicles

Hotel and travel solutions

Pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and supplies

Innovative consulting services

Participation in the program requires no cost or minimum order.

To complete the easy registration process or learn more about the program, visit www.uscommunities.org/lcc.

Purchases made through the U.S. Communities program help keep League membership dues low for California cities. For additional information on how California cities benefit from participating in U.S. Communities, contact Norman Coppinger at ncoppinger@cacities.org or (916) 658-8277. ■

Norman Coppinger is director of administrative services for the League and can be reached at ncoppinger@cacities.org.

www.westerncity.com

Western City, November 2015

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Public Engagement in Budgeting Leads to Greater Trust and Transparency Budgeting is a key responsibility of local governments. Engaging the community can inform the budgeting process and help residents understand the city council’s vision and the hard choices that budgeting entails.

Town of Paradise Engages Community on Sales Tax Measure The Great Recession that forced cuts to staffing and services significantly impacted the Town of Paradise, like many California cities. The town began exploring options in 2014 to increase revenue and, in turn, town services. One option was a ballot measure (Measure C) calling for a temporary half-cent sales tax increase. If this measure passed, the town council would need to determine how to allocate the funds. In fall 2014 the Paradise Town Council initiated a public engagement effort to gauge resident preferences around four priority budget areas: fire suppression, police services, road maintenance and animal control.

The Institute for Local Government’s (ILG) Public Engagement Program partnered with Paradise on public engagement planning and implementation. Through this effort, the town launched a strategic, outcome-driven resident engagement effort that culminated in three workshops facilitated

by ILG. Paradise leaders and staff increased participation at these meetings in three ways. First, they boosted awareness of the meeting by working with local community groups to notify and involve residents. Second, the town increased accessibility by holding the meetings at various times of the day to accommodate people with different

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League of California Cities

schedules. Third, the town built trust by partnering with ILG as a neutral third party to facilitate the workshops.

At the workshops, Paradise staff gave presentations to clarify the impact of: • Recent budget setbacks on specific services; • Staffing under the current budget in the short and long term; and • The half-cent sales tax measure’s potential effect.

Participants were then invited to share feedback on priorities for town services through an informal poll.

The outreach process encouraged participants of all backgrounds and interests to share their concerns, ask questions and engage directly with town leaders and staff. The results pleased the town council and staff; residents with a diverse range of perspectives attended the events, and Measure C passed in the November 2014 election. For more information about this project visit www.ca-ilg.org/paradise.

ILG Budgeting and Financial Management Resources ILG offers a variety of free resources to local officials and staff to assist with budgeting, financial management and engaging the public in the budgeting process.

Budgeting and financial management can be difficult to master. Financial Management for Elected Officials: Questions to Ask (www.ca-ilg.org/post/financial management) helps elected officials, the media and the public understand the basics of local agency financial planning and management, including what kinds of questions to ask to ensure good practices are being followed.

ILG’s Budget Tool Box (www.ca-ilg. org/budget-tool-box) outlines a number of tools local officials can use to better engage the public in the budgeting process. These tools include budget education and outreach, surveys, workshops, advisory committees, deliberative forums, participatory budgeting and working with existing neighborhood councils and committees.

For additional resources visit www.ca-ilg.org/budgeting-finance. ■

The Sharing Economy’s

Impact on Cities The advent of ride-sharing and home-sharing services like Uber, Lyft and Airbnb are affecting cities in a variety of ways. Western City recently interviewed officials from seven cities throughout California and asked them to describe how the sharing economy is impacting their community and the challenges and opportunities it brings. We also asked them about their greatest financial concern for their city over the next 10 years.

Council Member and League First Vice President JoAnne Mounce, Lodi In the City of Lodi, we’re excited to see these alternative platforms help people meet their travel, accommodation and transportation needs. Lodi doesn’t presently offer a lot of hotel choices, so there aren’t always enough hotel rooms when big events draw visitors. The home-sharing services like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) do a good job of providing space for visitors. It’s beneficial for the consumer, and so far we have not seen any harm resulting from it. We do have a number of requirements in place for Airbnb and VRBO regarding home occupancy and paying transient occupancy tax (TOT).

The big issue related to home sharing may ultimately be land use. We have not had any complaints yet, but that may

become an issue in the future. Parking and noise issues can be addressed through our existing zoning laws.

As far as ride sharing is concerned, Lodi has only one taxi operator so we consider Uber and Lyft an advantage for our community. I have used Uber, and it’s a good way to get people around Lodi. Many limousines and buses are also available locally for people attending private events or wine-tasting tours.

Like many other cities in the state, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) obligations and

by Eva Spiegel and Jude Hudson

our ability to fund the next 10 years is foremost in our minds. We want to make sure our city’s bottom line stays healthy, which depends on CalPERS rates. … We have partnered with local businesses to help tourists have a positive experience, and that will help bolster our revenues.

At the same time, CalPERS has a huge impact, even though we’ve diversified our investments and tried to cover ourselves from a fiscal standpoint. With the help of our city manager, we put all our eggs in the tourism basket 10 years ago, and that effort has paid off for Lodi. continued

The big issue related to home sharing may ultimately be land use.

—Council Member and League First Vice President JoAnne Mounce, Lodi

Eva Spiegel is communications director for the League and can be reached at espiegel@cacities.org. Jude Hudson is editor in chief of Western City and principal of Hudson + Associates, a Sacramento-based strategic communication consulting firm; she can be reached at jude@surewest.net.

www.westerncity.com

Western City, November 2015

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The Sharing Economy’s Impact on Cities, continued

Mayor Rusty Bailey, Riverside Riverside is preparing for the sharing economy. We haven’t had too much relationship with it yet. I know people are using Uber and some Airbnb units, especially with three growing universities in town. We have 50,000 students, and that generation is going to expect a shared economy.

We’re preparing, watching the trends and monitoring decisions in the courts, and watching what other cities are doing.

We haven’t gotten to the point where we’re seeing impacts that require a regulatory approach. However, we want to make sure we respect the quality of the neighborhoods — if there is any threat to the quality of life, we’ll address it.

On the transportation front, we’re trying to find areas where it makes sense to pick up and drop off Uber customers. We’re trying to coordinate the effort and ensure

cars and taxis are not idling. We want to encourage small business and operators but also manage it sensitively for neighborhoods, downtown businesses and the local economy.

Looking forward to the next 10 years, we are keeping an eye on pension costs. That is an issue we need to work through with our unions, while still providing attractive wages and benefits, which concerns our finance staff. There is an expectation to provide an increase in wages and services.

There are high expectations to continue our growth.

We need to maintain the improvements we’ve made in the past five years through

our Capital Improvement Plan. We need to refresh our equipment, especially for public safety. We are concerned that because the money is going into pensions and wages, we will have to defer maintenance on vehicles, fire stations, streets and parks.

We’re also concerned with our reserves.

We have AAA bond ratings in the water utility and mostly AA in other city operations. Our bond ratings are healthy, but that reserve fund is in jeopardy. We have a practice to have a 15 percent reserve, but we want to make a policy that we maintain that 15 percent to keep bond ratings high.

Our budget has grown from $210 million to $260 million in the last five years.

We’re trying to find areas where it makes sense to pick up and drop off Uber customers.

—Mayor Rusty Bailey, Riverside

City Manager John Shirey, Sacramento

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League of California Cities

Uber and Airbnb are becoming household names. As our downtown renaissance evolves, so will the sharing economy. With our Golden 1 Center [arena] finished next year, more visitors will be making their way to downtown for events, dining and living. The more exciting a place is to visit, the more demand for the sharing economy. Of course, we may need some rules to accommodate the sharing economy.

We are gathering public input about short-term vacation rentals. Airbnb, one of the web hosts, reached out to the city to work with us. About 170 hosts in the city are listed on Airbnb. While visitors to the city are a good thing, we need to ensure we are addressing neighborhood concerns. We also need to be sure TOT is being collected and paid. Our council will decide how far to go, but I see a balance being struck. It’s similar to the balance we struck with food trucks recently.

The city council may want to limit the number of days a home can be rented when it’s not occupied by the resident

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Find More Information Online For links to more resources related to the sharing economy, read the online version of this article at www.westerncity.com.

or owner. A conditional use permit may be required after a set number of days.

We may need to limit the number of occupants as on-street parking is limited in some neighborhoods. Our plan is to attach rules only to those areas that truly need to be addressed without completely discouraging the idea. A proposed policy will come to the council in November.

As for Uber and ride sharing, we are not looking at any regulations at this time.

We are watching to see what the state is going to do in terms of regulating the industry. We may need some of the same rules that apply to taxis to ensure customers are being treated well and that service is safe and what they expect.

The other related issue is that by changing driving habits and types of vehicles, gas tax funds are no longer adequate to support infrastructure. We need to make a big change in how we support maintenance of roads and highways and provide more funding for public transportation.

Our greatest challenge over the next 10 years is dealing with the $450 million unfunded liability for retired employee health benefits while at the same time paying for ever-increasing pension costs imposed by CalPERS.

Our greatest challenge over the next 10 years is dealing with the $450 million unfunded liability for retired employee health benefits while at the same time paying for ever-increasing pension costs.

—City Manager John Shirey, Sacramento

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continued www.westerncity.com

Western City, November 2015

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The Sharing Economy’s Impact on Cities, continued

Mayor Rich Garbarino, South San Francisco The City of South San Francisco is seeing a rise in the popularity of sharing-economy services. In terms of home sharing, the city does not currently have the volume and interest in short-term rentals that other cities like San Francisco and San Diego are experiencing. But a cursory review indicates several local properties are listed on Airbnb, including entire dwelling units available for rent as well as individual bedrooms. Airbnb listings in South San Francisco are convenient to the San Francisco International Airport and Caltrain, which provides renters quick and easy access to San Francisco; it’s an ideal location for visitors.

Ride-sharing services are also prevalent here in South San Francisco due to the proximity to the airport and Silicon Valley.

Users of ride-sharing services say that it is easier and faster to get a ride on demand from Lyft and Uber than to get a taxi.

Short-term rentals provide an opportunity to welcome visitors and allow homeowners to earn some extra income. However, these types of uses can create issues in neighborhoods, including parking, which is already problematic with each household having two or more vehicles. Safety and security issues also arise.

We don’t allow commercial enterprises in residential neighborhoods, so what is essentially a commercial enterprise operating out of a home will probably raise legal questions that the courts will have to decide.

South San Francisco is considering a proposed amendment to its current zoning ordinance that will define short-term rentals’ classification and performance standards and will require a permit. Our current zoning ordinance does not include a definition of short-term rentals, so this would help enable the city to collect TOT. With respect to the next 10 years, the possibility of another economic downturn is a concern. We are fiscally conservative

The possibility of another economic downturn is a concern.

—Mayor Rich Garbarino, South San Francisco

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and have planned well for the future. We do five-year projections that are updated every year, so we are planning ahead.

We committed a healthy percentage to our reserve from the General Fund, and we have dipped into that reserve when needed. We took $500,000 out of the reserve to create a neighborhood response team to address a public safety issue.

That’s what reserves are for: an emergency.

Spending just because you have the money is irresponsible.

The city council is often asked why we don’t spend money on certain items, but many good ideas are one-time fixes.

Dipping into the reserve for these types of expenditures doesn’t make sense. What happens next year when you can’t maintain the commitment? My obligation as a public official means that I can’t spend more than I have. I carry that mindset as a private citizen into my public role. We are the stewards of public finances.

Mayor Julie Fulkerson, Trinidad Humboldt County is the size of Rhode Island but has only 130,000 people.

Trinidad has a population of about 330, but because many of the homes are not inhabited year-round it’s hard to know the true count. At one time, the houses were all relatively small, owned and lived in by fisherman and some lumber employees.

In the past 20 years, the small affordable houses have been taken down, but larger houses have been built on the lots.

Close to where I live, there are about 16 vacation dwelling units along the coastal bluff. Over the years those houses have developed differently from the upper town where it’s flat, nearer the town center.

There you’ll see a mix, with more residents living in those houses, largely because they don’t have direct views of the ocean.

Now because of this amazing sharing economy, people are buying in town as an investment to rent out through Airbnb and VRBO. The typical amount is $300 to $400 a night but some rent for much more.

You only need to rent your home a few nights a month to make a lot of money. continued on page 15

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www.cacities.org

Congratulations to the 2015 Beacon Award Winners!

2015 BEACON SPOTLIGHT AWARDS Arcata Benicia Brisbane Burlingame Chula Vista Claremont Colma Daly City Foster City Hayward Indio La Mesa Manhattan Beach Menlo Park Millbrae National City Pomona Portola Valley Redwood City Rolling Hills Estates Sacramento San Carlos San Mateo San Rafael Santa Barbara Santa Cruz Santa Monica Santa Rosa Solana Beach South Gate Visalia

GOLD LEVEL BEACON AWARD WINNER

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To learn more about the Beacon Program, visit: www.ca-ilg.org/BeaconProgram

This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by Southern California Gas Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison, under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.

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1 – Institute for Local Government supporter 2 – CITIPAC supporter

The Sharing Economy’s Impact on Cities, continued from page 12

The effect depends on your perspective. The upside is property taxes are going up; houses that were $300,000 a decade ago are now more than $1 million. With the vacation homes, there is additional TOT (12 percent) so money comes into the city and county.

There are economic values to the local government and also the homeowners.

The downside is that the community becomes an economic machine. The city loves to see the taxes. But it means that we no longer have the resource of people.

It’s nearly impossible to find someone to sit on the city council, for example. It’s an aging community, and many in town have already served on the council or planning commission or their spouse has done it. It’s getting harder to find folks to volunteer for the Fire Department. We see the infrastructure of the community dismantling.

And if you don’t have neighbors, you’re not really part of a community. I love seeing the tourists, but I never see them again.

Some people suggest that Trinidad may disincorporate.

In terms of public safety, when houses are empty you don’t know who is coming and going. I would not say crime is higher in Trinidad. The biggest concern [related to home sharing] is more of a social nature and what happens to culture and affordability. I think we have waited too long to talk about this, because now the housing prices are so inflated.

We had a community meeting eight months ago to discuss what residents value in Trinidad and what they want protected. The top priorities are protecting water resources, police and protecting the quality of the fishing village (affordable housing). Not one person said we need more vacation rentals.

Two months ago, we temporarily stopped issuing vacation dwelling unit permits for nightly rentals. About 25 percent of homes have permits to rent on a nightly basis, and these are on the bluff where I live. The houses are larger and almost all vacation rentals, so they don’t impact each other. But in the center of town where houses are closer, the vacation rentals have more impact. continued on page 25 www.westerncity.com

The biggest concern [related to home sharing] is more of a social nature and what happens to culture and affordability.

—Mayor Julie Fulkerson, Trinidad

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Western City, November 2015

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Forecasting

Fiscal

by Robert Leland

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

for an Uncertain

Future L

ike many cities, Stockton used to budget a year at a time and assume that the following year would look a lot like the previous ones, which through fiscal year 2007–08 had been very good indeed.

Then the Great Recession hit, and highcost decisions made when times were good led to bankruptcy for Stockton, as well as serious cutbacks for other cities throughout California and the nation. As part of its plan of adjustment, Stockton prepared a 30-year budget forecast to demonstrate financial solvency to the bankruptcy court, and in its recovery the city continues to use a long-term financial plan. Now officials and residents can understand how pay increases, new debt, rising near-term pension costs, revenue changes and inflation will affect the city’s finances — not just next year, but far into the future.

“It changes the knowledge base of both the decision-makers and those affected by the decisions,” says Claire Tyson, Stockton’s budget director. “Realizing the effects of something like a 30-year loan going forward has been helpful in getting everyone on the same page. Our forecast is a living document, and every time we make changes to the budget we see what the impacts are.”

The lingering revenue effects from the Great Recession, changes to pension contributions, rising retiree medical costs and other factors almost guarantee that the financial future for California cities will bear little resemblance to the past.

Though long-term fiscal forecasting remains the exception among California cities, a growing number are using the practice to understand the true costs of their obligations and prepare for the

inevitable future economic downturns.

These budget models can provide cities an honest look at where they are headed financially and what they must do to: • Rebuild their financial reserves; • Pay for needed upgrades to facilities, technology and equipment; and • Maintain or improve levels of service to residents.

All cities should have this information but too few do, even where good management and substantial reserves exist.

How We

ot Here

Understanding how we arrived at the current challenges faced by most California cities helps illustrate why better forecasting is essential to their future fiscal health.

Even as we move away from the Great continued

Robert Leland has 40 years’ experience in state and local government and is a senior advisor for Management Partners. He can be reached at rleland@managementpartners.com.

www.westerncity.com

Western City, November 2015

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Forecasting for an Uncertain Fiscal Future, continued

Recession, it’s clear that few cities will “recover” from its effects, if recovery is defined as returning to pre-recession revenue trends. Even where the impact of the recession was less pronounced, a gap of 30 to 50 percent persists between the direction of recurring revenue based on pre-recession trends and actual revenue since that time. This seems to be true of cities large or small, wealthy or poor, urban, suburban or rural.

In some cities, strong pre-recession finances led to a series of bad policy decisions and fiscal mismanagement that contributed to today’s problems. These policy decisions include: • Labor agreements that automatically link compensation to pay in other cities; • Excessive promises of retiree health care, including unlimited benefits and limited or no vesting periods;

These models are especially useful in helping elected officials, labor groups, budget commissions and members of the public understand how their proposals will affect fiscal solvency.

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League of California Cities

• Debt undertaken on high-end amenities (which counted on revenues that didn’t materialize, such as from new development); and • Subsidies to enterprise activities that can’t pay for themselves.

Examples of fiscal mismanagement include inadequate reserves, booking uncollectible receivables, inadequate cost recovery, relying on pooled cash to pay the obligations of funds running ongoing deficits, and omitting negative fund balances from budget documents. In addition, factors like changing pension rates will disrupt the fiscal outlook of most cities during the next few years.

Modeling for the Future The most useful models for local governments to use in long-term forecasts rely on a variety of data to examine different scenarios of what the future might hold.

By looking at key variables such as payroll growth, pension rates, property taxes and sales taxes, cities can create a forecasting model specific to their community. The model reveals the long-term consequences of absorbing pension and health costs, the impact of boosting service levels or adopting labor proposals, restoring deferred infrastructure spending and internal service contributions for long-term sustainability, and other factors unique to a city.

The computer models now used by cities like Stockton, Morro Bay and Oxnard begin with a baseline forecast, which reflects a continuation of current revenues and service levels. This forecast allows the selection of three revenue scenarios — the most likely growth rate, an optimistic higher-growth rate and a pessimistic lower growth rate — and shows the impact of a hypothetical recession in the near future. By examining different scenarios, the forecasts can help cities to build up reserves in good times and prepare for the recessions that occur on average every six to eight years.

www.cacities.org

Typically this process involves creating a computer model that projects revenues and expenditures over 10 years, with a special focus on the top three revenue sources (usually 60 to 70 percent of total General Fund revenues) and the primary source of expenses, personnel (also in the 60 to 70 percent range of total General continued

www.westerncity.com

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Western City, November 2015

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Forecasting for an Uncertain Fiscal Future, continued

Fund expenditures). Estimates from the city’s revenue consultants, a long-term forecast created for property taxes and a long-term forecast for California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) costs are used. Building the model on spreadsheets previously prepared by the

city makes it familiar to staff and helps ensure it will be used and updated in coming years.

The computer model includes changes that are beyond the city’s control, and it builds in the impact of spending needed to make the city sustainable into the

Finance

If this article was helpful, you may also be interested in these municipal finance articles:

The Top 10 Energy Efficiency and Solar Financing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (November website exclusive) CalTRUST Offers a Safe, Convenient Investment Pool for Local Agencies Getting a Handle on Financial Issues Cities, Counties and Schools Work Together to Stretch Community Dollars Reducing Unfunded Liabilities for Other Post-Employment Benefits League Provides Municipal Financial Health Diagnostic Tool Making City Operations More Transparent Historic Preservation: A Springboard For Economic Development Making Drug Dealers Pay For Law Enforcement Find these articles and more at

www.westerncity.com

future, both financially and in terms of service levels to the public. It features a control panel that allows users to change key factors. As variables — such as added spending, cost of living adjustments, new taxes or revenue growth rates — change, their impact is illustrated in graphs that show the resulting General Fund balance and financial condition.

“The fiscal model has given us a powerful long-range planning tool to help guide us through the development and housing downturn we are currently experiencing,” says Stockton Budget Director Tyson.

“The variety of data inputs and quantity of different variables give the model a wide number of potential uses.”

Realistic Versus Conservative Failing to understand the many factors at work in a long-term fiscal forecast can result in an unrealistically sunny outlook.

When presented with the magnitude of fiscal challenges faced by their city, many officials react with shock, dismay and denial. They thought the difficult decisions had already been made and that financial problems would recede along with the Great Recession. Others maintain that the forecast is too dire, and that only a change in assumptions is required. Ultimately most officials come to understand the magnitude of their long-term budget gap and are ready to find solutions to attain a sustainable budget and organization.

If these challenges are identified well ahead of time, officials can adjust budget policies to minimize their negative effects. These models are especially useful in helping elected officials, labor groups, budget commissions and members of the public understand how their proposals will affect fiscal solvency. Armed with a robust forecast, city leaders can identify critical unmet needs, develop options to close funding gaps and create a plan to ensure the city is providing services as efficiently and effectively as possible.

THE MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES®

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

The lingering revenue effects from the reat Recession, changes to pension contributions, rising retiree medical costs and other factors almost guarantee that the financial future for California cities will bear little resemblance to the past.

The Revenue ap and Cost of Benefits

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows the gap that cities face in actual recurring General Fund revenue compared with the expectation of such revenue based on pre-recession performance. This chart combines the outcomes for nine cities by converting revenues to a per-capita basis. The average revenue gap is 47 percent of current recurring revenue.

Figure 2 shows the pension costs as a percentage of payroll, using the average of three cities that have had a long-term rate forecast prepared for them by an independent private actuary. Costs will rise in the near term, which will be challenging to cities, due to planned CalPERS contribution increases. These costs taper off in the middle term with the cumulative savings from lower benefit costs under the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) and decline in the long term as layers of unfunded liability are paid off. This chart assumes CalPERS maintains its 7.5 percent actuarial discount rate (investment return) each year.

Pension costs will vary among cities based on actuarial reasons and benefit levels (including whether the city pays the employee contribution), but the overall profile as shown is generally applicable. â–

Source: Management Partners

Figure 2

Source: Management Partners

www.westerncity.com

Western City, November 2015

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Brea and Fullerton Merge Fire Command to maximize resources In the aftermath of the Great Recession, officials in the northern Orange County cities of Brea (pop. 41,395) and Fullerton (pop. 135,161) saw an opportunity to make a bold move that in better times might have stalled due to political debate and public apprehension.

Post-recession budget deficits in Brea were projected to be in the millions of dollars for multiple years. Fullerton was also experiencing several years of shortfalls. The two cities entered into a fire command resource sharing program in May 2011, with Fire Chief Wolfgang

Knabe leading both cities. The two-year pilot program combined the two Fire Departments’ command structures into a single, shared administrative unit to take advantage of fiscal and operational efficiencies. This move created a new model of fire services delivery for the two cities, which realized a combined savings of $1.3 million annually. “The command staff consolidation has been a tremendous success, resulting in financial savings and efficiencies for both agencies, while still delivering exceptional fire services,� says Knabe.

Regional Collaboration Fosters Innovation The North Orange County Cities Coalition (NOCCC), which was formed in response to the effects of the recession, provided the impetus for the initial BreaFullerton agreement. In summer 2009 the city managers of Brea and Fullerton, along with four others from nearby cities Buena Park, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda, began meeting every six weeks to identify mutual needs and available resources. The cities of La Palma and Orange joined later, and this group still meets every six weeks. The group is currently evaluating the feasibility of joint police dispatch to gain additional efficiencies.

With support from their city councils, the city managers examined their internal administrations to identify programs, continued on page 30

The cities of Brea and Fullerton won an Award for Excellence in the Internal Administration category of the 2015 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program. For more about the award program, visit www.helenputnam.org.

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www.cacities.org

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Display Advertising 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.

Current Management Job Openings • Administrative Officer Fire Department: Oversees the personnel and payroll services for fire personnel. Midpoint 95K • Financial Services Officer Police Department: Oversees the budget/financial operations in the Police Department. Midpoint 95K • Personnel Administrator Police Department: Oversees the personnel and payroll services for the Police Department. Midpoint 100K • Administration Bureau Chief Police Department: Oversees the Personnel, Fiscal, Community Engagement and Records Divisions in the Police Department.

Midpoint 124K To apply online visit: www.longbeach.gov/jobs

under Current Unclassified Openings

by Friday, November 13, 2015

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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F/T $124,836–$155,940 Per Year Under general direction, the Director of Community & Cultural Services/Theater Executive Director manages the daily operations of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, negotiates and selects performances, and oversees the Recreation Services Division as well as the Community Participation Division/Senior Center.

Must have a B.A. in Theater, Arts Management or a related field.

A minimum of six years as an Executive Director of a presenting regional performing arts center with an annual multi-million dollar operating budget is highly desirable.

A completed City application is required. The position is OPEN UNTIL FILLED. For more information, visit our City website at www.cerritos.us

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We Fill All Positions in Municipal Government!

City Manager, City of Santee, CA Located twenty-five minutes from San Diego’s downtown, Santee is a vibrant and flourishing suburban community (population 55,805). The City Council is seeking a seasoned manager who is a good communicator and responsive to both the Council and the community. The incoming Manager will oversee an operating budget of 40.9 million, capital improvement program budget of 20.4 million and a full time staff of 124. The ideal candidate will be honest, approachable and ethical. A manager who demonstrates a successful track record as a consensus builder will be especially valued. The incoming City Manager should have an open door policy and foster an atmosphere of trust. The new Manager is expected to provide leadership, while at the same time trusting staff and their expertise. Excellent team building skills and collaboration with other public agencies is highly desirable. The ideal candidate will be politically astute, yet apolitical; visible; approachable; and accessible to the Council, community, and staff. He or she will be personable, with a sense of humor and demonstrated ability to get things done. The successful candidate will possess the communication and interpersonal skills needed to work effectively with elected officials, City staff, the business community and the general public. Prior experience in and knowledge of municipal administration, economic development and/or program operations is preferred. A Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration or a related field is required; a Master’s degree is preferred. Previous experience as a City Manager is desired. The salary for the incoming City Manager will be dependent upon qualifications. The City of Santee offers a generous benefits package. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Please contact Mr. Gary Phillips or Ms. Valerie Phillips at (916) 784-9080 should you have any questions. Brochure available.

Closing date November 13, 2015.

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

Western City, November 2015

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Community Development Director City of Manhattan Beach

Building Official Salary: $9,951 – $12,947

The City of Manhattan Beach is accepting applications for the position of Building Official with the Community Development Department. This position is responsible for the protection of health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City as well as the general public by ensuring that buildings are constructed and maintained to legal standards.

The Building Official plans, organizes, assigns, trains, coordinates, supervises and evaluates the work of Building and Safety Division staff as well as prepares the Division budget, periodic code adoption ordinances, police and procedures. The candidate will manage divisional work activities including plan checks, permits, inspections, and Code Enforcement.

The Building Official attends professional meetings and conferences to advise the City as to building trends, developments, and emerging needs and requirements.

The ideal candidate will be a strong manager and represent the Division at staff and City Council meetings, makes presentations and serves as the City’s representative for meetings involving building safety, construction, emergency preparedness and related matters. This position will also take the lead in the new implementation of the new and very high-profile Accela Automation permitting system.

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City of Pismo Beach, CA

E

ncompassing seven miles of California’s premier Central Coast midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco in San Luis Obispo County, the City of Pismo Beach (pop. 7,860 perm./18,000-32,000 seasonal) offers an incomparable quality of life. This fiscally strong and stable city is seeking a Community Development Director to lead a staff of 10 during one of the most exciting times in the city’s history.

From his/her ocean view office, the accessible Director will focus on downtown revitalization, development of design standards and the successful construction of premier resorts. The ideal candidate will have the proven ability to thrive as a working manager in a fast-paced environment and effectively balance multiple priorities and projects simultaneously. A superior people manager, he/she will also be an exceptional communicator and a planning professional who values design excellence. Relevant management experience and a Bachelor’s degree are required. A Master’s degree is preferred.

Current salary range goes up to $146,246 and is under review to ensure compensation is competitive for top candidate. Salary is supplemented by an attractive benefits package that includes city-paid deferred compensation. This recruitment will close on Sunday, November 15, 2015. Detailed brochure available at www.tbcrecruiting.com.

Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

AVERY ASSOCIATES Open Recruitments: City of Carmel – HR Manager City of Hemet – City Manager West-Comm – Police Communications Director Upcoming Recruitments: William Avery & Associates

City of Carmel – Community Planning and Building Director Management Consultants City of Grover Beach – City Manager 1 3 /2 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Suite A City of Pleasanton – City Attorney Los Gatos, CA 95030 Santa Barbara County – Deputy Director of Development 408.399.4424 Review Fax: 408.399.4423 email: jobs@averyassoc.net Santa Barbara County – Deputy Director of Oil & Minerals www.averyassoc.net City of Santa Clara – Housing Development Officer City of Santa Clara – Planning and Inspection Director Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz - Executive Director Please check our website at http://www.averyassoc.net for formal position announcements.

Photo/art credits Cover: crystal ball, Fer Gregory/Shutterstock.com; graph, Polygraphus/shutterstock.com; design work, Taber Creative Group

Page 11: coast, Aimee M. Lee/Shutterstock.com; couch, WorldWide/Shutterstock.com; door, Parin Kiratiatthakun/ Shutterstock.com

Page 3: CristinaMuraca/Shutterstock.com

Pages 16–17: same as cover

Please visit our website: http://www.citymb.info/

Page 5: top, Olesya Feketa/Shutterstock.com; bottom, Juriah Mosin/Shutterstock.com

Page 19: Everything possible/Shutterstock.com

Deadline to apply: November 30, 2015, 5:00p.m.

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League of California Cities

Page 7: texture, Homydesign/Shutterstock.com

Page 22: Courtesy of the cities of Brea and Fullerton and League of California Cities

Page 9: Elegeyda/Shutterstock.com

www.cacities.org

The Sharing Economy’s Impact on Cities, continued from page 15

We have 18 months to write a permanent ordinance. While there are many aspects to consider, the ultimate percentage of homes in town that can be rentals is the key question. If we keep it at 25 percent, who gets into the business of owning a vacation rental? Does licensing go with the home or with the individual?

I bet no actual residents will live in our town in 10 years. If I sell my house, unless there is a way to limit the use of that house in the future, I’m sure it would be turned into another vacation rental.

Mayor Alicia Barr and Town Manager Tony Lashbrook, Truckee Barr: Uber and Lyft aren’t yet operating in Truckee. Having them would be good because transportation options are limited. It’s an untapped opportunity.

Short-term home rentals are a big deal.

About 1,150 of the 13,000 housing units are registered with the city. There are 400 signed up individually and 740 with a property management firm.

Lashbrook: We allow by right the shortterm rental of residences. No permits are required, but the city collects TOT and requires owners to sign up for it. Half of the 13,000 homes are occupied by full-time residents; the other half are vacation homes.

Barr: Our biggest concern is that we have some hotels and lodging. We want to make sure everyone is playing by the same rules to compete in the economy.

Two years ago the city council directed staff to initiate an education program to encourage owners to sign up for TOT registration. We’ve seen a significant increase in TOT registration.

Lashbrook: We said if you come clean and pay your 2013 amount, we won’t go back to see if you should have paid in prior years.

All in all, that process worked well. We haven’t built any hotel rooms in a while, but we keep breaking our TOT records.

Barr: The other concern, given the mechanism of these online sharing economies, is that we already have a housing crunch

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Just announced . . .

Administrative Services Director City of Poway

Teri Black • 424-296-3111 Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436

Monterey County, CA Director of Human Resources $133,798 to $182,641 DOQ

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Monterey County is seeking a progressive, proactive human resources administrator to be the County’s new Director of Human Resources. The Director provides leadership & direction to staff of the recently created Human Resources Department.

Requires Bachelor’s Degree in Public Admininistration, Personnel Administration, Business Admininistration, or closely related field & 5 yrs. progressively responsible HR mgmt.exp., including 3 yrs. public sector exp. in executive or management capacity. California human resources exp. is highly desirable. Go to www.rjamanagement.com for more information.

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RJA

Dr. Richard Garcia RJA Management Services, Inc. 2719 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite A| Arcadia, CA 91006 (626) 447-3318 www.rjamanagement.com/ Email: rgarcia@rjamanagement.com

General Manager, Cachuma Operation & Maintenance Board, CA The Cachuma Operation & Maintenance Board (COMB) is a California Joint Powers Authority (JPA) formed by five agencies including the Carpinteria Valley Water District, the City of Santa Barbara, Goleta Water District, Montecito Water District, and Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District - Improvement District No.1. The Agency is responsible for diversion of water to the South Coast. COMB is now seeking a dynamic leader to serve as its new General Manager. This individual is responsible for the overall operations and maintenance of the Cachuma Project Works facilities as well as other programs related to the Cachuma Project. The ideal candidate will be a capable, consensus-building individual with strength, tact, and administrative know-how. A Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Engineering, Business Management, Water Resources, or a closely related field is required. A Master’s degree is highly desirable. Candidates must possess seven years of increasingly responsible, high-level administrative, management or public works experience in a local government setting. Extensive leadership experience in an environment that places a premium on reliable service and intergovernmental relations is valuable. Direct experience in Public Works-related functions, such as water resources and conveyance is desirable. The annual salary range for this position is $150,000-$180,000; placement within this range is dependent on the qualifications and experience of the individual selected. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Contact Gary Phillips with any questions.

Closing date November 20, 2015.

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

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The Sharing Economy’s Impact on Cities, continued

for full-time rentals. Our rental market is very tight. We are doing an education and audit program to create a level playing field. We have also partnered with other local agencies on a housing study to determine our housing needs.

Our real community is at risk of being pushed out.

—Town Manager Tony Lashbrook, Truckee

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Assistant Officer – Water Utility Capital Division Santa Clara Valley Water District, CA The Santa Clara Valley Water District strives to provide Silicon Valley with safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment, and economy. The District is now seeking an Assistant Officer to play a key role in the daily management and oversight of the Water Utility Capital Division. The Assistant Officer will report directly to the Deputy Operating Officer. The District is seeking candidates with civil engineering expertise, seasoned professional judgment, and effective communication skills.

The ideal candidate will possess the ability to organize and prioritize a variety of projects and multiple tasks in an effective manner to meet critical deadlines.

A Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering field is required.

A Master’s degree is highly desirable. Candidates should possess a minimum of five years of experience in exercising management authority in the area of capital program/public works. Experience in supervision of staff, including preparing performance evaluations and training and development plans is desired. Salary commensurate with experience. Interested individuals may apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Contact Valerie Phillips at (916) 7849080 with questions.

Closing date is November 30, 2015. phone 916•784•9080 fax 916•784•1985 www.bobmurrayassoc.com

Fire Chief

City of Huntington Beach, CA

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ocated on the Pacific Ocean in northwestern Orange County, the City of Huntington Beach is home to a population of nearly 200,000 and attracts more than 11 million visitors per year. “Surf City” encompasses 28 square miles of land and 26 square miles of water which includes nearly 10 miles of uninterrupted beaches. The Huntington Beach Fire Department (HBFD) is one of the few Class 1 ISO rated departments in the country and is supported by 198 FTE and a FY2015-16 operating budget of $45.5 million.

The ideal candidate will be an adaptable and contemporary-minded fire service professional who exhibits a progressive and collaborative leadership style. A recognized role model, he/she will have a history of promoting high standards and serving as an effective coach and mentor. Four years of command level experience in a comparable department and a Bachelor’s degree are required. A Master’s degree is preferred.

The salary range for this position goes up to $216,819; placement within the range will be DOQE. Salary is supplemented by a highly competitive benefits package. This recruitment will close on Sunday, November 15, 2015. Visit www.tbcrecruiting.com for brochure and to apply online.

Teri Black • 424.296.3111 Bradley Wardle • 650.450.3299

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Lashbrook: Our lodging industry is pursing a Tourism Business Improvement District and proposing to add a self-assessed tax on lodging to pay for marketing. This could generate $400,000 annually.

Truckee is a genuine town, plus it’s a place people like to visit. Our real community is at risk of being pushed out because our home prices are driven by the top earners from the San Francisco Bay Area, not what local folks earn. We are working on economic diversification and affordable housing. There is a tension between short-term rentals and housing available for the workforce.

Barr: It is a fine balance. Tourism is a massive economic driver, and we don’t want to lose that. But we are a true community, and we want to accommodate our own workforce that caters to the tourism industry.

Lashbrook: The other big risk for us is what the state is doing to local government. How do we plan in a financially responsible way when we don’t really know what is going to happen to our income streams? It is scary and makes us more conservative in investing.

Mayor Lindsey Horvath, West Hollywood Prior to my election to the council, the West Hollywood City Council convened a sharing-economy task force. I served on that task force and on the transportation committee. Uber, Lyft and similar sites have very much transformed our night life. Fewer people are getting behind the wheel after drinking. It’s also addressing parking concerns.

When people are getting in and out of cars, safety can be an issue. I have asked the council to consider converting our yellow loading zones to short-term pick-up areas. Rather than Uber drivers picking up passengers in the lane of traffic and creating unsafe conditions, they’ll have a place to pull over and pick up and drop off more safely. We worked with Uber and Lyft on this item. They’ll educate their drivers and customers to

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look for those pick-up and drop-off areas if they are in night life areas. It’s a start.

If this is something we’re able to do, it allows for the sharing economy to be a little safer, but also to grow.

I’ve found Uber and Lyft work well with our local government. On the short-term residential rental side, I can’t say the same thing. All the different companies have different perspectives. We took a similar approach with the short-term rentals as the ride-sharing services. Those firms were very reticent to share and collaborate.

Especially in a city like West Hollywood, where TOT is the top source of revenue and 80 percent of our residents are fulltime renters — taking affordable housing off the market by converting units into short-term rentals and other vacation units changes the character of a neighborhood.

I recognize that West Hollywood is unique when it comes to the short-term rental market. That’s why we reached out to these companies to get data. The hotel industry in West Hollywood said, “We don’t want short-term rentals in the community.” Some of the luxury buildings and high-end condo buildings are being rented on Airbnb, etc., which competes with hotels.

When people leave the short-term rentals they leave their trash, and it affects public safety.

We are unique because of our TOT and rent control. Other cities have worked better with these services.

These sharing economy services are here, so it is about making sure they work with local governments on the impacts. I’m working with Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) on SB 593, a two-year bill [that addresses home-sharing issues for local government]. It’s supported by the League and an interesting coalition.

We reached out to these companies to get data.

—Mayor Lindsey Horvath, West Hollywood

www.westerncity.com

We are pretty fortunate to have a diverse economy, a good financial foundation and planning. We have done an excellent job managing our city’s finances. We weathered the recession pretty well. But one of the concerns is the greater economy in general if we experience another

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recession. Because we rely on TOT for so much of our budget, tourism and travel is an important part of our economy. We need people to travel to California, to Southern California. We want tourists. ■

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CITY MANAGER — City of Blythe, California The City of Blythe, located in eastern Riverside County along the Colorado River is seeking a strong leader with excellent communication skills to serve as City Manager. Development of a strong working relationship with the Council will be a top priority of Blythe’s new City Manager.

The ideal candidate will have a strong budget and financial background along with experience guiding a small to medium sized full service City in the capacity of City Manager or Assistant or Deputy City Manager. A Bachelor’s Degree in Public or Business Administration or equivalent is required. A Master’s degree is highly desirable.

Interested parties should apply by close of business on Friday, December 11, 2015. A formal job announcement, including benefit information is available at www.cityofblythe.ca.gov.

Assistant Officer – Finance Division Santa Clara Valley Water District, CA The Santa Clara Valley Water District strives to provide Silicon Valley with safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment, and economy. The District is now seeking an Assistant Officer (AO) in the Finance Division. The AO is a mid-level, executive position reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer. The District is seeking a trustworthy and honest candidate who will be prudent in decision making. The ideal candidate will understand and utilize appropriate levels of delegation to build a strong and collaborative team.

Candidates are expected to have knowledge of and experience in government accounting, budget, revenue management, treasury and investments, debt, rate setting, and long-term financial forecasting. A Bachelor’s degree with a major in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field is required. A Master’s degree is desirable. Qualified candidates must possess a minimum of five years of increasingly responsible management, administration, or professional work in the area of finance with a particular emphasis on public or governmental finance. Experience in supervision of staff, including preparing performance evaluations and training and development plans is desired. Public sector experience in a unionized environment is preferred. Salary commensurate with experience. Interested individuals may apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Contact Valerie Phillips at (916) 784-9080 with questions.

Closing date December 7, 2015. phone 916•784•9080 fax 916•784•1985 www.bobmurrayassoc.com

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PeckhamMcKenney &

Presents Outstanding Career Opportunities

City of Calistoga, CA City Manager

Nestled among the mountains of the Napa Valley, Calistoga (pop. 5,200) is committed to retaining its architectural integrity, historical roots, charm of a small town, and the sophistication of a world-class tourist destination. Calistoga’s outlook is bright, and this is an excellent career opportunity for the right individual to guide the community through an era of prosperity. Appointed by a pragmatic, cohesive, and business-minded City Council, the City Manager will lead a full-service agency with 49 FTEs and $9.6M general fund budget. The ideal candidate is an energetic leader that brings proven, hands-on management experience in a local government setting.

Familiarity with municipal finance/budgeting, grants, and planning/land use is desirable, but candidates with generalist experience are strongly encouraged to apply. Experience with a tourism-based industry is strongly desired. Bachelor’s degree in public/business administration or related field is required; Master’s degree desirable. Salary range $165,000 - $182,000; appointment DOQE.

Filing deadline is November 23, 2015.

Marin County, CA

Assistant Director of Finance

Located across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, Marin County is a dynamic community of 261,000 residents. The County is comprised of 22 departments, approximately 2,100 FTEs, and operating budget of $519M. The Department of Finance has 53 employees in Administration, Accounting, Accounts Payable, Audits, Central Collections, Payroll, Public Administrator, Tax, and Treasury. Proven management and leadership abilities are required to effectively oversee the day-to-day administration of the Department. Strong critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and people skills are required. Bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics, finance, accounting, or closely related field plus at least four years’ experience in a senior fiscal management position, including supervision. Master’s and certification desirable. Salary range is $130,062 to $158,059; appointment DOQE.

Filing deadline is November 25, 2015.

City of Oceanside, CA

Centrally located in the heart of the beautiful Southern California coastline, Oceanside (pop. 172,800) offers a unique combination of outstanding location, affordable housing, excellent schools, and multiple resources. This full-service agency provides a vast array of services through 935 FTEs and $431M budget.

Assistant City Manager, Economic & Development Services This new position will be responsible for leading the City’s economic development efforts as well as overseeing the Economic Development Division, Development Services (Planning, Building and Engineering) Department, Property Management Division, Water Utilities Department, and Public Works and Harbor Divisions. A creative, collaborative, proven leader with demonstrated experience in advancing economic development projects and initiatives is sought. Bachelor’s degree in public/business administration, economics, or a closely related field is required; a Master’s preferred. Salary range is $147,972 to $197,292 DOQE.

Finance Director The Director will oversee $5.5M budget and 32 staff in providing exceptional financial, budgetary, and revenue management services.

A hands-on, detail/team-oriented professional with a significant breadth of municipal financial services experience is sought. At least five years of increasingly responsible municipal finance experience and a Bachelor’s Degree in public finance, accounting, business/public administration is required; Master’s is highly desirable; CPA preferred. Salary range is $129,500 - 172,700 DOQE.

Filing deadline is November 16, 2015.

Please send your cover letter and resume electronically to:

Peckham & McKenney apply@peckhamandmckenney.com Resumes acknowledged within two business days. Detailed brochures are available at

www.peckhamandmckenney.com (866) 912-1919

“All About Fit” Contra Costa County, CA

Chief Assistant County Administrators (two opportunities)

Contra Costa County, with over 1 million residents, is one of the nine counties in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area. The County includes varied urban, suburban, industrial, agricultural and port areas and contains 19 incorporated cities. The County provides a full range of services through its 25 departments and 8,900 full-time employees and for FY 2015/16 has a total budget of $3.06 billion with a General Fund of $1.4 billion. Two Chief Assistant County Administrator opportunities are currently open and both require the ability to assist the County Administrator in making major financial, administrative and policy recommendations to the Board of Supervisors as well as conducting or directing special projects and the analysis of public policy issues that are complex, difficult and are of a sensitive nature. Along with these high-level generalist management skills as a foundation for both positions, it is expected that one Chief Assistant County Administrator take the lead on the Financial functions of the County (assisting with the development of the annual budget and the review of expenditures and revenues during the fiscal year as well as developing and presenting short and/or long range fiscal plans) and that the other Chief Assistant County Administrator take the lead in supervising and coordinating large County Capital Projects (including providing project management, serving as a liaison, and overseeing contract administration for the design, construction and modification of County buildings and structures). Looking to the future, both Chief Assistant County Administrators are expected to partner with and support the County Administrator, be open to mentoring opportunities, and have the desire to advance their leadership role with Contra Costa County. Bachelor’s degree and five years of executive level management experience (with three of those years as a division head or higher in a public agency) required; Master’s degree and County experience desirable.

The salary range for both of these incredible opportunities is from $165,233 to $205,875 DOQ/DOE with excellent benefits.

Filing deadline is December 15, 2015.

City of Pleasant Hill, CA Human Resources Manager

Located in central Contra Costa County, Pleasant Hill is a vibrant, progressive city of over 34,000 residents that is rich in educational resources, recreational open space, and a flourishing business community. Reporting to the Assistant City Manager, the Human Resources Division serves within the Administrative Services Department and has a staff of 3.7 and $530,000 operating budget. The Human Resources Manager is responsible for overseeing benefits coordination, recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, health and safety, employee relations, labor relations support, workers’ compensation, training and records management. A Bachelor’s degree with major coursework in Human Resources, Public or Business Administration, or a related field and five years of professional (including supervisory) experience in human resources are required. Public agency experience is desired. Salary range is $115,524 to $153,648; appointment DOQE.

Filing deadline is November 12, 2015.

Town of Portola Valley, CA Town Manager

Surrounded by the wooded foothills of southern San Mateo County, this pristine and picturesque community of 4,500 residents enjoys a unique culture and high quality of livability. With an efficient, fiscally stable, and collaborative organization of 14 dedicated staff and $6.5M budget, Portola Valley also enjoys a professional and respectful Town Council that is committed to balancing the ongoing needs of the community with historical values. The Town Manager will bring proven management and supervisory abilities, an open and non-bureaucratic communication style, strong interpersonal skills, and generalist knowledge/experience in local government. Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s desirable. Former annual salary $199,000; appointment DOQE.

Filing deadline is November 25, 2015.

Brea and Fullerton Merge Fire Command to Maximize Resources, continued from page 22

services and other resources that if shared, consolidated or leveraged could save money and enhance productivity.

With a combined population of 600,152 the NOCCC cities realized they could better negotiate contracts and realize savings by coordinating capital improvement projects and other efforts.

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City Administrator, City of Vernon, CA The City of Vernon, day-time population 50,000, is an industrial city of 5.2 square miles located about five miles to the southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The City of Vernon is currently seeking a City Administrator who will serve under the administrative direction of the City Council. The selected candidate will be responsible for leading, planning, directing, and evaluating the City’s operations, programs, priorities, projects, and policies. The City Council desires an individual who will have a thorough understanding of financial and internal municipal financial reports. The incoming City Administrator will keep the Council well informed on current financial affairs. Experience in economic development, and business retention will be an asset. The city seeks an individual who is comfortable in working with both elected and staff members at the state level; to ensure the City’s being well represented with the legislators on matters that may affect Vernon, now and in the future. The selected candidate will be politically astute yet apolitical with excellent financial management skills. A candidate who can provide balanced recommendations to the City Council, and who can focus on both immediate and future needs will be well-suited for this position. A high energy, ambitious leader who can fill a lot of roles simultaneously will excel in this position. In addition, the selected candidate will possess a broad level of municipal experience, with a skill set in various governmental operations including evaluating the organization with an emphasis on best practices and transparency.

Candidates applying for this position will possess a Bachelor’s degree; with a Masters preferred. The salary for the incoming City Administrator is $241,404-$293,436 and is dependent upon qualifications. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Please contact Fred Freeman at (916) 784-9080 should you have any questions. Brochure available. Closing date November 13, 2015.

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

Director of Library Services City of Pleasanton, CA

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nown for its outstanding quality of life, the Bay Area’s City of Pleasanton (pop. 72,000) is a full-service municipality with a longstanding reputation for stable leadership and superior services. Pleasanton will be filling the vacancy of the Director of Library Services in response to an upcoming retirement. The Department has a staff of 23.5 FTEs and an annual budget of $4.1 million.

In a 2015 community survey, the services provided by this city-operated library were considered extremely important and rated highly by the residents. The new Director will play a pivotal role in shaping and guiding the Civic Center/Library Facilities Master Plan. Exceptional leaders who are talented people managers with outstanding interpersonal, communications and critical thinking skills are encouraged to apply. Substantive library management experience and a bachelor’s degree are required. Master’s degree preferred.

The mid-point of salary range for this position is $167,748 (incumbent may earn up to $201,298 based on years of service and performance). Salary is supplemented by an attractive benefits package that includes 2.7% @ 55 CalPERS for Classic Members. Closing date: Sunday, November 15, 2015. Brochure available at www.tbcrecruiting.com.

Julie Yuan-Miu • 925.820.8436 Teri Black • 424.296.3111

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relationships formed among the city managers and staff help the group solve problems and address barriers as they arise.

Ironing Out the Wrinkles Due to a fire chief vacancy in Brea and a number of pending command vacancies in both Fire Departments, the consolidation occurred without layoffs, demotions or loss of pay to the affected employees. Entering into a multi-agency agreement created a number of issues that needed to be addressed, including governance, cost allocation, salary equity, integrated dispatching, visibility and community identity on uniforms and equipment, attendance at city council and staff meetings, office hours, contract termination provisions and indemnification. By working together and engaging fire employees in problem solving, Brea and Fullerton successfully resolved the various administrative challenges.

The consolidation provided immediate financial relief to both cities and permitted Brea and Fullerton to maintain their own municipal fire departments with local control, thereby eliminating a potential move into a large regional fire department.

The partnership is now in its fourth year.

By taking advantage of economies of scale, both cities have made significant progress in implementing operational changes that reduced costs, maximized resources and preserved quality services.

The resulting savings also offset cuts to other city departments and helped both agencies endure the effects of the lengthy economic downturn. Due to its success, the program was extended in 2013 for one year and again in 2014 for another five years. The new long-term contract allows Brea and Fullerton to explore additional opportunities and work toward full integration by developing a joint powers authority (JPA).

The move toward full consolidation was tested when the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) was signed into law. Under PEPRA, new public employees’ benefits were significantly modified from earlier formulas. Because Brea and Fullerton fire personnel would

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be considered new employees of the JPA, they would lose their current retirement benefits, even without a lapse in service. City officials believed this was an unintended consequence of PEPRA and that it conflicted with the governor’s goal to streamline government services.

Brea and Fullerton worked to get special legislation passed to correct the issue. Senator Bob Huff (R-San Dimas) sponsored SB 1251, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in September 2014.

It provides a legislative foundation for Brea and Fullerton to continue their successful cost-saving service model and authorizes up to three contiguous cities to join the JPA by January 2017.

Lessons Learned Other cities have taken notice by inviting Brea and Fullerton to speak at professional organizations to share the lessons learned, which include: • Involve the city council from the beginning of the process; • Start out small and build on success; • Check your ego at the door and be willing to let down your guard; • Confront and overcome the “zero risk” ethic; • Provide employees a professional safety net; • Take a look at all potential projects; PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DIRECTORY The Best Procurement Solution for Public Agencies

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• Don’t fall in love with an idea that doesn’t work; and

political will — to initiate new models for service delivery.

• Learn from your mistakes.

Contact: Joe Felz, city manager, Fullerton; phone: (714) 738-6308; email: Joef@ci.fullerton.ca.us; or Bill Gallardo, city manager, Brea; phone: (714) 671-4418; email: BillGa@cityofbrea.net. ■

The Great Recession posed many challenges for municipalities, including those participating in NOCCC. But it also provided opportunities — and the J

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CITY OF SANTA CLARA The City of Santa Clara (pop. 120,973) lies at the center of the Silicon Valley just 45 miles south of San Francisco. The City enjoys over 300 days of sunshine annually; beautiful tree-lined streets offer residents a wide array of pleasant neighborhoods. Santa Clara amenities also include numerous community and recreation centers, an International Swim Center, retail shopping, restaurants, and medical facilities. All this coupled with award-winning schools and a low crime rate help make Santa Clara a very attractive place to live and work.

Economic Development remains a key priority for the City of Santa Clara. Directly tied to Santa Clara’s economic development efforts is William Avery & Associates to promote and enhance economic Management Consultants and housing development. Current development projects include new corporate campuses, Class A office buildings, housing, retail, 31/2 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Suite A Los Gatos, CA 95030 entertainment centers, and mixed use. The largest project is located near Levi’s Stadium (a 68,500 seat NFL stadium home of the San Francisco 408.399.4424 49ers as well as the site of Super Bowl 50 in 2016). City Place Santa Clara Fax: 408.399.4423 is a 9 million square foot multiphase office, retail, hotel and residential email: jobs@averyassoc.net complex that is being planned on 230 acres of City owned land. www.averyassoc.net

DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND INSPECTION

The City of Santa Clara is currently looking for an exceptionally talented Director of Planning and Inspection to oversee and lead a complex, fast paced and high volume development environment, this individual will need to have experience and a working knowledge in economic development. For detailed information on this position, please see the formal announcement at: http://www.averyassoc.net.

General Manager, Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control & Water Conservation Improvement District, CA Headquartered in the City of Ukiah, the mission of the Mendocino County Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District is to proactively manage the water resources of the upper Russian River for the benefit of the people and environment of Mendocino County. The District is now seeking a General Manager with expertise, seasoned professional judgment, and effective communication skills. The ideal candidate will have extensive knowledge of and experience with California water rights, state & federal regulations & regulators, working with customers and other water agencies. Candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree with a major in Engineering, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a closely related field and/or five (5) years of broad and extensive work in a management or administrative position in a private or public agency, preferably including administration of a water district is highly desirable. Experience in the field can be substituted for education on a year by year basis. Background should include experience working with an elected Board or Commission and responsibility for formulation and implementation of programs, budgets, and administrative operations. The annual salary range for this position is $105,000-$120,000. The actual salary will depend on the qualifications and experience of the individual selected. If you are interested in this outstanding opportunity, please apply online at www.bobmurrayassoc.com. Contact Joel Bryden with any questions.

Closing date November 20, 2015.

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

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William Avery & Associates, Inc. Labor Relations / Executive Search / Human Resources Consulting 31/2 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Suite A Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.399.4424 Fax: 408.399.4423 email: jobs@averyassoc.net www.averyassoc.net

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Bobbi C. Peckham • Phil McKenney

Peckham&McKenney “All About Fit” www.peckhamandmckenney.com Roseville, CA

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Irvine (949) 251-8628

managementpartners.com Budget Strategies ∙ Service Sharing Organization Analysis ∙ Performance Management Process Improvement ∙ Strategic Planning Executive Recruitment ∙ Facilitation/Team Building

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