1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: January 24, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director BY: David Kriske, Assistant Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Approval to Nominate a Burbank Council Member to Apply for the Cal Cities Los Angeles County Division Regional Director Vacancy Representing the Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the nomination of one Council Member to be appointed by the Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority (AVCJPA) to serve as a Regional Director on the Cal Cities Los Angeles County Division.
BACKGROUND
Cal Cities protects local control and advocates on behalf of local California cities through legislative advocacy and strategic outreach that informs and educates the public, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The City of Burbank is a member of Cal Cities and participates in advocacy and outreach activities that helps ensure Burbank’s interests are reflected in state government decisions. Cal Cities is organized into Regional Divisions (Divisions) that focus representation into specific geographical areas and are the core of Cal Cities’ advocacy efforts. They provide focused representation and advance region- specific programs that help Cal Cities ’ overall advocacy mission. Divisions meet periodically to discuss legislation and policy, track legislation, and also appoint representatives to a number of Los Angeles County boards, commissions, and task forces. Divisions appoint representatives to the B oard of D irectors. Burbank is represented in the Los Angeles County Division, and Mayor Anthony currently represents Burbank at Division meetings and is a voting delegate at Division Budget and Nomination Committee meetings. In addition to the representatives from each member city, the Los Angeles Division is also made up of Regional Director s appointed by the Joint Powers Authorities and Councils of Governments in the Los Angeles area. For Burbank, this
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 Regional Director is appointed by the AVCJPA Board of Directors and may be any elected council member from an AVCJPA member city. Regional Director s also attend Division meetings and provide written or verbal updates to the AVCJPA Board of Directors at each meeting. Regular AVCJPA Board meetings are the first Thursday of each month at 4:00 p.m.
The cities of Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, South Pasadena, and the unincorporated Los Angeles County communities of La Crescenta and Montrose are part of the AVCJPA, a joint powers authority with an appointed Board of Directors made up of one elected official from each agency. On January 10, 2023, Vice Mayor Schultz was appointed by the City Council to serve as the City’s AVCJPA Board Member . The AVCJPA mission is to “serve our member agencies and constituents in the Arroyo Verdugo Subregion through coordinated efforts on regional transportation, mobility, and infrastructure solutions that support sustainable living and a high quality of life”
1. The
AVCJPA provides regional representation to the Southern California Association of Governments, Metro, and Cal Cities , and is responsible for programming certain transportation funds allocated through Metro. While the AVCJPA’s primary focus is transportation, the Board also discusses and collaborates on other regional policy matters. The Board of Directors has appointed an administrative Executive Director to manage the AVCJPA, and oversees a modest annual budget to administer meetings and conduct transportation planning activities. Each agency contributes to this annual budget on a proportional basis.
DISCUSSION
The AVCJPA Regional Director to Cal Cities’ Los Angeles Division was previously South Pasadena Council Member Diana Mahmud, but she is no longer representing the AVCJPA because she no longer serves on the South Pasadena City Council. The position is currently vacant, and the AVCJPA Executive Director has announced that the Board of Directors is accepting nominations to fill th e vacancy at their February 2, 2023 regular meeting. As discussed above, the position can be represented by any member agency council member. Serving as Cal Cities Los Angeles County Division Regional Director for the AVCJPA could allow the City additional participation in Cal Cities policy strategy and advocacy beyond participation as a general Cal Cities member, and would be assisting the AVCJPA Board of Directors in analyzing and potentially acting on state legislative issues that affect the broader AVCJPA region. Alternatively, Council does not need to nominate a Council Member for this position, and could decide to allow a council member from one of the other cities to represent the AVCJPA instead. If appointed, the Regional Director would be responsible for attending Divisional meetings every two to three months and communicating Divisional activities and decisions back to the AVCJPA
1 Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority Strategic Plan, http://avcjpa.org/wp-content/uploads/AVCJPA-Strategic-Plan-2020-2025.pdf 3 Board at their regular meetings held every two months, either verbally or in writing.
Representatives do not hold a specific term, but continue to be eligible unless they are no longer an elected official, no longer wish to serve, or if the AVCJPA Board of Directors decides to appoint a different representative.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact with the nomination of a C ouncil Member to represent the AVCJPA as a Cal Cities Los Angeles County Division Regional Director. If requested, staff would provide minor staff support to this position as part of the regular City budget.
CONCLUSION
The AVCJPA Board of Directors will appoint a new Regional Director to represent the subregion on the Cal Cities Los Angeles County Division to further support legislative advocacy efforts of the AVCJPA’s member agencies. The City Council may wish to approve a nomination to apply for this position to further strengthen the City’s involvement in state legislative advocacy and policy, or may decline to nominate a councilmember and instead allow another member agency to represent the AVCJPA Board.
ATTACHMENT
None.