Western City October 2019

OCTOBER 2019 |

The Monthly Magazine of the League of California Cities

Highlights of the 2019 Annual Conference & Expo p.12 Hot Topics in California Municipal Finance p.22 Wayfair Decision Means More Sales and Use Tax Revenues for Cities p.10

www.westerncity.com

CONTENTS 2 Calendar of League Events 3 President’s Message Tales From the Dusty Trail: City Voices on Statewide Issues

By Jan Arbuckle

summary of insights and issues A from League divisions statewide.

7 City Forum

Practical Tools Help With Financial Reporting Challenges

By Perry Stottlemeyer

ap into resources designed T for cities.

8 News From the Institute for Local Government

Connect With ILG at the Annual Conference & Expo

By Erica L. Manuel

Check out ILG sessions and more.

10 Legal Notes

Wayfair Decision Means More Sales and Use Tax Revenues for Cities

By Gary B. Bell and Holly O. Whatley

new law will help bridge the tax A collection gap for online sales.

Manufacturing: The 20 Revenue Source You Forgot You Needed

By Dion Jackson

dvanced manufacturing firms A provide the highest quality jobs.

Death, Taxes and Other 22

Unavoidable Things: A Municipal Finance Update

An overview of current financial issues of interest to cities.

Hot Topics in California Municipal Finance

By Michael Coleman p. 22

Recent Important Changes in Municipal Finance Law

By Michael G. Colantuono p. 23

A BCs of Safety, 30

Communications and Large Events

ips developed by the team that T coordinates an annual event drawing 750,000 visitors.

W here Transportation 32

Technology and Funding Meet the Road

By Jim Madaffer

12 2019 Annual Conference &

e are on the brink of a revolution W in transportation.

Highlights of the 2019 Annual Conference & Expo

Tackling Homelessness 34

Expo Highlights

By Katie Pebler

on’t miss the premier educational D event for city officials and staff.

Expo Exhibitors p.15

to Help Navigate New Workplace Harassment Laws

By J. Scott Tiedemann and Alison Kalinski

By Ken Striplin

ities do not have to wrestle with C this issue alone.

look at changes in the law A and best practices.

Tips for Achieving Ballot 38 Measure Success

By Anton Dahlerbruch

essons learned from a failed L effort and a successful one.

Job Opportunities 39 Professional Services 49 Directory

On the Record 52

By Margery Haupt, LaWayne Hearn and Kevin Townsend

# MeToo 2.0: A Guide 35

ouncil members explain why C they take the time to attend League events.

Cover photo: Long Beach skyline

by Ron and Patty Thomas

orrection: On page 22 in the SepC tember 2019 issue of Western City, the mayor of Thousand Oaks when the mass shooting occurred in 2018 was incorrectly identified as Rob McCoy. The mayor at that time was Andrew P. Fox, who served on the Thousand Oaks City Council for six terms and 24 years. Western City regrets the error.

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

Magazine Staff

President Jan Arbuckle Council Member Grass Valley

First Vice President John F. Dunbar Mayor Yountville

Second Vice President Cheryl Viegas Walker Council Member El Centro

Immediate Past President Rich Garbarino Vice Mayor South San Francisco

Executive Director Carolyn Coleman

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

Editor in Chief Jude Lemons, Hudson + Associates (916) 658-8234; email: editor@westerncity.com Managing Editor Norman Coppinger (916) 658-8277; email: ncoppinger@cacities.org Contributing Editor Jill Oviatt (916) 658-8228; email: joviatt@cacities.org Advertising Sales Cici Trino Association Outsource Services, Inc. (916) 961-9999; email: cicit@aosinc.biz Administrative Assistant Savannah Cobbs (916) 658-8223; email: scobbs@cacities.org Contributors Rony Berdugo Kayla Boutros Rebecca Inman Melissa Kuehne Melissa Lienau Corrie Manning Jason Rhine Jennifer Whiting Patrick Whitnell Kayla Woods

leaguevents OCTOBER 16

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

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

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League Board of Directors’ Meeting, Long Beach This brief meeting has an abbreviated agenda tailored to the Annual Conference.

16–18

League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, Long Beach The conference offers dozens of educational sessions, numerous professional development opportunities, hundreds of exhibits and a chance to participate in the League’s policymaking activities.

Associate Editors Carol Malinowski Carolyn Walker Design Taber Creative Group

DECEMBER

Advertising Design ImagePoint Design

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For photo credits, see page 42.

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

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Postmaster: Send address changes to Western City, 1400 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Western City Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. ©2019 League of California Cities. All rights reserved. Material may not be reprinted without written permission. This issue is Volume XCV, No. 10.

11–12

Fire Chiefs’ Leadership Seminar, Garden Grove This seminar features a variety of sessions for fire chiefs on timely topics important to fire service professionals and offers attendees networking opportunities with their fellow California fire personnel.

11–12

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

11–13

City Clerks’ New Law & Elections Seminar, Garden Grove The seminar covers laws affecting elections as well as other aspects of clerks’ responsibilities.

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

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

Join us on Facebook. www.facebook.com/westerncity www.facebook.com/LeagueofCaCities

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President’s Message by Jan Arbuckle

Tales From the Dusty Trail:

City Voices on Statewide Issues Editor’s Note: As League President Jan Arbuckle concluded her 2018–19 term, she sat down with Western City to discuss what she heard in cities throughout the state about today’s key issues.

League Divisions

Western City: During your term as League president, you set a goal of traveling to all 16 divisions of the League and meeting with city officials on their home turf. What inspired this?

In recent years, when meeting with city officials from rural and remote communities throughout the state, some members expressed frustration with the challenges they shared related to things many of us take for granted — for example, the process of simply traveling to League events is complicated due to limited financial resources and a lack of access to convenient transportation.

I was born and raised in California, but in the past year, I have had the privilege of visiting cities that I’ve never been to before or — in some cases — even heard of.

Until you visit some of these rural cities, you don’t realize how difficult it can be to get there. For many, the nearest airport is at least a three- or four-hour drive. Readily hopping on and off planes just isn’t an option for those who live in rural areas.

I recently drove from Grass Valley (57 miles northeast of Sacramento) to Tulare in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley for meetings — a distance of 267 miles. Then I headed to a Redwood Empire Division meeting in Point Arena, which is located on Highway 1 between Bodega Bay and the town of Mendocino. It is 217 miles from Tulare to Redwood City in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I stopped briefly. It’s just 156 miles to Point Arena from Redwood City — but it took five hours to drive because Highway 1 is a twisting, narrow road with stretches that must be navigated at an average speed of 25 mph.

Experiences like my Point Arena trip provided a reality check for me — the League needed to find alternative ways to offer training and convening opportunities to city officials in far-flung communities.

Rural City Information Exchange Launches That’s why I am thrilled that the League board of directors has approved the creation of a Rural City Information Exchange. Over the past few years, local officials from rural communities have expressed a growing interest in sharing with each other ideas and creative solutions to the state’s biggest challenges and opportunities. Often, California’s rural communities face different challenges than their more urban counterparts in common issue areas, including broadband deployment, housing and homelessness, substance abuse, jobs and job growth, health care and education, to name just a few.

continued

Western City, October 2019

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Tales From the Dusty Trail: City Voices on Statewide Issues, continued

I will be announcing additional information about how cities can get involved in the Rural City Information Exchange at the League’s 2019 Annual Conference & Expo.

The League will be working through the Rural City Information Exchange to find innovative ways not only to increase access to the League’s educational resources to better serve its members located in rural areas, but also to create targeted educational resources that focus on the issues that uniquely impact rural communities.

On another front, the League has already increased the number of webinars designed for rural city officials, making it easier for city officials with limited travel options to take advantage of professional development opportunities offered by the League without leaving home.

Western City: Which issues came up most frequently in your discussions with city officials throughout the state?

Housing affordability and homelessness are some of the major problems affecting Californians — and the issues that I heard most about. It doesn’t matter if

your city is large or small, rural, suburban or urban, this is a crisis for every community statewide.

Too many of our residents are one missed paycheck or one emergency expense away from being homeless, and many thousands more have already been pushed out of their homes and onto the streets.

This is a complicated problem to fix, but we do know that building more affordable housing will help.

In February, Gov. Newsom visited my city, Grass Valley, for a League board of directors meeting. During that meeting, he heard firsthand from the League board how the housing affordability issue was impacting each of our communities differently, and our board heard firsthand about his goals for addressing this crisis.

That meeting was the first of many between the League and the administration, and we were pleased with the progress we made. When the governor signed the FY 2019–20 state budget, it included the most significant housing and homelessness-related investments in modern history, with more than $2 billion in

one-time funds to help with planning grants, housing-related infrastructure, homelessness services, mixed-income loan programs and an expansion of the state’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

Our collective voices were very influential in shaping these efforts, which will go a long way toward helping cities lay the groundwork for housing production and getting new units of affordable housing built in our communities.

Disaster preparedness, response and recovery were also on the minds of city officials statewide.

Depending on the region, some were hit harder than others. Last year’s fires served as a wake-up call for everyone. No matter where you live, you are at risk — not only in rural areas, but also in urban areas.

As with any crisis, the League is committed to connecting the impacted city with state agencies and with cities in California that either have experienced something similar or possess the resources and expertise to assist. The League is also committed to partnering with local government stakeholders and the administration to ensure local officials have adequate resources for disaster preparedness, prevention and recovery. That’s why I was proud to stand onstage alongside Gov. Newsom at the inaugural California for All: Emergency Management Preparedness Summit in Sacramento in June.

The League-sponsored summit convened federal, state, county, city and tribal governments to discuss lessons learned from previous disasters in order to build resilient communities, enhance local level emergency management capacity and learn about recovery best practices and other strategies for risk reduction. The summit provided a perfect opportunity for the new administration to hear from local officials about the resources we need to effectively manage crises when they hit our communities.

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www.cacities.org

Local officials from rural communities have expressed a growing interest in sharing with each other ideas and creative solutions to the state’s biggest challenges and opportunities.

These important issues generated lively discussions at the division meetings I attended throughout California.

Western City: What advice would you offer someone who is considering serving as president of the League?

Be open to new possibilities. You can go into your term of office with an agenda, but things pop up. Be flexible. Be committed. Put your city and personal agenda aside, because you are representing all of California’s cities now. You must take a more global view and remember that you’re serving statewide. It’s important to recognize the significance of the commitment — and make yourself available.

in Grass Valley, and it was a very practical way to demonstrate the challenges of implementing mass transit in small rural cities. When you see our community firsthand, it makes more sense.

My city also benefited, as did all smaller rural cities, because we have had an enhanced opportunity to voice our issues and ask for help with challenges we are experiencing. continued

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Western City: How did your city benefit from your serving as League president?

My small rural city, Grass Valley, was suddenly in the spotlight when Gov. Newsom visited us to meet with the League board of directors. Grass Valley is now talked about everywhere I go, and this increased visibility seems to have brought us more visitors. We hosted a board meeting

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Western City, October 2019

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Tales From the Dusty Trail: City Voices on Statewide Issues, continued

Besides meeting with the governor, the League provides many opportunities to voice your city’s issues and to shape policy solutions. I encourage city officials to get involved. Attend your division meetings.

Volunteer for a policy committee. Visit

www.cacities.org for information on how to participate in the League. Contribute your knowledge and unique experience to the organization and help us build a better tomorrow for all Californians. ■

Thanks and Acknowledgments This is my final Western City column as League president as I complete my 2018–19 term at the conclusion of the League’s 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. Many people have helped make my year as president not only a rewarding experience, but also one filled with an incredible sense of accomplishment.

My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to: • My colleagues on the Grass Valley City Council and our wonderful staff for giving me the flexibility to travel to the many League events and meetings throughout the state and the nation.

Without their support, this would not have been possible;

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League of California Cities

• All of the city officials who served with me on the League board of directors and policy committees and the League members whom I had the honor of meeting throughout my visits to all 16 regional divisions; • The amazing League staff for the work they do (and a special shout out to Western City editor Jude Lemons for making sure my columns conveyed my message); • The incredible Executive Committee members. We worked as a team to implement and strengthen the League’s strategic goals and sent the message to our representatives in the state Capitol and Washington, D.C., about the importance of local control; and • Executive Director Carolyn Coleman, who is our rock and strengthens the League’s mission everywhere she goes.

I am honored to have been your 2018–19 president. Thank you for the opportunity.

www.cacities.org

Practical Tools Help With Financial Reporting Challenges

5. Recommendations Regarding the Application of GASB No. 44 to Statistical Schedules Prepared by California Local Governments (June 2006);

by Perry Stottlemeyer

7. Application of the Revenue Recognition Criteria Set Forth in GASB No. 33 to Revenue Sources Significant to California Cities (February 2001);

Navigating the evolving and dynamic system of laws and regulations that govern municipal financial reporting can be challenging.

In 1952, to address the need for improvement in municipal finance administration, the League partnered with the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and created the California Committee on Municipal Accounting (CCMA). As a result, CCMA has become an authoritative source of accounting and financial reporting procedures and cities have made significant improvements in their finance administration.

About the California Committee on Municipal Accounting Cities and the accounting profession have sought to focus their best talent on procedural fiscal problems. CCMA serves the public interest by providing the highest degree of sound fiscal administration and ensuring the fullest cooperation between city officials and members of the independent accounting profession.

The committee has 10 members — five technically proficient city fiscal officers appointed by the League and five practitioners appointed by CalCPA. All of the committee members’ professional work includes a focus on California municipal auditing.

CCMA works closely with and under the direction of CalCPA’s Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee.

Resources for Cities CCMA’s primary responsibility and objective is preparing white papers related to certain complex Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) statements and other official pronouncements of keen interest to municipalities. The white papers explain how the statements apply and include working examples demonstrating their application. CCMA currently offers 10 white papers of interest to both municipalities and practitioners: 1. Implementation of GASB No. 75 (February 2019);

6. Example Disclosures for California Local Governments Implementing GASB Statement No. 40 (February 2005);

8. Classification of Typical California City Revenues Under GASB No. 34 (June 2001); 9. Agreed-Upon Procedures Applied to the Appropriations Limitation (June 2001); and 10. Agreed-Upon Procedures Applied to Investment Portfolios of Local Governments (June 2001).

An 11th research effort, Questions and Answers Concerning Implementation of GASB Statement No. 84, Fiduciary Activities, is in production.

Municipal officials and CPAs interested in white papers published by CCMA can access these documents at www.cacities. org/FiscalOfficers under the Resources tab.

Helping to Improve Reporting Regulations Providing important feedback to regulators that helps to shape key financial reporting regulations is a secondary objective for CCMA. Remote rural communities, for example, may encounter difficulty in complying with mandatory “auditor rotation” requirements. CCMA is currently providing feedback to the state Controller’s Office that will help provide relief for such communities by defining the conditions under which waivers from the mandatory rotation requirement may be granted.

The CCMA white papers are excellent additions to every city’s financial reporting toolbox and can help staff gain an understanding of complex rules and regulations.

To learn more about CCMA, contact Perry Stottlemeyer, assistant director of administrative services, accounting, for the League; email: pstottlemeyer@cacities.org; phone: (916) 658-8215. ■

2. GASB OPEB Actuarial Valuation Reports (February 2018); 3. Questions and Answers Concerning Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions (October 2016); 4. Implementing GASB No. 68 Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions (April 2015);

Perry Stottlemeyer is assistant director of administrative services, accounting, for the League and can be reached at pstottlemeyer@cacities.org.

www.westerncity.com

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Connect With ILG at the Annual Conference & Expo

by Erica L. Manuel This year, the Institute for Local Government (ILG) is offering several sessions and events at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. ILG is also hosting a table at the Expo — stop by and meet the staff, browse our materials and get answers to your questions.

Public Service Ethics Laws and Principles: AB 1234 Training State law requires that elected and appointed officials receive two hours of training in specified ethics laws and principles every two years. Join a panel of experts as they provide an overview of essential ethics laws and principles, and receive or renew your certification in the pre-conference session. The session will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 9:00–11:00 a.m.

Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors and Officials: AB 1661 Training This informational, interactive workplace harassment prevention training focuses on current and emerging issues related to the #MeToo movement. In this session, officials and supervisors learn how to identify, prevent and properly respond to workplace harassment, discrimination, retaliation and abusive conduct. The training helps avoid personal and agency liability in compliance with AB 1825 (2004), AB 2053 (Chapter 306, Statutes of 2014), AB 1661 (Chapter 816, Statutes of 2016) and SB 396 (Chapter 858, Statutes of 2017). This session will be held Friday, Oct. 18, from 8:45–10:45 a.m.

Innovative Solutions for Filling the Future Workforce

Tips and Tools to Improve Trust in Local Government

In this session, city leaders and educators will share successes and lessons learned from modeling unique programs that develop youth as the future of our local government workforce. By providing hands-on experiences in Fire Departments and General Services or bringing technology and accounting staff into classrooms to speak to students about municipal careers, city leaders are finding new ways to build the pipeline into public service. Learn how cities are leveraging partnerships with community colleges and high schools to get creative with long-term recruitment tools that develop a diverse workforce, increase staff engagement and build lasting alliances.

The session will present fresh ideas that are helping students gain a zest for public service careers and a better understanding of local government. This session will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 3:45–5:00 p.m.

In today’s environment of the 24-hour news cycle, social media and “fake news,” cities throughout California are working hard to strengthen trust in local government. City officials and staff are grappling with questions like, “How can we promote public trust and confidence?” and “How can we minimize missteps that undermine or damage that trust?” This session will address these fundamental questions and provide attendees with practical tools and tips to proactively avoid missteps and implement ethical best practices in their communities. This session will be held Thursday, Oct. 17, from 4:15–5:30 p.m.

Housing for All: Framing a New Conversation About Housing in Your Community The need for housing in California has reached critical proportions, but opposition and obstacles to projects still seem to materialize at every turn. Learn about new strategies to address community opposition, funding solutions to support developers and best practices from colleagues that can help your city get its housing production back on track. This session will be held Friday, Oct. 18, from 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Erica L. Manuel is the CEO and executive director of the Institute for Local Government, the nonprofit training and education affiliate of the League. She can be reached at emanuel@ca-ilg.org.

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League of California Cities

Beacon Spotlight Award Ceremony For more than a decade, California communities have led the nation on responding to climate change. Cities from throughout the state will gather to be recognized at the annual conference for their achievements in: • Saving energy; • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and • Adopting policies and practices that make our communities more sustainable, resilient and green.

Join ILG at its annual Beacon Spotlight Award Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 5:30–7:30 p.m., to honor local governments making a difference. For more information, contact Karalee Browne at kbrowne@ca-ilg.org or (916) 658-8274.

For session locations, check the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

Explore the full range of ILG programs and initiatives at www.ca-ilg.org. ■

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Wayfair Decision Means More Sales and Use Tax Revenues for Cities

by Gary B. Bell and Holly O. Whatley

Under a bill signed into law by Governor Newsom on April 25, 2019 (AB 147, Burke, Chapter 5, Statutes of 2019), California cities will share in additional sales and use tax revenues collected from out-of-state retailers. Based on the most recent estimates from the state Board of Equalization, the state and local governments lost an estimated $1.7 billion in tax revenues in fiscal year 2018–19 from e-commerce and traditional mail order sales — which includes a loss of $879 million for counties and cities.

AB 147 makes clear that out-of-state retailers, including those in the e-commerce and mail order businesses, must pay California sales and use taxes to the state and local governments. This should increase revenues to counties and cities by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Law Catches Up With the Modern Marketplace AB 147’s enactment followed a much-anticipated 2018 decision, South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., in which the U.S. Supreme Court overruled decades-old precedent that prohibited a jurisdiction from imposing an obligation to collect and remit its sales and use tax on a retailer without a physical presence in that jurisdiction.

As online sales grew exponentially over the past few decades, this outdated rule left billions of dollars in revenues for state and local governments on the table.

The Supreme Court, while often jealously guarding precedent, recognized that times had changed. In the increasingly online marketplace, online retailers need only maintain a few physical locations in just a handful of the thousands of taxing jurisdictions

Gary B. Bell is a shareholder at Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC, and also serves as town attorney for the Town of Yountville and city attorney for the City of Auburn; he can be reached at gbell@chwlaw.us. Holly O. Whatley is a shareholder of the law firm Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC, and also serves as assistant city attorney of South Pasadena, Ojai and Sierra Madre; she can be reached at hwhatley@chwlaw.us.

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www.cacities.org

About Legal Notes This column is provided as general information and not as legal advice.

The law is constantly evolving, and attorneys can and do disagree about what the law requires. Local agencies interested in determining how the law applies in a particular situation should consult their local agency attorneys.

nationwide. Now a jurisdiction may impose its sales and use tax if a retailer has a “substantial nexus” with that jurisdiction even if it has no physical presence there.

In Wayfair, the court upheld South Dakota’s “remote seller compliance law” that imposes sales and use tax collection duties on retailers without a physical presence in the state but who, in a calendar year, have gross revenues of at least $100,000 from (or complete at least 200 transactions involving) tangible property, products or services delivered into the state. Though the decision did not set a uniform threshold for all taxing jurisdictions, the court found that South Dakota’s thresholds established a substantial nexus sufficient to constitutionally impose its sales and use tax on out-of-state retailers.

A sales or transactions tax is imposed on the gross receipts of tangible personal property sold by a retailer in the jurisdiction. A use tax is imposed on the storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property purchased from any retailer for storage, use or other consumption in the jurisdiction. Thus, for transactions involving out-of-state retailers with no physical presence in the jurisdiction, when goods are shipped into the jurisdiction for storage, use or other consumption, the use tax applies. The sales or transactions tax rate must be the same as the use tax rate.

Promoting Marketplace Fairness Assembly Member Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood) authored the bill. She said, “AB 147 establishes a comprehensive set of postWayfair use tax collection rules to promote marketplace fairness while balancing the needs of consumers, small businesses, local governments, and the state.”

Specifically, AB 147: 1. Defines a “retailer engaged in business in the state” as any retailer that in the preceding calendar year or the current calendar year has total combined sales of tangible personal property for delivery in the state of over $500,000; and

Looking for Footnotes?

For a fully footnoted version, read this article online at www.westerncity.com.

Although the Wayfair decision upheld a lower threshold and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration had initially issued guidance implementing this lower threshold, the state decided a $500,000 threshold would spare smaller businesses (other than marketplace facilitators) from the administrative burden of collecting and remitting the tax.

Out-of-state retailers who are not marketplace facilitators must register and begin collecting and remitting sales and use tax effective April 1, 2019. The duty of marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales and use tax, however, was deferred until Oct. 1, 2019, to allow additional time to comply. A marketplace facilitator contracts with sellers to sell goods and services on its marketplace (for example, an online platform) and includes businesses like eBay. AB 147 also provides relief to marketplace facilitators for noncompliance through Jan. 1, 2023, if the marketplace facilitator can demonstrate to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration that it has made a reasonable effort to comply.

Bridging the Revenue Collection Gap California’s sales and use tax provides over $60 billion annually to local governments and the state. Due to California’s size and economic strength, many businesses already have a physical presence in the state and are collecting and paying sales tax. Nevertheless, AB 147 will help bridge the collection gap for those out-of-state retailers without a physical presence in California — to the fiscal benefit of state and local governments.

For a more detailed fiscal analysis of AB 147, see “Hot Topics in California Municipal Finance” on page 22. ■

2. Defines a “marketplace facilitator” as the retailer responsible for the collection and remittance of sales and use tax effective Oct. 1, 2019.

www.westerncity.com

Western City, October 2019

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Highlights of the

2019

Annual Confer

by Katie Pebler

In mid-October, thousands of California city officials will gather in Long Beach to gain useful knowledge, hear speakers present inspiring ideas, develop valuable contacts and partake in crafting League policy.

The League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, Oct. 16–18, brings together local leaders and those engaged in municipal government. Don’t miss your opportunity to develop skills and contacts and improve your understanding of important issues affecting local government.

Conference Sessions With over 41 sessions to choose among — plus 16 topics in the City Attorneys’ Track — the conference is a great place to refocus and re-energize as you head into the final weeks of 2019. The General Sessions

Katie Pebler is conference program manager for the League and can be reached at kpebler@cacities.org.

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and featured keynote speakers offer additional inspiration. Attendees will find the conference value-packed with numerous learning opportunities, policy development meetings and networking events.

Mark your calendar to welcome John Martin to the stage during the Opening General Session on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Martin is a futurist who will focus on cities during his insightful, engaging and thought-provoking presentation. Learn about the key trends impacting cities and towns of all sizes nationwide. Rather than predict the future, however, Martin will lay out the future we are already experiencing — the demographic, societal and cultural shifts now underway. He will equip attendees with a unique perspective to help understand these trends and think like a futurist. Fast-paced and filled with practical

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ence & Expo action steps, “The Future of Cities” presentation will help you better position your city to succeed today and tomorrow.

City budgets are tight, and your time is valuable. Let us help you maximize your conference dollar — take advantage of the training, information and networking available at the conference and Expo.

Then leverage what you’ve learned into cost-savings year-round — and long-term solutions to challenges facing your city.

Key Features of the Expo Don’t miss the Expo! This year, it boasts new features and access to over 230 costsaving services and state-of-the-art products (see “Expo Exhibitors,” page 15).

In addition, the Expo welcomes 31 firsttime exhibitors.

www.westerncity.com

Check with your city departments and purchasing staff ahead of time to learn what items they might find helpful for saving money while improving services, and schedule time to meet with the vendors at the Expo to learn about those products and services that can benefit your city. The conference web page (www.cacities.org/ Education-Events/Annual-Conference) and the League mobile app have information on this and more.

City projects that won the League’s prestigious Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in 2019 are showcased in the Expo. The annual awards program honors and promotes the outstanding work of member cities that have developed innovative solutions, improved efficiency and delivered quality services.

Join in the Scavenger Hunt To add to the excitement, this year each Helen Putnam booth is part of a scavenger hunt that all attendees are encouraged to join. Pick up your game board at the League Partner booth located in the League Partner Village at the entrance to the Expo floor. Collect a sticker from each of the 11 Helen Putnam winners’ booths; after your game board is filled, bring it back to the League Partner booth where you will be entered into a drawing to win an Apple Watch, courtesy of the League Partners.

continued

Western City, October 2019

13

Highlights of the 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, continued

City officials and staff hear inspiring speakers, make valuable contacts and take advantage of numerous learning opportunities at the League of California Cities Annual Conference & Expo.

Hear About Hot Topics in the Speaker Theater A number of 45-minute presentations will be offered in the Speaker Theater, which is also located in the League Partner Village.

Check your conference program for more information on the topics to be covered and the speakers who will be discussing valuable new developments affecting cities.

Key Reminders: Prize Results and Gift Reporting Requirements If you decide to participate in one of the numerous exhibitor prize giveaways, be sure to check the results at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17. The winners will be announced on the League mobile app and their names displayed in the Expo Hall.

The League advises you to be aware of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) reporting guidelines before entering prize giveaways; the reporting amount for 2019 is $500.

Leave Your Mark on the Graffiti/Mural Wall As you explore the Expo Hall, be sure to stop at the Graffiti/Mural Wall (located on the 14th Street aisle in the Expo) and tell us why you love your city by leaving a quote or artwork. The 12-footwide mural wall also has a section for participants to describe why they work in local government and what they value most about the League. Leave a note for others, and read the thoughts, hopes and impressions of your colleagues from cities throughout California.

Expand Your Horizons at the League Pavilion The League Pavilion offers a one-stop shop where you can visit booths of

14

League of California Cities

League-affiliated groups and learn about all the League has to offer. The pavilion features each of the League’s five diversity caucuses — the African-American Caucus, Asian-Pacific Islander Caucus, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ) Caucus, Latino Caucus and Women’s Caucus — with members available to talk about their work and how to get involved. Friendly, knowledgeable staff from League Member Services will be onsite to talk about the professional departments and answer your questions. You will also find booths and representatives from the Institute for Local Government (ILG), the National League of Cities (NLC), and Sister Cities International.

City Attorneys’ Track Welcomes Attendees With topics geared toward city attorneys and covering trends and issues affecting public law, the City Attorneys’ Track at the Annual Conference is an educational element open to all attendees. We invite you to check the schedule for this track in advance, which features legal updates in four litigation areas — a general municipal update, labor and employment, land use and CEQA, and municipal tort and civil rights. Additional topics include rent control, implementing redevelopment 2.0, and disclosure of police records.

Because the League is a Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) provider approved by the State Bar of California, attendees may receive up to 10.5 hours of MCLE credit (including one hour of MCLE specialty credit for competency) for attending the City Attorneys’ Track.

Materials for this track comprise session papers and presentations; these will be posted at www.cacities.org/cle as they become available prior to the conference.

Conference Offers State-Mandated Training While the conference educational sessions focus on a variety of topics ranging from pensions to fiscal stability, land-use planning, housing and more, attendees can also take advantage of opportunities to fulfill their state-mandated training requirements.

Elected and appointed officials are required by state law (AB 1234, Chapter 700, Statutes of 2005) to receive training in specified ethics laws and principles every two years. Newly elected and appointed officials must receive this training within one year of becoming a public servant. A panel of experts will help you navigate ethics laws and principles essential to public service.

Sign-in will begin 30 minutes prior to the session, and you must be present for the full two hours to receive the certification of attendance. (For more information about AB 1234 ethics education, visit www. ca-ilg.org/ab1234). “Understanding Public Ethics Laws and Principles (AB 1234 Training)” will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 9:00–11:00 a.m.

California law now also requires basic workplace harassment prevention training for officials, managers and supervisors.

AB 1661 (Chapter 816, Statutes of 2016) requires local agency officials to receive two hours of sexual harassment prevention training and education within the first six months of taking office — and every two years thereafter if the official receives compensation, salary or a stipend from the agency. “Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors and Officials (AB 1661 Training)” will be held Friday, Oct. 18, from 8:45–10:45 a.m.

For more information, visit www. cacities.org/ac and plan your time at the conference. ■

www.cacities.org

2019 Annual Conference & Expo Highlights

Expo Exhibitors League Partners’ names appear in bold. Institute for Local Government Partners appear in green. CitiPAC supporters are marked with an asterisk.

This list is current as of Sept. 10, 2019. For an updated list, visit www.cacities.org/expo.

4LEAF, Inc.

Burrtec Waste/EDCO Disposal*

CalPERS

ADA Consultant Services

California Association of Code Enforcement Officers

Cal Trust

California Association of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and Board

Cannon

AED Total Solution Alliance Resource Consulting Allied Powers, LLC Ameresco American Ramp Company ANP Lighting

California Association of Public Information Officials

CannaRegs CentralSquare Technologies Charles Abbott Associates, Inc. (CAA) Cintas

Architerra Design Group

California Association of Public Procurement Officials

Asphalt Zipper, Inc.

California Building Officials (CALBO)

Avenu Insights & Analytics (MuniServices)*

California Consulting, Inc.

City Ventures CleanStreet

AXA

California Department of General Services

Climatec LLC*

Best Best & Krieger*

California High-Speed Rail Authority

Columbia Vehicle Group

Blais & Associates, Inc.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)

Crown Castle

California Joint Powers Insurance Authority

CSCDA

Blount International Bob Murray & Associates Bureau Veritas North America, Inc. Burke, Williams & Sorensen* Burnham Benefits

California Schools VEBA California State University San Bernardino

Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program

CSBA Agenda Online CSG Consultants CXT Concrete Buildings Dapeer, Rosenblit & Litvak, LLP Dart Container* Dave Bang Associates, Inc. Davey Resource Group, Inc. Department of Housing and Community Development DGS Statewide Travel Program Diehl Metering, LLC DLR Group DRC Emergency Services/SLS DTA Earth Systems eCivis

www.westerncity.com

continued Western City, October 2019

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2019 Annual Conference & Expo Highlights, Expo Exhibitors, continued

E CORP Consulting, Inc. ECS/Gold Crew EdgeSoft, Inc. Employees Club of California ENGIE Services U.S.* Ennis-Flint Enterprise Fleet Management* e-PlanSoft

Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates, Inc.

GHD

First Capitol

GovHR USA

ForeFront Power GameTime c/o GWR & MRC General Code George Hills GeoStabilization International

Gordian GovPayNet Granicus Graphic Solutions Greenfields Outdoor Fitness Greenroads Foundation HAI, Hirsch & Associates, Inc. Hapco HB Staffing HdL Companies* Highridge Costa Holman Capital Corporation HR Green, Inc. IBank IES/SitelogIQ* In God We Trust America, Inc. INFRAMARK Integrated Design 360, LLC Intelligent Traffic Equipment Marketing, Ltd. Interwest Consulting Group* JAS PACIFIC Johnson Controls* Jones & Mayer JustServe Kaiser Permanente Keenan & Associates Keyser Marston Associates, Inc. Koff & Associates Recruiting KOMPAN Playgrounds Kosmont Companies* LA County Metropolitan Transporta tion Authority Language Network Lara International Learn4Life LECET Southwest Library Systems & Services Liebert Cassidy Whitmore LINC Housing Lincoln Financial Group LRAD Corporation Mattress Recycling Council

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

The Expo offers a spectrum of innovative products and services to help your city save resources and money.

Meyers Nave* MGO MNS Engineers Municibid NASPO ValuePoint Navio International, Inc. Negometrix: eProcurement & Contract Management NLC Service Line Warranty Program

NV5 Omega II Fence Systems Optimum Seismic, Inc. Otto Environmental Systems North America, Inc. PARS*

Fiercely Protecting Our Clients Since 1927

PARSAC Peckham & McKenney PERC Water Corporation PetData Pinnacle Claims Management Piper Jaffray & Co. Planeteria Media PowerFlare (PF Distribution Center, Inc.) Powersmiths International Corporation Precision Concrete Cutting

Public Law Labor & Employment Litigation Education Law Real Estate williams & Business & sorensen burke Construction Law Environmentalattorneys Law Insurance Law

1/2 island ad 4c

Prevailing Rural Education Public Health Advocates Public Restroom Company

Law offices throughout California | 800.333.4297 | www.bwslaw.com

Northern California Carpenters Regional Council

Radarsign, LLC Ralph Andersen & Associates RealTerm Energy Regional Government Services Authority Renne Public Law Group* Republic Services* Retail Strategies Richards Watson Gershon* RICKMARPRODUCTS, LLC Ring RJM Design Group, Inc. RKA Consulting Group RSG, Inc. SA RECYCLING, LLC www.westerncity.com

continued Western City, October 2019

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2019 Annual Conference & Expo Highlights, Expo Exhibitors, continued

SAFEbuilt, LLC

Sensys America

SolarMax LED

SafetyStepTD

SERVPRO*

Southern California Gas Company

Schaefer Systems International

Share Our Strength

Stalker Radar

Schneider Electric*

Silver & Wright, LLP

State Water Resources Control Board

ScholarShare 529

Sloan Sakai Yeung & Wong, LLP

Superior Tank Solutions

SDI Presence, LLC

Smart Cities Prevail*

SurveillanceGRID Integration, Inc.

Security Lines US

SmartWatt

SwiftComply US OpCo, Inc. SyTech Solutions TAPCO TBWB Strategies The Christmas Light Guy Company The Code Group, Inc., dba The VCA Code The Home Depot The Pun Group, LLP The San Diego Foundation TKE Engineering TNT Fireworks Toter Toyota Motor North America Trane Energy Solutions Transtech Engineers, Inc. Troy & Bank TV Pro Gear

Advising

communities

SINCE 1959

U.S. Flood Control Corp.

Vanir Construction Management, Inc.* ViewPoint Cloud Wagners CFT, LLC WEH Technologies, Inc. Wells Fargo Bank West Coast Arborists Willdan

Expert counsel, informed perspective and sixty years of municipal law experience: that’s what we offer every public agency client. Thank you for placing your trust in us and we look forward to serving you for decades to come.

William Avery & Associates, Inc.* Working Scholars powered

by Study.com Ygrene*

We are a proud sponsor of League of California Cities | www.kmtg.com

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

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Delivering Revenue, Insight and Efficiency to Local Government Since 1983

Manufacturing: The Revenue Source

by Dion Jackson You Forgot You Needed Manufacturing has cleaned up its act and is no longer the environmental culprit of the past. With advanced manufacturing technologies, modern manufacturing facilities are clean and employ highly skilled and highly paid workers — jobs that your city’s residents could and must fill.

You may have heard that manufacturing jobs no longer exist because they all went overseas. While many left, manufacturing still supports the California economy. In general, one manufacturing job supports another 2.5 jobs while one job in advanced manufacturing — manufacturers using advanced technology — supports five additional jobs, according to a 2015 report from the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte.

When I was young, my elementary school classmates thought milk came from a store. They had never seen a cow. But many of them knew where cars were made and what happened in the local canneries and industrial bakeries, because our class toured an auto plant and a bread factory. My classmates’ parents worked at these manufacturing firms, and others were employed in retail, white-collar work or public sector organizations.

Today, although the concentration of manufacturing jobs is lower, those wages remain higher than the retail sector’s and therefore can support a higher standard of living that includes homeownership and paying for college tuition, often without student loans.

Elementary school students today can ask Google where milk comes from or where cars are made, but their awareness of manufacturing is limited. Older students’ perception of manufacturing is often colored by the environmental movement.

I teach both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy, where I have two key messages for these future city planners and city managers: 1. The need for revenue drives landuse planning and business attraction toward retail uses in California, known as the fiscalization of land use; and 2. Manufacturing jobs pay a higher wage than retail and its employees have more disposable income to spend in the city, where it supports other jobs.

Both contribute to a healthy economy, but more attention has been given to retail than manufacturing, so less is known about the manufacturing industry and how to support it.

As the following national trends in manufacturing indicate, advanced manufacturing firms provide the highest quality jobs: • Productivity has increased. Output per labor hour in manufacturing grew 48 percent between 2002 and 2016, according to a 2018 report from the Congressional Research Service; • Advanced manufacturing experienced a slower decline in employment than low-tech manufacturing, according to a 2014 report from the Institute for Applied Economics; • Real wages in advanced manufacturing increased by 25.6 percent from 2002 to 2012, compared with a 6.7 percent increase in low-tech manufacturing; and • Globalization has increased outsourcing to countries in Asia that have cheaper labor costs but the United States retains a competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing.

Learn More About This Topic at the Annual Conference Session “Manufacturing: The Revenue Source You Forgot You Needed” will be the focus of a session at the League’s 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. The session will be held Thursday, Oct. 17, from 1:00–2:15 p.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

Panelists will discuss how they are working to foster growth in this critical industrial sector and will address how to: • Attract these new advanced manufacturing firms to your community; • Learn which of your existing manufacturers have adopted new technologies and the types of jobs they can offer your residents; • Help local manufacturers adopt these new technologies; • Identify where your manufacturers can recruit qualified workers or improve the skills of their incumbent workers; and • Find partners at your local high schools and colleges who can work with you to address the workforce needs of your manufacturers.

Attendees will gain insight into building partnerships to support advanced manufacturing in their communities. Join us for an exhilarating session presented by those who are already benefiting from its opportunities.

For links to related resources, read the online version of this article at www.western city.com. ■

Dion Jackson is program director at the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Economic Development, Sol Price School of Public Policy; she can be reached at dljackso@price.usc.edu.

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

Laborers’ International Union of North America

BUILDS PEOPLE BUILDS PROJECTS BUILDS CALIFORNIA

The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) partners with public and private entities, elected officials, community groups, and responsible contractors to build and maintain the infrastructure needs of communities throughout California while providing residents a career in the construction industry.

Find out more @ www.LIUNAbuildsCA.org Visit us at booth #445

Oscar De La Torre Northern CA District Council (925) 469-6800 www.ncdclaborers.org

Jon P. Preciado Southern CA District Council (626) 350-6900 www.scdcl.org

Death, Taxes and Other Unavoidable Things:

A Municip Financ Hot Topics in California Municipal Finance

by Michael Coleman At the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about several important new developments in the financing of municipal services in California. This article and its companion article, “Recent Important Changes in Municipal Finance Law,” (at right) provide an overview of issues that the session will cover in depth.

A Financially Healthy State Is Good News for Cities The strength of municipal finances is inextricably intertwined with the financial condition of the state government and actions of the Legislature. Among the thousands of proposed laws that run through the Legislature are ideas that could help or harm the funding or costs of city programs. And when the state runs into financial difficulty, local government finances are also in jeopardy.

But today, city finances are more protected from legislative interference than ever. A series of constitutional measures, beginning with Proposition 1A (in 2004), strictly limits the state’s ability to take, shift, divert or delay all major sources of city revenues. The Legislature may not: • Reduce the local Bradley-Burns Uniform Sales and Use Tax rate or alter its method of allocation except to comply with federal law or an interstate compact; continued on page 24

Michael Coleman is principal fiscal policy advisor to the League and can be reached at coleman@muniwest.com. More information on city finance is available at www.californiacityfinance.com.

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

ipal e Update Recent Important Changes in Municipal Finance Law

by Michael G. Colantuono 2019 has been a busy year for appellate developments in the law of municipal finance. The California Supreme Court has decided two cases of import for local finances, and a third is pending.

An Important Win for Local Revenue Power City and County of San Francisco v. The Regents of the University of California concerned San Francisco’s effort to compel the University of California (UC) San Francisco, California State University

San Francisco and the UC Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco to collect (but not to pay) the city’s 25 percent parking tax. All three operated parking lots open both to the public and their students, faculty, patients and other guests. The universities refused, claiming immunity as state agencies even though earlier cases had required special districts (which are also technically state agencies) to collect utility user’s taxes (UUTs). San Francisco sued for a court order compelling the universities to collect the tax, agreeing to bear their costs to do so.

The trial court ruled for the universities as did the court of appeal, although one justice dissented, describing the relevant law as being in “disarray.” The court of appeal majority relied on a distinction between “governmental” activities of state and local agencies and “proprietary” activities — that is to say, those that private parties also engage in — to rule for the universities, concluding that providing parking for campuses was governmental.

continued on page 27

Michael G. Colantuono is a shareholder in Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC, a municipal law firm with offices in Pasadena and Grass Valley. Colantuono is city attorney for the City of Grass Valley; he can be reached at mcolantuono@chwlaw.us.

www.westerncity.com

Western City, October 2019

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Hot Topics in California Municipal Finance, continued from page 22

• Shift property taxes from cities, counties or special districts; • Take local revenues from locally adopted taxes or fees; • Borrow, delay or take transportation tax allocations made to local agencies, including from the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB 1).

The constitutional measures also: • Require the state to suspend state mandates in any year the Legislature does not fully fund those laws; and • Stipulate that a state mandate includes the transfer of responsibility of a program for which the state previously had full or partial responsibility. In other words, such a transfer of responsibility is deemed a mandate regardless of how it is named or labeled.

The risk of state actions that may harm city finances has also been significantly reduced by the substantial strengthening of the state’s financial condition over the

past 10 years. The state has eliminated a General Fund operating deficit that was in the tens of millions of dollars and now has budget stabilization reserves that will total nearly $20 billion — or 13 percent of revenues — by the end of the 2019–20 fiscal year.

These reserves and more will likely be needed when an economic downturn occurs. The state’s tax structures — especially the personal income tax — are highly sensitive to economic conditions. Nevertheless, the state is in a comparatively strong position to weather an economic downturn. These factors, combined with strong constitutional protections in place for local governments, reduce the risk of fallout for local finances.

It’s Here: Better Collection of Sales Tax Due on Out-of-State Transactions In April 2019, California began enforcing the collection by out-of-state vendors of sales and use tax due on transactions made by California purchasers. The landmark June 2018 U.S. Supreme Court

decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. opened the door for a state to compel out-of-state retailers — who conduct substantial commercial activity in that state — to collect and remit sales taxes. The decision reversed the 1992 ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota that a retailer must have a physical presence in a jurisdiction before that retailer has an obligation to collect the jurisdiction’s sales and use tax.

The court signaled that Congress could compel out-of-state retailers to collect tax. But since 1992, Congress had not come close to acting on the issue. Many retailers argued that the physical presence rule gave out-of-state sellers an unfair advantage.

In a 5-4 decision, the 2018 court in Wayfair held that the physical presence rule, as first formulated and as applied today, is an incorrect interpretation of Congress’s power under the so-called Dormant Commerce Clause to regulate taxation of interstate commerce. The decision noted that South Dakota limited its tax requirement to vendors with $100,000 in receipts or

Looking for Footnotes?

For a fully footnoted version, read this article online at www.westerncity.com.

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

200 transactions per year and its tax is therefore not an undue burden on interstate commerce.

In a follow-up action to implement the Wayfair decision, California enacted AB 147 (Burke, Chapter 5, Statutes of 2019) to provide important clarity about its use of this new authority to impose a use tax collection duty on retailers, even those without physical nexus in the state.

The bill: 1. Adds “economic nexus” provisions stipulating that a “retailer engaged in business in this state” includes any retailer that — in the preceding calendar year or the current calendar year — has cumulative sales from the sale of tangible personal property for delivery in California that exceed $500,000; 2. Makes conforming changes to the Transactions and Use Tax law, ensuring that retailers also collect those taxes if they meet the $500,000 statewide threshold; and

3. Defines a “marketplace facilitator” as the retailer responsible for collecting and remitting sales and use taxes, effective Oct. 1, 2019. Marketplace facilitators contract with sellers to sell goods and services on their online platforms. Facilitators generally list products, process payments, collect receipts and in some cases, take possession of a seller’s inventory, hold it in warehouses and ship it to customers.

Under AB 147, the obligation to collect applicable transactions and use tax on all sales made for delivery in any city or county that imposes a transactions and use tax applies to a retailer whether inside or outside of California if, during the preceding or current calendar year, the total combined sales of tangible personal property in California — or for delivery in California by the retailer and all persons related to the retailer — exceeds $500,000. This new collection requirement supersedes prior California

Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) direction on transactions and use tax collection requirements, and it will increase transactions and use tax collections from both in-state and out-ofstate sales.

Digital commerce has been growing at more than 10 percent annually in recent years, more than four times the pace of overall economic growth. California’s large size means that compared with other states, online businesses more likely already have a physical presence and therefore have already been collecting and remitting California sales and use tax. Nevertheless, the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that between $1 billion and $1.7 billion of California sales and use taxes went unpaid in 2017.

continued

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Western City, October 2019

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Hot Topics in California Municipal Finance, continued

Out-of-state small businesses with less than $500,000 total annual taxable sales transactions in California are not obligated to collect and remit tax. Based on U.S. Census data, CDTFA estimates that this affects less than 5 percent of taxable sales from out-of-state sellers. Sellers are still liable for the sales tax due on transactions where the seller does not collect and remit — but the compliance rate, other than for businesses that are audited, is expected to be low.

California’s sales and use tax comprises several state and local rates and allocations.

Of the $1 billion to $2 billion in annual uncollected sales and use tax revenue, about $125 million to $250 million would go to cities and counties for the 1 percent

26

League of California Cities

Bradley-Burns local rate. A similar amount would go to local transactions and use tax rates (local add-on sales taxes). This would be a boost in sales and use tax revenues of about 1.8 to 3.5 percent. Under current CDTFA rules, this out-of-state use tax is distributed through state and countywide “pools” in proportion to the rest of taxable sales within the county.

The provisions of AB 147 requiring collection and remittance of sales and use tax by out-of-state retailers took effect April 1, 2019. However, the marketplace facilitator requirements are effective Oct. 1, 2019.

Moreover, there are substantial hold-harmless provisions for marketplace facilitators for compliance errors until Jan. 1, 2023.

Learn More at the Annual Conference Session These issues will be covered in a session titled, “Death, Taxes and Other Unavoidables: A Municipal Finance Update” at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, Friday, Oct. 18, from 9:30–10:45 a.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

For a detailed legal analysis of AB 147, see “Wayfair Decision Means More Sales and Use Tax Revenue for Cities” on page 10. ■

www.cacities.org

Recent Important Changes in Municipal Finance Law, continued from page 23

The California Supreme Court granted review and the League provided an amicus (friend of the court) brief supporting San Francisco, arguing the governmental/ proprietary distinction was outdated and unhelpful and suggesting the court either extend the UUT/special district cases or apply the analysis of the court’s home rule cases, which balance the home rule power of charter cities with the state’s power to regulate matters of statewide concern.

The Supreme Court did not reject the governmental/proprietary distinction, but did adopt the League’s reasoning by applying the charter city home rule cases.

Instead of a bright-line rule that taxes are or are not municipal concerns or that operation of universities is a matter for the state, the court balanced the interests of the parties. It found little burden on the universities, especially as San Francisco agreed to pay their costs to implement its tax. And it found a lot at stake for San Francisco — both its power to fund municipal services and the need to avoid an imbalanced market for parking in the city in which most operators collect the city’s tax but the universities sell parking either at a lower price or at the same total cost, pocketing the amount of the city tax. The case is an important win for local revenue power.

Proposition 218 and Exhaustion Requirements Plantier v. Ramona Municipal Water District considered whether those who sue local agencies to challenge water, sewer and trash fees must exhaust administrative remedies by participating in a Proposition 218 majority protest hearing before

filing suit. Ramona set new sewer rates at the same time it was disputing the number of sewer-service units allocated to a restaurant. When the restaurateur sued for lower classification, Ramona persuaded the trial court the restaurateur could not sue because he did not raise his concerns in the majority protest proceeding for the new sewer rates. The court of appeal reversed in a very broad (and, it seems, poorly reasoned) decision concluding exhaustion was never required in rate-making disputes.

The Supreme Court granted review and issued a very narrow ruling, concluding a Prop. 218 majority protest proceeding does not provide an effective forum to raise concerns about a customer’s classification, as opposed to those about rates in general. Although the court intended a narrow ruling, saving for another case the broader question of whether one must participate in a majority protest proceeding to bring a Prop. 218 challenge to utility rates, its language may make it easy to defeat exhaustion requirements in many such cases.

Accordingly, cities are well advised to: • Create a local remedy for those with concerns about utility rates and classifications — local exhaustion requirements can be enforced even if the Prop. 218 majority protest proceeding need not be exhausted; and • Include language in notices of Prop. 218 majority protest proceedings that expressly invites complaints about rates, customer classification and any other issue involving utility charges.

This will make it harder for a plaintiff to argue the majority protest proceeding was not an adequate remedy.

Why does this matter? The law of public revenues is somewhat uncertain and changes continuously. We are still arguing over the meaning of Prop. 13 (1978) and Prop. 218 (1996) — and the courts have barely begun to construe Prop. 26 (2010).

As new rulings are issued, they create risk for agencies that acted before new rules were known. Without an exhaustion requirement, plaintiffs’ lawyers can sue many agencies after a new decision is announced. An exhaustion requirement can protect against such opportunistic suits and allow agencies to conduct hearings in light of the law as it exists when they do so, without the risk of suit for failing to comply with law announced only later.

Proposition 218 and Referenda on Fees Prop. 218 allows initiatives to repeal or reduce various kinds of fees. Earlier law had forbidden initiatives and referenda against such fees to stabilize government finances. The recent historic drought led many water agencies to raise water rates, some by large percentages. This led to a number of referendum petitions challenging water rates throughout the state and disputes over whether Prop. 218 allowed such referenda given that it mentions only initiatives. This distinction matters because referenda suspend legislation as soon as signatures are certified, but an initiative takes effect only after an election — giving local governments continued

The law of public revenues is somewhat uncertain and changes continuously.

Western City, October 2019

27

Recent Important Changes in Municipal Finance Law, continued

months to prepare for possible revenue loss. The League and other local government groups coordinated amicus support in three of these cases, but the issue was first decided in another case, Wilde v. City of Dunsmuir, a referendum challenge to water rates brought by an unrepresented litigant, although the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) became the counsel of record during the appeal.

Perhaps because Wilde’s brief was weak and local government associations provided no amicus support, the court of appeal in Sacramento ruled for Wilde in a muddled opinion concluding that Prop.

218 did not change the law as to referendum proposals, but that such proposals

28

League of California Cities

had always been permitted as to utility fees, which is not so. Two of the three cases in which the local government associations participated ended without reaching the issue, and the last was just decided in summer 2019. In Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v. Amador Water Agency, the same court of appeal that decided Wilde disagreed with it, ruling that referenda may not challenge utility fees. HJTA sought rehearing of that decision by the court of appeal and obtained grant-andhold review in the California Supreme Court. It makes sense to decide the cases consistently. The League and other local government associations have provided an amicus brief in Wilde and a decision from the Supreme Court is likely in 2020.

While the law is uncertain, it seems that referenda may not reduce utility and other fees, but initiative proposals can. ■

Interested in Learning More? Attend the Annual Conference Session Hear a detailed presentation on this topic and get your questions answered at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. The session, “Death, Taxes and Other Unavoidables: A Municipal Finance Update,” will be held Friday, Oct. 18, from 9:30–10:45 a.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

www.cacities.org

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ABCs of Safety,

Communications and Large Events

by Margery Haupt, LaWayne Hearn and Kevin Townsend

When a large-scale event is planned, it’s not unusual for staff to collectively hold their breath until it’s over. Such apprehension is understandable, given recent events and the need to minimize risk for attendees.

The annual Festival of Lights at the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside (pop. 328,101) draws more than 750,000 people. The inn is transformed for the festival with over 5 million holiday lights, decorated with 400 animatronic figures and filled with holiday music. The festival runs from Thanksgiving weekend through the end of the year. It features artisans’ wares, live entertainment, a Ferris wheel and vendors with holiday treats.

Residents and visitors perceive the Festival of Lights as a seamless experience — they don’t see the thousands of hours of planning and advance work needed to execute this large-scale event. Because the most important aspect of any event is safety, the City of Riverside uses these guiding principles for large events.

A Unified Vision The vision for the event must be detailed, created by the entire team and tailored to the spirit and nature of the event. Safety is an integral part of that vision. An effective vision includes these key aspects.

Clearly defined roles. All members of our leadership team understand each team member’s role. The roles correspond to the event’s phases and change as the event unfolds, with different team members in the lead before, during and after.

A positive experience for attendees.

Providing residents and visitors with an enjoyable and memorable experience of the event is the overarching goal.

Safety. Focusing on safety for attendees, staff and other event participants is essential.

sure they are a friendly, helpful part of the event for attendees.

Tap Into Resources

Include public information officers (PIOs). Their skills and contacts can provide invaluable support. It’s also extremely helpful to have them at the event. If you have access to more than one PIO, plan to have all of them attend and participate.

Consider these tips for tapping into existing resources.

Ask. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know what’s possible. Look to your partners in the fire and law enforcement community for insight, input and support. Depending on the event’s size and scope, ask the appropriate federal, state or local agencies for support. This can be informational or data-driven or it may involve personnel and/or equipment.

Build on staff ’s existing relationships with other agencies.

Invite the community to participate somehow; for example, the “If you see something, say something” campaign encourages people to watch for and report suspicious activity.

Increase available resources as needed, depending on the event’s size. Larger events require greater investments — of personnel, resources, equipment and time — in safety.

Communication Is Critical The importance of effective communication cannot be overstated. A solid communications effort comprises the following elements.

Use a consistent approach. Start planning early, meet regularly and include other departments, organizations and individuals as necessary.

“Humanize” the safety component.

Involve safety personnel in messaging about safety and the event, and make

Hold a candid debriefing session. After the event, meet to identify what worked, what didn’t and opportunities for improvement. Discuss and document the lessons learned and goals for the next event.

Foster respect. Each event involves a wide range of roles with different responsibilities. Effective teamwork depends on mutual respect for each other, the work each of us performs and each team member’s expertise.

Taking a Proactive Approach It’s impossible to know if or when something will happen at or to your event. By carefully planning, communicating and focusing on public safety, your city or organization will be prepared to respond to whatever may occur — from commonplace to momentous. ■

Don’t Miss This Session at the Annual Conference Interested in hearing more about this topic? Plan to attend the “ABCs of Safety, Communications and Large Events” session at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. The session will be held Thursday, Oct. 17, from 8:15–9:30 a.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

Margery Haupt is arts & cultural affairs manager for the City of Riverside and can be reached at mhaupt@riversideca.gov. LaWayne Hearn is deputy chief for the Riverside Fire Department and can be reached at lhearn@riversideca.gov. Kevin Townsend is a lieutenant with the Riverside Police Department and can be reached at ktownsend@riversideca.gov.

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Where Transporta and Funding Meet We are on the brink of a revolution in transportation that encompasses self-driving cars, autonomous shuttles, transportation as a service and zero-emission vehicles.

Autonomous vehicles are being tested on our streets, auto manufacturers are aggressively pursuing electric vehicle lineups and California has set the nation’s most ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

Our cities will look much different in the not-too-distant future. Some of these changes are being driven by millennials, who make up America’s largest living generation.

According to the data analytics company Nielsen, a majority of millennials “are opting to live in urban areas over the suburbs or rural communities. Sixty-two percent indicate they prefer to live in the type of mixed-use communities found in urban centers, where they can be close to shops, restaurants and offices.” And because they favor urban living, they are less likely to own a car. Vehicle ownership rates among

millennials is declining, from 73 percent in 2007 to 66 percent in 2011.

The changes underway in transportation technology are transforming the driving experience and disrupting the $2 trillion global auto industry. Some auto manufacturers have signaled a willingness to stop selling cars in the future and instead sell transportation as a service. Car dealerships — and the sales tax revenue from them — could disappear.

Technology and autonomous vehicles will bring new options for transportation.

Transit as we know it today, except for fixed rail and mainline corridors, could become a vanishing mode.

Preparing for the Coming Changes Connected vehicles and self-driving cars create an exciting potential: zero — or immensely reduced — fatalities from crashes. And self-driving vehicles promise to transform cities.

What do these changes mean for cities?

The way we pay for transportation infrastructure will need to adapt to the new reality, among other things.

And the transportation revolution will impact the way we plan and design the infrastructure that carries these vehicles. How will the development and enforcement of zoning laws and land-use regulations be affected? What about considerations like parking requirements, active transportation corridors and streetscapes?

In a future scenario, massive office and mall parking lots could be repurposed into office or multifamily buildings.

Gas stations could be transformed into electric car charging stations. Features such as curbside pickup and ride-share lobbies could be in demand as autonomous vehicles become more widespread.

The industrial sector will likely see the most disruption, particularly when it comes to warehouse operations, logistics and trucking. Over the next 25 years, the industrial sector, goods movement and the supply chain might look nothing like they do today.

Jim Madaffer is a past president of the League and a former member of the California Transportation Commission; he can be reached at jim@madaffer.com.

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tion Technology the Road

by Jim Madaffer

Will we be ready for the many issues that arise with self-driving and autonomous vehicles? What will this new technology mean for public agencies, transit facilities, insurance companies and freight carriers?

Rethinking the Gasoline Tax Perhaps most importantly, how will we fund transportation and its infrastructure in the future? The gasoline tax was first created in 1919 by the State of Oregon and California followed suit. A hundred years ago, the tax made sense because all vehicles essentially got the same mileage, so everyone paid about the same to use the streets and roads. Since then, the gas tax has not kept pace with growing demands for road construction, repair and maintenance. Regulations related to the environment, stormwater and more have placed additional funding pressure on a transportation funding system that has not kept up.

President Ronald Reagan was so opposed to raising taxes that he told reporters he would not raise the gas tax unless he was overthrown “in a palace coup.” So when he finally announced his support for a 1982 plan to raise the federal gas tax by five cents per gallon, Reagan emphasized

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that unlike other taxes, the gas tax was really a “highway user fee,” paid for only by those who use the system.

The gas tax remains the primary way we pay for building and maintaining federal and state transportation infrastructure, but 37 years after Reagan’s change of heart, it is becoming increasingly difficult to argue that there is any relationship between how much gas we buy and how much we use the roads. And this is not just a problem for the federal or state governments. It is time for smart city leaders to start thinking about and planning for the future of transportation funding that looks very different from what we have now.

Owners of highly fuel-efficient cars, like hybrids and electric vehicles, are currently paying little or no base excise gas tax.

They are contributing only a fraction to the overall cost of road repairs. In California, aggressive zero emissions vehicle goals coupled with increased mileage standards continue to impact transportation funding. As a result, less gas is sold, which means less money is available to pay for road repairs and maintenance.

Because of continuing decreases in gas tax revenues for road maintenance and rehabilitation, California passed SB 1077 in

Don’t Miss This Session at the Annual Conference Interested in learning more? “Where Transportation Technology and Funding Meet the Road” will be held at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, Thursday, Oct. 17, from 1:00–2:15 p.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile device app.

2014, which authorized a study to transition from the gasoline tax to a pay-per-mile user fee. While this might not have been an option in Reagan’s era, today’s vehicles have the technology to track the miles we drive, and this could become the new way we fund transportation into the future.

Pay-by-the-mile studies continue as our automobile fleet transitions from a gasoline-based system to something different. And as autonomous vehicles enter the picture, they may be the first to pay by the mile regardless of fuel type.

Much will change with transportation and technology over the next 25 years. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Savvy city leaders need to prepare for these coming changes. ■

Western City, October 2019

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Tackling Homelessness

by Ken Striplin Homelessness was a big California concern in 2018 and 2019 — both in the rising numbers of people affected and in costs incurred by cities trying to address the issue. Sometimes, it seems the only way to comprehensively tackle homelessness is to spend large amounts of time and resources. But cities do not have to wrestle with this issue alone.

At the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, attendees will have an opportunity to learn how to creatively address homelessness at a session titled “The Hidden Costs of Tackling Homelessness.” This session, presented by the California City Management Foundation, will take an in-depth look at practical examples of how cities such as Santa Ana and Indio are tackling the same homelessness challenges that many other California cities face right now.

A Snapshot of the Challenge California has a growing homelessness crisis. As of January 2018: • California had an estimated 130,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given day. That is 24 percent of the United States homeless population; • 47 percent of the nation’s unsheltered homeless individuals were in California; • California reported the largest numbers of homeless unaccompanied youths (12,396 people), accounting for one-third of all unaccompanied youth in the nation; • 67 percent of California’s homeless veterans are unsheltered; and • California accounted for 49 percent of the nation’s unsheltered chronically homeless individuals.

About the California City Management Foundation Hundreds of city managers, assistant city managers and assistants to city managers throughout California are members of the California City Management Foundation (CCMF). In addition, a number of public servants and private sector partners serve on its board of trustees. The impact of homelessness on local communities is a concern for CCMF members statewide.

It’s important to note that these statistics are nearly two years old, drawn from the 2017 count conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and local continuums of care. The Point-in-Time (PIT) counts of homeless individuals in early 2019 showed that overall, these numbers have increased statewide, sometimes despite the focused efforts of cities and counties.

HUD will not release its 2019 report until later in the year, and the preliminary continued on page 37

Ken Striplin is city manager for the City of Santa Clarita and president of the California City Management Foundation; he can be reached at kstriplin@santa-clarita.com.

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#MeToo 2.0: A Guide to Help Navigate New Workplace Harassment Laws

by J. Scott Tiedemann and Alison Kalinski The #MeToo movement exposed the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. As a result, society is changing how it views and responds to allegations of sexual harassment — and the California Legislature enacted important changes to the law on sexual harassment and discrimination that took effect this year.

The #MeToo movement has made everyone more aware of sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers want to ensure that they have a harassment-free, healthy, collegial workplace for their employees and also want to be sure they implement policies to lessen liability when allegations of harassment surface.

Legislative Changes to the Fair Employment and Housing Act

Updated Standards for Harassment Claims

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in employment based on an employee’s protected classification, such as race, gender, sex, national origin, disability or sexual orientation, among others. In response to the #MeToo movement, the Legislature enacted several amendments to FEHA that took effect Jan. 1, 2019. The amendments:

This article highlights some of the major legislative changes affecting employees in the workplace and suggests best practices to protect your agency and create a harassment-free workplace.

• Restrict settlement agreements between employees and employers that concern allegations of sexual harassment; and

FEHA now includes updated standards for evaluating harassment claims and rejects the old “severe or pervasive” threshold for what is legally actionable harassment; it clarifies that one incident of harassing conduct can be sufficient to create a hostile work environment. FEHA also now provides that an employee need not prove that their productivity declined in order to bring a harassment claim; rather, it is sufficient if the employee can show that a reasonable person subject to the harassment would find that the harassment altered the working conditions and made it more difficult to work.

• Make it easier for employees to litigate and win harassment and discrimination cases;

• Impose new mandatory training requirements.

In addition, the amendments provide that a discriminatory remark may be relevant evidence of discrimination, even if made by a non-decisionmaker and outside the continued

J. Scott Tiedemann is a managing partner of the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore and can be reached at stiedemann@lcwlegal.com.

Alison Kalinski is an associate at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore and can be reached at akalinski@lcwlegal.com. www.westerncity.com

Western City, October 2019

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#MeToo 2.0: A Guide to Help Navigate New Workplace Harassment Laws, continued

presence of the complaining employee.

This will make it easier for employees to show an employer’s discriminatory motivation if they can bring in other remarks made by co-workers.

The amendments provide that sexual harassment standards do not vary by type of workplace and are rarely appropriate for disposition on summary judgment; that is to say, a science lab is not different from a city yard under FEHA.

Limitations on Agreements The amendments to FEHA also limit agreements between employers and employees if the employee’s allegations include sexual harassment. Employers can no longer require employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, confidentiality agreement or any other document denying employees the right to disclose

Employers need to be vigilant about harassment training and implementing a zero tolerance policy. information about unlawful acts in the workplace, including sexual harassment.

In addition, employers cannot require employees to waive their rights under FEHA in exchange for a bonus, raise or other condition of employment unless it is in conjunction with a voluntary settlement agreement filed in court, alternative dispute resolution forum, administrative agency or the employer’s internal complaint process.

Trusted advisors to California cities for nearly 40 years.

Furthermore, confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements are prohibited if they limit the disclosure of facts related to sexual assault, harassment or discrimination. Likewise, settlement agreements cannot prohibit employees from testifying in any administrative, legislative or judicial proceedings about sexual harassment.

Mandatory Training Requirements The FEHA amendments updated and heightened mandatory training requirements. All employers with five or more employees must provide two hours of sexual harassment training to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of sexual harassment training to nonsupervisory employees by Jan. 1, 2021. In addition, starting in January 2020, employers must train all seasonal and temporary employees within 30 calendar days of starting work or 100 hours worked, whichever comes first.

Navigating the Workplace in Response to #MeToo and the FEHA Amendments

• • • • • • •

Employment Law Labor Relations Retirement Wage and Hour Public Safety Public Records Act Litigation

Because the FEHA amendments make it easier for employees to prevail in harassment and discrimination cases and make it more difficult for employers to dismiss these claims before trial, it is now more important than ever that employers proactively prevent such misconduct and address any allegations immediately.

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our offices • Los Angeles • Sacramento • San Francisco • San Diego • Fresno •

“Rebooting” Workplace Culture Employers should strive to create a culture of intolerance toward any harassment. No agency or employer is immune,

continued on page 43

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Tackling Homelessness, continued from page 34

Comparison of Homeless Count Results for 2017 and 2019 Area, Reported by Local Continuum of Care (CoC)

2019 PIT count data available did not include all areas. The initial numbers, however, showed that a majority of communities reported an increase in homeless individuals. The “Comparison of Homeless Count Results for 2017 and 2019” table (at right) shows a sampling of data from communities statewide.

No single city is immune from this challenge, and no single city should feel alone in addressing homelessness. Serving and sheltering your homeless population while reducing chronic homelessness requires an “all hands on deck” mindset and approach.

But what if you don’t have clearly delineated funding or can’t agree on how to spend funds? What if your constituents push back against the idea of building homeless shelters? What happens when it’s unclear which agency — the county or the city — has jurisdiction on leading efforts and solutions? How do you form public-private partnerships that actually make a difference?

2017 Homeless Count

2019 Homeless Count

Difference Number

Percentage

Los Angeles City and County CoC

52,442

56,257

+ 3,815

+ 7.3%

San Jose/Santa Clara City and County CoC

7,394

9,706

+ 2,312

+ 31.3%

Oakland, Berkeley/ Alameda County CoC

5,629

8,022

+ 2,393

+ 42.5%

Santa Ana, Anaheim/ Orange County CoC

4,792

6,860

+ 2,068

+ 43.1%

Stockton/San Joaquin County CoC

1,542

2,629

+ 1,087

+ 70.5%

Humboldt County CoC

759

1,473

+ 714

+ 94.1%

Tuolumne, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa Counties CoC

367

845

+ 478

+ 130%

Alpine, Inyo, Mono Counties CoC

121

214

+ 93

+ 76.9%

Long Beach CoC

1,863

1,894

+ 31

+ 1.7%

San Diego City and County CoC

9,160

8,102

- 1,058

- 11.5%

Pasadena CoC

575

542

- 33

- 5.7%

Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County CoC

1,860

1,803

- 57

- 3.1%

Source: Homeless and Housing Strategies for California, Hub for Urban Initiatives, June 2019

Learn More in This Annual Conference Session Attendees at the Annual Conference session will hear from a city manager, a city homelessness services manager, a city attorney and a homeless services and shelter provider on ways they have been working and making progress on this issue in their cities.

This session will be of particular interest to: • Mayors and council members from cities with increasing homeless populations; • Cities tackling the creation of homeless shelters; and • Anyone curious about the homelessness crisis in California and how cities are responding. continued on page 48 www.westerncity.com

Western City, October 2019

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Tips for Achieving

Ballot Measure Success

by Anton Dahlerbruch

Many cities face perennial challenges related to a shortage of money for maintaining and improving public services or infrastructure. In the quest for funding, cities often ask voters to approve a tax or debt. A successful revenue ballot measure should not be taken for granted; there are many tried and true steps and helpful lessons learned for cities that are considering placing a measure on the ballot in an upcoming election.

Palos Verdes Estates (pop.13,544) is a suburban California community of five square miles. The city is fully developed with approximately 5,000 residential properties and two small commercial plazas that serve as community centers.

Due to deed restrictions controlling development and land use, Palos Verdes Estates receives no measurable sales tax or business license tax and has no hotels to generate transient occupancy tax.

Property tax provides the city’s primary revenue source.

On the expense side, the city’s Police Department is its highest cost center.

Minimally staffed with 23 sworn positions and an equal number of nonsworn personnel, the department’s annual operational cost is approximately $7 million.

The fire and paramedic services contract runs a close second at approximately $5 million annually. Palos Verdes Estates’ total operating annual budget is approximately $18 million.

In the wake of Proposition 13 (1978) limits on property taxes, Palos Verdes Estates faced a structural deficit for maintaining

services. In response, the city first cut the Fire Department and contracted with Los Angeles County for fire services. To cover the shortfall, voters approved a parcel tax in 1985.

The original parcel tax included a sunset clause, and the assessment expired in 1990. In the following years leading up to July 2017, voters approved renewing the tax in 10-year increments. The tax was also tied to paying the fire services contract. Repeatedly, 87 percent of voters approved the tax.

In early 2015, the city council began planning for the 2017 parcel tax renewal.

The council reviewed a proposal from a communications consultant and information research consultant to provide services in support of putting the measure before the voters — at a cost of approximately $100,000 a year. Alternatives included consolidating the election in November 2016 at an unbudgeted cost of $60,000 or placing the measure on the regularly scheduled (and budgeted) municipal election in March 2017.

Mindful of costs, the council sought input from residents and decided to forgo the consultants and hold the election in March 2017. In preparation for the ballot

measure, the city manager established a blue ribbon committee of residents to analyze city finances and make recommendations on ways to generate revenue and alleviate the city’s structural deficit, and city staff developed information to help the community understand Palos Verdes Estates’ fiscal needs.

In March 2017, the ballot measure failed to pass. Its story offers lessons for cities.

Evolution of a Failed Ballot Measure Effort The blue ribbon committee convened on several occasions. Because the city manager formed the committee, it was not subject to open meeting requirements and the city did not issue meeting notices. Ultimately, the committee presented its conclusions to the council along with public input and modifications, and the city placed Measure D on the ballot.

The council added a sunset clause that was not in the original committee recommendation. The city produced a website with substantial information for the public. Nothing was printed or mailed to avoid the appearance of advocacy. continued on page 44

MEASURE SUBMITTED TO PALOS VERDES ESTATES VOTERS, MARCH 2017

63 64

Shall an ordinance be adopted that continues a levy of the existYES ing special tax for a period of twelve (12) years on each eligible parcel in the City at the initial base rate of $342.34 plus $0.196073 NO per square foot of building improvement effective July 1, 2017, and maintains the existing 6.2% limit on annual adjustments, initially generating approximately $4.7 million annually to finance fire suppression and paramedic services?

D

➡ ➡

Anton Dahlerbruch is former city manager of Palos Verdes Estates and an executive recruiter for Peckham & McKenney; he can be reached at Tony@peckhamandmckenney.com. Jennifer King, former council member for Palos Verdes Estates and a past president of the League’s Los Angeles County Division, also contributed to this article.

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Western City, October 2019

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Current & Upcoming Opportunities City of Del Mar, CA – City Manager Having incorporated in 1959, the City of Del Mar is a quaint seaside village located just 20 miles north of San Diego. With a population of approximately 4,200 people, and covering just 2.2 square miles, Del Mar is known for its vibrant small-town atmosphere. The City of Del Mar seeks a City Manager with exceptional interpersonal, leadership, and negotiation skills. The incoming City Manager will be a seasoned individual and forward-thinking visionary who is capable of ensuring the long-term financial stability of the City. Candidates must have a strong finance background; and experience with complex municipal budgets, as well as experience working with local chambers or similar organizations on downtown revitalization; and have a good understanding of the relationships and interactions among California’s governing structures. Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree in the area of business or public administration, or closely related field, and a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience managing public sector operations; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. A master’s degree in business or public administration is preferred. The salary range for the City Manager position is open, negotiable, and dependent upon qualifications.

Contact: Mr. Gary Phillips, (916) 784-9080 – Filing Deadline: October 20, 2019

San Diego Unified Port District, CA – Port Auditor The Port of San Diego manages San Diego Bay and its 34 miles of waterfront for the people of California. The Port was established in 1962 under the Port Act and is charged with implementing the Tidelands Trust Doctrine. For more than 50 years, the Port has worked in collaboration with its five member cities - Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City and San Diego - to develop and promote commerce, navigation, recreation and fisheries on and around San Diego Bay. The San Diego Unified Port District is seeking an individual who clearly demonstrates the utmost integrity. The Auditor functions independently and reports directly to the Board of Port Commissioners. The Auditor is a member of the executive team, who initiates and takes responsibility for executing the functions of the District’s Port Auditor role. Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree in the area of business administration, finance, accounting, or a closely related field; and least fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible audit experience in public accounting or internal auditing and/or risk management experience, at least five (5) of which were in a management capacity.

Experience in the public sector and with environmental compliance auditing is preferred. Certified Internal Auditor and/or Certified Public Accountant preferred. The salary range for the Port Auditor position is open, negotiable, and dependent upon qualifications.

Contact: Mr. Gary Phillips, (916) 784-9080 – Filing Deadline: November 1, 2019

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Visit www.westerncity.com and click on “Topics” to read helpful articles that give you both the big picture on statewide issues and detailed examples from cities throughout California.

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CITY OF STOCKTON Located in California’s great Central Valley, Stockton offers an excellent quality of life for its residents. The community is warm, friendly and welcoming. The City has a number of beautiful residential communities along waterways, with single-family homes being very affordable. Stockton is a community rich in heritage and diversity.

The City of Stockton seeks an accomplished City Manager to head the overall administration of all aspects of city operations.

The new Manager is expected to provide quality and responsive service CITY to residents and will focus on quality MANAGER of life considerations that are vital to the community. Importantly, the City Manager will understand and interact with the community and provide leadership and inspiration to the hardworking and committed City staff.

William Avery & Associates Management Consultants 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

Position priorities and the complete ideal candidate profile are currently under development. A formal job announcement is anticipated to be ready by mid-October and will be available on our website at http://www.averyassoc.net/current-searches. For further information contact Bill Avery at 408.399.4424.

Photo/Art Credits Cover: Ron and Patty Thomas Page 5: Grandriver Page 6: Jeremy Sykes, courtesy of the League of California Cities Page 7: Compass, Akinbostanci; background graphic, Filo Page 8: Jeremy Sykes, courtesy of the League of California Cities Page 10: Eva-Katalin Page 11: “Add to cart” graphic, Debela; photo, DragonImages Pages 12–18: Jeremy Sykes, courtesy of the League of California Cities

Page 20: Courtesy of Dion Jackson and University of Southern California Pages 22–23: Graphic, Jansucko Page 30: Courtesy of the City of Riverside Pages 32–33: 4X-image Page 34: Stellalevi Page 35: Olaser Page 36: Milkos Page 37: Stellalevi Page 38: CHUYN Page 48: Anouchka Page 52: Jude Lemons

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#MeToo 2.0: A Guide to Help Navigate New Workplace Harassment Laws, continued from page 36

and employers should take a hard look inside their agency to see what is happening “on the ground floor” with all employees.

Employers should encourage transparency and open dialogue, so management can understand the workplace culture — and any communication gaps — that could be fostering a culture of harassment or an environment where employees are afraid to speak up about harassment and discrimination. Employees should be encouraged not to turn a blind eye when they observe harassment. Managerial employees in particular should speak out when they hear inappropriate remarks or witness harassing conduct; this sends a message to all employees that the policy is not just a boilerplate statement and that the employer will not tolerate harassment.

At a minimum, employers need to: • Ensure their anti-harassment and discrimination policies are up to date; and

CITY OF SELMA

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Get More Details at the Annual Conference Session

• Train employees on the policies in accordance with the FEHA amendments.

All of these issues, as well as the law on harassment, discrimination and retaliation, will be discussed in more detail at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo. The session, “#MeToo2.0: A Guide to Help Navigate New Workplace Harassment Laws,” will be held Thursday, Oct. 17, from 2:45–4:00 p.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

The message to employees should be that harassment and discrimination are intolerable in the workplace. Employers need to create a culture in which employees believe their employer takes their complaints seriously, promptly investigates and does not retaliate against employees for coming forward.

Employers must investigate all harassment and discrimination complaints immediately and keep employees informed of the status of their complaints. Investigations can be exhausting and expensive, but employers should brace against investigation fatigue. An employer that lets down its guard will regret that decision in the litigation that will inevitably follow.

employers need to be vigilant about harassment training and implementing a zero tolerance policy, they should also explore positive reinforcement to help create a healthy workplace that is free of unnecessary stress. Encouraging open communication and open-door policies, building trust among employees and management, and fostering an inclusive and collegial culture are just a few ways to do this. Employers should be open to having conversations with employees that, while they may be uncomfortable at times, encourage employees to candidly and honestly share information. Such conversations enable employers to address concerns in the post#MeToo workplace. ■

Finally, employers should understand that with the prevalence of the #MeToo movement, most or all of their employees are likely thinking about these issues. Employees may have a heightened awareness of their interactions with colleagues and be fearful of doing something inappropriate or being accused of harassment. While J

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Salary: $104,472 annually plus excellent benefits.

Growing, fast-paced central San Joaquin Valley community (25,000) is seeking a highly motivated self-starter with strong proven management and communication skills to direct and coordinate all departmental activities. Department head position answers to City Manager.

Desire a minimum of five years progressive experience in professional urban planning and zoning and five years supervisory experience. Degree in planning, comm. dev. or public admin. required. To apply, contact City of Selma, Human Resources 1710 Tucker St., Selma, CA 93662; (559) 891-2200 or e-mail christinaa@cityofselma.com. Application deadline is Nov. 15, 2019. EOE.

www.westerncity.com

Chief of Police, City of Blythe, California Salary: $123,000 – $137,000 annually with excellent benefits package including 3%@50 for CalPers Classic Members.

The City of Blythe, located in Eastern Riverside County along the Colorado River is seeking a strong leader with a collaborative and participative management style for Chief of the Blythe Police Department. Under the general direction of the City Manager, the Chief of Police provides leadership, management, administration, and direction of the operation and activities of the Blythe Police Department.

The ideal candidate has ten years of municipal law enforcement experience with a minimum of three years experience in a supervisory law enforcement management position, a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in police science, public or business administration or related field and a Management P.O.S.T. Certificate.

Resumes with professional references should be attached to a completed City of Blythe Employment Application and returned to: City of Blythe, 235 N. Broadway, Blythe, CA 92225. Applications are available on the City’s website at www.cityofblythe.ca.gov. Filing deadline: 4:00pm on Friday, November 8, 2019.

Western City, October 2019

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Tips for Achieving Ballot Measure Success, continued from page 38

Residents, the Police Officers’ Association and others engaged in the campaign using social media, signs, mailers, websites and meetings. Measure D garnered only 60 percent of the vote — and failed.

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Palos Verdes Estates immediately lost 25 percent of its revenue.

In developing the strategic plan, the city manager focused on:

The city manager developed a strategic plan to address the shortfall. The council took ownership of the response and incrementally implemented action steps.

• Maintaining operations with the loss in revenue;

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• Cash flow; • Employee morale and departures that could have negative consequences; • Public engagement activities and communications with the community; and • Actionable steps for the council.

CITY MANAGER City of Orange Cove, California

Annual salary: $140,000 The City of Orange Cove is now accepting applications for the position of City Manager. Orange Cove is an agricultural community located in Fresno County about 34 miles east of the City of Fresno, CA. Qualified candidates should have prior experience as a City Administrator/Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Administrator/Manager, Department Director, or similar capacity. A bachelor’s degree in public or business administration or a related field is required and at least five (5) years of progressive management responsibility in municipal government is highly desirable.

The City Council highly regards California experience and will also consider all viable out-of-state candidates provided the type and level of experience is in alignment with the City’s needs. Bi-lingual candidates are encouraged to apply.

Qualified candidates should submit a resume and cover letter electronically to the Orange Cove City Clerk, June V. Bracamontes at jvb@cityoforangecove.com.

Recruitment is open until the position is filled.

Coming Next Month in Western City

Fire Chief Michael McLaughlin shares insights on emergency preparedness, recovery and resilience — and how we can improve current systems. www.westerncity.com

The council subsequently assigned itself to an ad hoc committee to: • Reduce costs of the Police Department and other departments; • Evaluate the overall city budget for across-the-board reductions; • Develop a new ballot measure; and • Update the Schedule of Fees and Charges.

In addition, the council initiated a public engagement strategy through the Davenport Institute and authorized website platforms for online financial transparency and public access to records.

The ad hoc committee engaged consultants to comprehensively evaluate the failed ballot measure and the Police Department and nonsafety departments’ budgets and conduct a user fee study. The results included approximately $1.3 million in budget reductions, fee increases, a Citizens’ Financial Oversight Committee, public engagement meetings — and a new ballot measure that asked voters to fund the local Police Department.

In the April 2018 election, 59 percent of Palos Verdes Estates voters turned out and passed Measure E with 69 percent of the vote.

Lessons Learned The following tips derive from Palos Verdes Estates’ experience.

Keep it simple. Have an easy-to-understand, concise ballot measure. It should be based on a concrete outcome and continued on page 49

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League of California Cities

www.cacities.org

Congratulations TO THE CANDIDATES PLACED BY TB&CO IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS

Michelle Katsuyoshi

Human Resources Director City of Redwood City

Mark Muenzer

Fran Robustelli

Drew Corbett

Assistant City Manager City of Napa

City Manager City of San Mateo

Aarti Shrivastava

Ann Ritzma

Director of Community Development & Transportation City of Redwood City

Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director City of Mountain View

City Manager Town of Hillsborough

Ruben Torres

Jesse Takahashi

Police Chief City of Tustin

Fire Chief City of Santa Clara

Finance & Administrative Services Director City of Mountain View

Neda Zayer

Chris Hazeltine

Philip Kamhi

Laura Cornejo

Assistant Community Development Director City of Ventura

City Manager City of Poway

Chief Transportation Officer City of Palo Alto

Director of Transportation City of Pasadena

Aaron Beanan

Patricia Rhay

Stu Greenberg

Chris Lamm

Assistant Public Works Director City of Menlo Park

Teresia Zadroga-Haase Human Resources Director City of Santa Clara

John Perez

Police Chief City of Pasadena

Finance Director City of Poway

General Manager Indio Water Authority/City of Indio

Louis Arul-Doss

Information Technology Manager City of Ventura

Chris Freeland

City Manager City of Indian Wells

Police Captain City of Morgan Hill

Charles Castillo

Jennifer Burke

Risk Manager City of Santa Clara

Human Resources Director City of Petaluma

Water Director City of Santa Rosa

Joe Irvin

Joe Ortiz

Assistant City Manager City of Healdsburg

Police Chief City of South Pasadena

Peter Gilli

Amy Reeve

Community Development Director City of Ventura

Phillip Nelson

Public Works Director City of Ventura

Janet Salisbury

Finance Director City of South San Francisco

Rachael Tanner

Assistant Director, Planning & Community Environment City of Palo Alto

Kevin Snyder

Director of Community Development City of Indio

Human Resources Director City of Santa Rosa

Emil Kokesh

Greg Bych

Richard Struckman Police Commander City of Menlo Park

Judy Shepard-Hall

Housing & Community Development Program Manager City of Vallejo

Rhonda Coffman

Deputy Director of Com Dev - Housing City of Menlo Park

Matthew Slattengren

Agricultural Commissioner/ Director of Weights & Measures Contra Costa County

Greg Barnes

Parks & Recreation Director City of Santa Paula

Adriane Lee Bird

Assistant Community Services Director City of Menlo Park

www.tbcrecruiting.com tel 424.296.3111 info@tbcrecruiting.com

City Manager

City of Brentwood, CA

The City of Brentwood is situated in the center of an emerging mega-region that is one of the fastest growing economies in the US. With an anticipated build-out population of close to 80,000, Brentwood offers a high quality of life with competitively priced housing in beautiful, safe, family-friendly neighborhoods; excellent public schools; and small-town charm with big-city amenities. The city is financially stable with a total budget of approximately $241.6M, CIP budget of $55M, and 308 FTEs providing a full range of services. This is an opportunity to join a professional and dedicated City Council and lead one of the most collaborative, dynamic, and professional leadership teams in the state. Proven management and leadership experience and a thorough understanding of economic development, municipal finance and budgeting, and the operations of a full-service organization are strongly desired. A Bachelor’s degree is required; a Master’s degree is highly desirable. The annual salary range is $230,000 - $265,000, and appointment within the range is dependent upon the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate.

Filing deadline is October 31, 2019. Contact Bobbi Peckham.

Public Works Director City of American Canyon, CA

Located in the southern portion of world-famous, wine-growing Napa County, American Canyon is a growing community of 20,500 residents planning for a population of 30,000 by 2030. The City employs approximately 88 FTE’s and has a FY 2019/20 total budget of $72.8M. The City organization is well respected by the community and enjoys a high level of community engagement.

With 48 FTE’s, an operating budget of $14.1M, and a CIP budget of $31.1M ($20M is for new projects); the Department includes engineering, parks maintenance, street maintenance, transportation, development engineering/City Engineer, storm drain, water utility, recycled water, wastewater utility, solid waste and building and fleet maintenance. At least seven years of increasingly responsible experience in public works, utilities, and engineering, including four years of supervisory and administrative experience is required. Bachelor’s degree with major coursework in civil engineering, environmental engineering, public or business administration or a closely related field is required and possession of a State of California Professional Engineer’s License is required. Annual salary of $157,269-$188,718 DOQE and CalPERS 2% @ 55 for Classic members.

Filing deadline is October 21, 2019. Contact Bobbi Peckham.

Fire Chief

City of Gilroy, CA

The City of Gilroy, with a population of over 55,000, is located approximately 25 miles south of San Jose. The city’s peaceful residential setting, award winning parks and recreational opportunities, excellent schools and easy access to the entire Bay Area has made Gilroy one of the most affordable and fastest growing communities in southern Santa Clara County. The Gilroy Fire Department operates 3 fire stations each staffed with 3 persons 24/7/365, and in 2018 responded to over 5,500 calls for service. The new Fire Chief must be willing to take the lead in implementing positive change with a staff that is looking forward to making the Department the best that it can be. The City desires that the new Fire Chief have a consultative type of management style and a leadership style that includes participative, situational, and transformational leadership. Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree highly desirable. Ten (10) years of paid work experience in the fire service including at least five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience at the Fire Command level that has included significant management/ supervisory, operational and administrative responsibilities also required. California Fire Chief Officer Certification and/or completion of the National Fire Academy are highly desirable. Annual salary range is from $153,516 to $206,160 DOQ (with an additional 3% increase approved for July 1, 2020), PERS 2% at 55 pension plan for “classic” Fire Safety members and 2% at 57 for “new” Fire Safety members, with excellent benefits. There are no internal candidates.

Filing deadline is October 21, 2019. Contact Phil McKenney.

“All about fit” Assistant City Manager

City of Oceanside, CA

Centrally located in the heart of the beautiful Southern California coastline, Oceanside (pop. 178,000) is a tourist destination with an outstanding location and climate, robust business environment, variety of housing options, and multiple resources.

This full-service agency provides a vast array of services through 984 FTEs and overall budget of $575 million. Appointed by and supporting City Manager Deanna Lorson, the Assistant City Manager will lead the City’s Finance and Budgeting operations, as well as other functions/departments based on expertise. The City Manager is seeking a personable, solution-oriented and collaborative team player with department head experience in a full-service, customer-oriented municipal organization. Specific experience with assessment districts, tax measures, economic development/revenue generation, and enterprise funds is ideal.

A Bachelor’s degree in Public or Business Administration, Finance, or a related field is required; Master’s degree is highly desirable. Annual salary range is $157,020 - $219,564 DOQ. Filing deadline is November 4, 2019. Contact Bobbi Peckham.

Community Development Director

City of Benicia, CA

The City of Benicia is a beautiful waterfront community of 28,000 on the San Francisco Bay and is known for its small-town charm and quality of life and is home to numerous award-winning restaurants, schools and parks. Benicia has a high level of community pride and interest in preserving the quality of life. Residents enjoy low crime, good schools, affordable housing, as well as a wide range of cultural and recreational opportunities. Appointed by the City Manager, the Community Development Director oversees Planning (both current and advanced), Building Services and a Development Services counter. The chosen candidate will enjoy frequent opportunities to influence development projects and policy creation that will shape Benicia’s commercial, residential and economic advancement. Politically astute, this individual will be recognized as a problem-solver who anticipates issues, is pro-active and an excellent communicator. Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning, Public Administration, Business Administration or a closely related field and 5 years of increasingly responsible governmental experience is required.

A Master’s degree is desirable. Annual salary range is $144,544 to $175,694.

Filing deadline is late October, 2019. Contact Josh Agnew.

Finance Director Yavapai County, AZ

Located in north-central Arizona, Yavapai County (pop. 228,970) is one of the four original Arizona counties formed in 1864. Named after the Yavapai Tribe, whose name means the “people of the sun,” the County is just north of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area and about 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon, featuring some of the most spectacular natural beauty in the American West.

With an adopted FY 2020 budget of $240 million and 1,700 employees, the County is financially sound. The Department’s FY 2020 budget of $833,000 supports 10 employees. The Finance Director is an at-will position appointed by, and reporting to, the Board of Supervisors. Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, and ten years of progressively responsible professional accounting experience, including five years of governmental accounting and supervisory responsibilities, are required.

CPA strongly preferred, and candidate otherwise must be willing to obtain CPA within the first two years of employment with the County. Graduate degree preferred. GFOA credentialing desirable. Hiring range is $100,009.05 to $120,821.23, DOQE. Filing deadline is October 21, 2019. Contact Andrew Gorgey.

Upcoming Opportunities City Manager, City of Duarte, CA Assistant City Manager, City of Huntington Beach, CA Economic Development Manager, City of Santa Barbara, CA

To apply, please visit our website at:

Peckham & McKenney

www.peckhamandmckenney.com

Resumes acknowledged within two business days.

Call (866) 912-1919 for more information.

Tackling Homelessness, continued from page 37

How do you form public-private partnerships that actually make a difference?

Attendees will gain new insights on issues such as: • Identifying potential community partners; • Using creative approaches to find funding for fast-track efforts; and • Setting realistic and feasible goals for periods of one, two and five years.

A Sneak Peek The panel’s most in-depth case story will focus on how the City of Santa Ana created a 200-bed interim homeless shelter, The Link, in just 28 days. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter called this project “a model for the county, state and maybe the nation,” and Western City featured it in April 2019.

WE’LL HELP YOU MEASURE UP!

www.adaconsultantservices.com 1-888-760-3853 Self-Evaluations Transition Plans Compliance Recommendations Expert Witness Services Litigation Consultations

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Santa Ana’s homeless services manager and the shelter operator will describe how those involved in the project overcame obstacles and pushed past red tape to bring a shared vision to fruition.

To fund the 200-bed shelter, the Santa Ana City Council authorized $3.1 million for its first year of operation, with the option to renew the contract with the shelter operator for a second year.

The city is using its Inclusionary Housing Fund for the shelter’s first year of operation; the second year will draw on a combination of funding from the SB 2 Building Homes and Jobs Act (2018) and a portion of the city’s Emergency Solutions Grant from HUD. The persistence of the Santa Ana City Council and staff, combined with coordinated efforts from the shelter operator and the building developer, made the rapid timeline possible. In addition, everyone involved was conscious of not sacrificing quality for speed. Within 100 days of starting the operation, nearly 200 people were sheltered at The Link and 78 people had been placed into permanent supportive housing, thanks to the efforts of the community, the city, the shelter operator and social services partners.

Details of the Session Interested in learning more? Make a note to attend “The Hidden Costs of Tackling Homelessness” at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, Friday, Oct. 18, from 9:30–10:45 a.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app. ■

www.cacities.org

Tips for Achieving Ballot Measure Success, continued from page 44

APRIL 2018 ELECTION

Be prepared. Developing a successful ballot measure takes time and should include comprehensive analysis, reports and projections, validated facts and an inclusive process that engages the public.

Keep in mind that every action of the city council and staff and every council vote may affect residents’ support of or opposition to the campaign. Anticipate the issues that could arise. Measure D was on the ballot concurrent with city council candidates. Measure E was an off-cycle election with a singular management and budget focus on funding local police services.

PALOS VERDES ESTATES MEASURE SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS

E

YES To fund the Palos Verdes Estates Police NO Department, shall an ordinance be adopted approving an annual parcel tax of $342 plus 20₵ per square foot of building improvements, generating approximately $5 million annually for 9 years and requiring a Citizens Financial Oversight Committee and annual financial audits?

framed that way. Measure D included a formula with multiple decimal points, and under its provisions fire and paramedic services could not be eliminated.

Measure E presented rounded figures and a contract with the Sheriff ’s Department as an alternative.

Focus the city’s business in a manner that provides for public participation.

Public engagement gives the community the opportunity to engage in the council’s decisionmaking process. Effective public engagement builds and sustains the public’s trust in government as it ensures residents’ input is heard and considered.

A city and organizational culture that embraces public engagement enhances the success of ballot measures and other council decisions. Measure E’s success resulted, in part, from multiple activities and decisions involving the public.

Do not underestimate the impact of communications on the outcome.

Develop key messages on the relevant topics and use them continually. A broad residents’ coalition supported Measure E and coordinated strategic outreach to the community. The coordinated effort systematically educated the public with important facts about the measure.

Engage and trust the expertise of professionals. The election and campaign process is complicated and difficult. Retaining consultants for research and communications efforts can provide important assets at a low cost relative to the revenue generated by a successful measure.

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What Followed Although the city’s budget is now restored to its historical level, the City of Palos Verdes Estates faces several challenges resulting from decisions made in 2015.

The ballot measures and elections meant

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that projects and initiatives were placed on hold while Measure D was debated, failed to pass and was replaced with Measure E in the subsequent election. Staff was stretched and challenged to maintain services with reduced funding. Long-term fiscal analysis and priorities were delayed while the elections focused on current issues. Public and employee confidence in the city diminished significantly.

Now in recovery mode, Palos Verdes Estates is developing a long-term fiscal plan and building its resiliency to future financial shortfalls. The silver lining is a successful ballot measure, firm financial footing, a public process that provides a foundation for moving forward and lessons for future ballot measures. ■

Annual Conference Session Addresses This Topic in More Detail The “Ballot Measure Training Academy” session at the League of California Cities 2019 Annual Conference & Expo will cover the essentials of building a campaign operation, organizing grassroots support, developing ballot materials and crafting a winning message. The session will be held Thursday, Oct. 17, from 4:15–5:30 p.m. For location details, see the conference brochure or the League’s mobile app.

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Bobbi C. Peckham • Phil McKenney

Peckham&McKenney www.peckhamandmckenney.com

Roseville, CA

www.westerncity.com

866.912.1919

Western City, October 2019

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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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Western City, October 2019

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Why do you take the time to attend League events?

Read more “On the Record” at www.westerncity.com.

Anthony Martinez Mayor pro Tem Merced

Carol Menke Council Member Vernon

~a John Pen Council Member La Quinta

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League of California Cities

It’s a good way to learn about important issues for cities.

For the learning and networking opportunities.

As a new council member, I learn a lot and meet wonderful people.

I’ve been on the council long enough to know that it’s better to learn by others’ examples and mistakes, and the networking is invaluable.

Monica Rodriguez Council Member Hawaiian Gardens

Karen Rarey Council Member Brentwood

Gilda Cordova Council Member Lompoc

I get tips and ideas that definitely help me become a better council member.

To improve my skills and learn best practices. Exchanging ideas gives us new perspectives on common issues, no matter how large or small our cities are.

To educate myself and learn about what cities are doing so we can bridge gaps and grow with the times.

www.cacities.org

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