Dear Contract Cities Family,
As we grapple with the challenges of COVID-19, rest assured the Association is working to be a resource for your city. Last month, the Executive Board and I conducted our Annual Strategic Planning Session. We focused our time on developing solutions and actionable strategies to continue to support members during this pandemic.
Over the last several months, the Association has been working closely with our Los Angeles County and State partners to ensure cities receive up-to-date information and advocate on current legislative actions, while resuming our educational programming via digital platforms. In May, the executive officers and I met with members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to discuss LASD contract rates, Project Roomkey, and CARES Act funding. As a result, we have successfully deferred rate increases in the Liability Trust Fund, commissioned a taskforce for an exit strategy for Project Roomkey, and have begun to reexamine liability and policies impacting public safety.
Additionally, nationwide protests in response to the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have sparked new calls for reforms to public safety. As elected officials and city leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure public safety remains a priority in our cities and to respond to the concerns of our residents and community stakeholders. Thus, we have commissioned a Public Safety Working Group (PSWG), comprised of a wide representation of city managers and councilmembers, to develop a set of recommendations we believe would help improve public safety and reduce incidents of use-of-force. The PSWG will begin working in the next several weeks with our public safety partners, which we hope will create reforms and improvements to public safety in our cities.
As we move forward, I encourage you to stay involved with the Association through our monthly Board of Directors Meetings and Legislative Committee Meetings. Your city's engagement is crucial in our advocacy and programming. My aim is to provide opportunities and resources that support the work of your great cities during this difficult time. Thank you all for your participation and commitment to the Contract Cities Family.
Yours in Service,
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Lindsey P. Horvath
President
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Executive Director's Message |
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These past few months managing the effects of COVID-19 in our communities has been challenging, but our resiliency is what drives us to fight for local control during times of distress. Our staff remains committed to working diligently to serve our members and maintain some semblance of normalcy. We have resumed programming virtually, advocated city issues with our County partners, and relief funding to our cities.
We understand your residents are counting on you to provide the necessary relief we all require and deserve. Contract Cities is here for you to provide vital resources to be effective leaders and to be your collective voice with County and State elected officials. We are continuing to host our monthly City Manager Meetings to provide an outlet for cities to collaborate on high-interest issues. In June we invited CalPERS CFO - Michael Cohen and CalPERS Chief Employer Account Manager - Renee Ostrander to provide an update on AB 5 guidelines and the current state of the pension fund. Contract Cities responded to concerns over Project Roomkey by collaborating to create a city manager's working group within the Liability Trust Fund Committee to work with the Homeless Initiative and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to develop an equitable exit strategy at the completion of the program.
Governor Newsom announced California's 2020-21 Budget provides a portion of the state's CARES Act funding to local governments - $500 million to cities and $1.3 billion to counties to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Depending on population, each city will receive at least $50,000, large cities with populations of 300,000 - 500,000 will receive $275 million of the $500 million. The funding is intended for expenses occurred since March 1st. In the meantime, Contract Cities will continue to provide real time updates amidst the ever-changing landscape.
Best regards,
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Marcel Rodarte
Executive Director
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In accordance with physical-distancing guidelines and for the health and safety of our members, CCCA is continuing our regularly scheduled programming virtually. Please click below for registration information.
Upcoming events:
All CCCA events are limited to CCCA members in good-standing. This includes current member cities, associate members, and strategic, and county partners.
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Webinar description:
The COVID-19 pandemic has vastly changed our way of life, especially as it relates to water. Rate payers across California have struggled to keep up with their water bills, sparking a statewide utility-shut off moratorium. At some water facilities, engineers are quarantining on site 24/7 to keep water flowing while maintaining their individual health and safety. All over the state, water infrastructure projects and conservation efforts have had to be paused or cancelled altogether as water districts and cities face shrinking budgets.
In this upcoming WELL Webinar, we invite a team of expert panelists, including Martin Adams, General Manager & Chief Engineer at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Enrique Zaldivar, Director & General Manager of LA Bureau of Sanitation; and Gracie Torres, Water Quality Compliance Planner at Riverside County Flood and Water Conservation District and Director at Western Municipal Water District, to examine what these various impacts are and what lasting effects they may have on the water sector overall. This webinar will be moderated by Patty Cortez, Director of Government & Community Affairs at the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.
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Updated Legislative Positions |
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The CCCA Legislative Committee continues to review and take positions on important legislation. Below are the latest bills voted on by the committee.
Current Status: Qualified for the November 2020 ballot
CCCA Position: Oppose
Summary: Californians for Responsible Affordable Housing is requesting the Association to join in opposition of Proposition 21. Proposition 21 amends state law to allow local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. It also allows rent increases on rent-controlled properties of up to 15 percent over three years from previous tenant's rent above any increase allowed by local ordinance. Exempts individuals who own no more than two homes from new rent-control policies. In accordance with California law, the measure provides that rent-control policies may not violate landlords' right to a fair financial return on their property. The coalition list for Californians for Responsible Affordable Housing (Opponents of Proposition 21) can be found here.
Current Status: Re-Referred to Appropriations Committee
CCCA Position: Oppose
Summary: The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development, and the development of certain lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. That law allows a development proponent to submit an application for a development that is subject to a specified streamlined, ministerial approval process not subject to a conditional use permit if the development satisfies certain objective planning standards. This bill would require that a housing development project be a use by right upon the request of an independent institution of higher education or religious institution that partners with a qualified developer on any land owned in fee simple by the applicant on or before January 1, 2020, if the development satisfies specified criteria.
Current Status: Re-Referred to Appropriations Committee
CCCA Position: Support
Summary: SB 1299 would allow cities to receive a grant through the Department of Housing and Community Development an average amount of sales tax revenue from a big box retail or commercial center site for the previous seven years the site was rezoned as housing and has been occupied.
Current Status: Assembly Committee on Local Government
CCCA Position: Support, if Amended
Summary: This bill would allow existing land zoned for office and retail use and permit housing to become an eligible use on sites that have been vacant or underutilized for at least three years. The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development, and the development of certain lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. This bill would deem a housing development project, an authorized use on a neighborhood lot that is zoned for office or retail commercial use under a local agency's zoning code or general plan. The bill would require the density for a housing development under these provisions to meet or exceed the density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households according to the type of local jurisdiction, including a density of at least 20 units per acre for a suburban jurisdiction.
The Legislative Committee meets the fourth Wednesday of each month via teleconference. For inquiries regarding CCCA's legislative positions, please contact Michael Vuong at michael@contractcities.org.
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Associate Member Spotlight |
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CCCA would like to send a special thank you to our Platinum Associate Members for their partnership and support of Contract Cities. Associate Members provide services that improve the vitality of our cities. |
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For a full list of associate members, visit our website.
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Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved. |
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