1 STAFF REPORT
DAT
E: October 29, 2024
T
O: Justin Hess, City Manager
F
ROM: Mandip Kaur Samra, General Manager, Burbank Water and Power VIA: Frank Messineo, Acting Assistant General Manager, Power Supply BY: Jason Maruca, Legislative Analyst
S
UBJECT: Selection of a Member of the City Council as a Nominee for Consideration by the American Public Power Association to Serve on the Policy Makers Council
RE
COMMENDATION
Select a member of the City Council (Council) as a nominee for consideration by the American Public Power Association (APPA) to serve on the Policy Makers Council (PMC).
BACKG
ROUND
The APPA is the voice of not -for-profit, community-owned utilities that power towns and cities nationwide. APPA advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations. A component of APPA, the PMC promotes federal legisla tion that is important to public power utilities and opposes potentially harmful legislation. The PMC is comprised of locally elected and appointed officials from public power utilities who serve on the public power utility’s governing board.
T
he PMC meets in person twice per year: the first meeting takes place in Washington, D.C., during the APPA Legislative Rally in February , and the second meeting, designed for PMC members only, occurs in July. At these meetings, members meet with elected representatives and congressional staff to advance APPA's legislative and regulatory agendas. Additionally, the group has monthly virtual meetings to discuss legislative and regulatory issues originating at the federal level. Participation in the PMC provides an opportunity for Burbank to highlight public power issues that impact the region and to develop policies that will positively impact the City. With the various state mandate compliance requirements for Burbank Water and Power ( BWP), additional funding to support transmission and resources is necessary. As part of the PMC, representatives can advocate for these needs.
WATER AND
POWER
2 Burbank has had a representative on the PMC since 2022: Former Council Member Bob Frutos (2022) and current Mayor Nick Schultz (2023- 2024). Mayor Schultz is in the second year of his first three-year term, and his appointment expires in 2025.
DISCUSSION
In September 2024, the APPA began the PMC member nomination process by communicating with current PMC members to assess their interest in continuing to serve on the committee . If PMC members decline to serve or are unable to serve, these vacancies will determine the number of open seats available for the 2025 PMC. In early October, a call for nominations to fill these vacancies was sent to the entire APPA membership. The deadline for nominee submissions is anticipated to be on or around Friday, November 22, 2024.
By the deadline, both a nomination form , which includes contact information and explanation of the nominee’s interest in serving on the PMC , and a resume must be submitted in order to receive consideration. There is no guarantee that Burbank will secure a seat on the PMC. APPA staff will review the submitted nominations and make final decisions on who will serve on the PMC by the end of 2024.
Mayor Schultz’s term on the Council will end in December 2024 and he will be unable to fulfill the last year of his term on the PMC. Mayor Schultz’s resignation from the PMC will create a vacancy; however, Burbank is not automatically entitled to appoint a replacement from the City to complete his term. Mayor Schultz’s vacancy, along with any other PMC vacancies, will be filled through the general member nomination process currently underway. Any nominee submitted by the City will be considered alongside all other nominees submitted by the APPA membership. Staff recommends that Council select a nominee to submit for consideration to serve on the PMC.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
As this activity is administrative, it 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 Council Member for consideration by the APPA to serve on the PMC.
CONCLUSION
Mayor Schultz currently serves as a representative of the City on the American Public Power Association (APPA) Policy Makers Council (PMC). As the Mayor’s term on Council 3 ends in December 2025, he will be unable to complete his term on the PMC. S taff recommends that Council select a current Council member as a nominee for consideration to service on the PMC, with the final determination to be made by APPA.
ATTACHMENTS
None.