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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2021-012 N.C.S. 1/25/2021 Resolution No. 2021-012 N.C.S. of the City of Petaluma, California RESOLUTION OF THE CITY CONCIL OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA ESTABLISHING A MEASURE U OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 4.18.140 OF CHAPTER 4.18 ENTITLED “TRANSACTONS AND USE TAX” OF THE PETALUMA MUNICIPAL CODE WHEREAS, beginning in 2019, the City commenced a concerted, two-pronged community engagement effort to address the City’s long-term fiscal and organizational sustainability by: (1) gathering as much community feedback as possible about City services and priorities, including online and paper surveys, in-person workshops, emails and phone calls, and statistically-valid professionally-conducted public opinion research; and (2) to conduct comprehensive analysis and educate the community on the City’s long-term fiscal challenges and the level of revenue / investment required by the City’s General Fund to maintain quality-of-life services and infrastructure; and WHEREAS, the extensive community feedback received by the City made clear that the community’s interests and spending priorities for enhanced locally-controlled funding include public health, wildfire, and natural disaster emergency preparedness; ensuring firefighters have the equipment they need; maintaining 911 emergency response times, fire protection services, and well-trained community-based police officers; supporting local businesses through recovery; repairing roads and fixing potholes; and keeping public spaces safe and clean are top community priorities; and WHEREAS, the City’s community engagement effort regarding the City’s fiscal and organizational stability culminated on August 3, 2020, with the City Council unanimously adopting an urgency ordinance placing before Petaluma voters at the November 3, 2020 election a one-cent general purpose transactions and use or sales tax measure; and WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2743 N.C.S. on August 3, 2020 placing the measure on the November 3, 2020 ballot and adding Chapter 4.18 entitled “Transactions and Use Tax” to the Petaluma Municipal Code to impose a one-cent transactions and use tax; and WHEREAS, the measure identified as Measure U, was passed by Petaluma Voters at the November 3, 2020 election; and WHEREAS, Petaluma voters approved Measure U by a vote of 20,961 or 60.82% of those voting in favor; and WHEREAS, Measure U includes strict transparency and accountability requirements, including: independent citizen oversight, biannual independent financial review, all funds spent locally, and no funding that can be taken by the State; and WHEREAS, the Petaluma City Charter provides in section 55 that the City Council shall have the power to establish such commissions as shall be necessary for the effective accomplishment of municipal business, subject to such commissions including a City Council member as a commission member and term limits specified in section 55 of the City Charter, and DocuSign Envelope ID: 7750656C-9DEF-41E2-8245-42C86B8C5EFA WHEREAS, the City Council has from time to time, pursuant to the City’s general police and other powers established committees as subordinate bodies to the City Council and charged such bodies with providing advice and recommendations to the City Council regarding specified topics, and the Petaluma City Charter restrictions that apply to creation of City commissions do not apply to establishment of City committees or to the appointment of City committee members or their terms of office; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that adoption of this resolution is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), pursuant to Section 15060(c)(2) of the CEQA Guidelines because no possibility that the activity may have a significant impact on the environment, because this resolution merely establishes the Measure U Oversight Committee required pursuant to the terms of the measure and pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because the activity of establishing the Measure U Oversight Committee is not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Petaluma as follows: 1. Establishment. A Measure U Oversight Committee (the Committee) is established by this Resolution in accordance with the requirements of Section 4.18.140 entitled “Use of Tax Proceeds and Accountability Measures” of Chapter 4.18 entitled “Transactions and Use Tax” of the Petaluma Municipal Code effective upon the date that this resolution is adopted by the City Council. 2. Composition. The City Council shall appoint five (5) members to the Committee to review and comment on the use of City Transactions and Use Tax proceeds pursuant to Section 4.18.140 of the Petaluma Municipal Code. The Committee members shall be City residents who pay the City’s Transactions and Use Tax . Committee members may not be City employees or City elected officials or members of any other City body. 3. Duties. The City will prepare biannual reports for submission to the Committee and publication on the City’s website. The Committee will review the biannual reports provided by the City which will include information about Sales and Use Tax proceeds collected and the use of those proceeds. The Committee will meet biannually to review and comment on the reports. The Committee’s review of and comments of on the biannual reports on the City’s Transactions and Use Tax proceeds and their use shall address the following: A. How the City’s use of the Transactions and Use Tax proceeds relates to the spending priorities identified by the community that were included in the recitals to Measure U. B. Review and Comment on proposed Measure U appropriations for The upcoming budget year prior to the City Council budget hearings. The Committee shall prepare and issue to the City Council and the community an annual public report on the expenditures and appropriations of City Transactions and Use Tax proceeds using data from the biannual reports. 4. Terms. The term of office of each Committee member shall commence on July 1 of the year in which that Committee member is appointed, unless a Committee member is appointed after July 1, in which case, that member shall serve the remainder of the term they were appointed to fill commencing from the date of that Committee member’s appointment. Initial member terms should be staggered with three members serving four years and two members serving two years. After the initial term, each member’s term should be four years. No Committee member shall serve more than two, full, consecutive terms. The Committee members’ terms shall be staggered such that the terms of no more than three Committee members shall expire in any given year. Notwithstanding the expiration of a Committee member’s term pursuant to this provision, and subject to provision 5, each Committee member shall serve until a successor is appointed by the City Council. DocuSign Envelope ID: 7750656C-9DEF-41E2-8245-42C86B8C5EFA 5. Resignation/Removal. The City Council may declare the office of a Committee member vacant: upon the resignation, death, or disability that results in the inability of a Committee member to perform his/her duties, loss of residency or other status required for a Committee member to be eligible to serve, or unexcused absence of a Committee member from three consecutive regular meetings of the Committee. The City Council may also remove any Committee member without cause; however, removal without cause shall require the affirmative vote of at least four members of the City Council. 6. Vacancies. Upon declaring a Committee seat vacant for any reason, the City Council shall, at a time convenient to the City Council, appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. 7. Meetings. Committee Meetings shall be held biannually, and/or at other times, as necessary at a time and date convenient to the majority of the Committee members. Meetings shall be subject to all applicable requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (“the Brown Act”), California Government Code Section 54950 et seq). 8. Quorum/Action. A quorum of three Committee members is required to meet and conduct Committee business. Fewer than three Committee members, or if no Committee members are present, staff to the Committee, may adjourn the meetings of the Committee in accordance with all applicable requirement of the Brown Act. All actions or recommendations of the Committee shall be made at a meeting at which a quorum of the Committee is present and shall be made by majority vote of the Committee members present. A tie vote shall constitute no action on the motion, proposed action, or recommendation. 9. Organization. The Committee shall have the right and duty to adopt such rules and regulations as it shall determine appropriate for the conduct of its meetings and the selection of its officers and for the performance of its functions and responsibilities. The Committee shall not have the right to employ any person or incur any expense or obligation without approval from the City Council. Under the power and authority conferred upon this Council by the Charter of said City. REFERENCE: I hereby certify the foregoing Resolution was introduced and adopted by the Council of the City of Petaluma at a Regular meeting on the 25th day of January 2021, by the following vote: Approved as to form: __________________________ City Attorney AYES: Mayor Barrett; Fischer; Healy; King; McDonnell; Pocekay NOES: Vice Mayor Barnacle ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: ______________________________________________ City Clerk ______________________________________________ Mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 7750656C-9DEF-41E2-8245-42C86B8C5EFA