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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-04-27 City Council (21)City City of Palo Alto Manager’s Report 4 TO: FROM: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER DATE:APRIL 27, 1998 CMR:217:98 SUBJECT:AMENDED 1998 LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES RECOMMENDATION The Policy and Services (P&S) Committee recommends that the City Council adopt the 1998 legislative objectives as approved by the P&S Committee and amended by staff at the direction of the P&S Committee. BACKGROUND The P&S Committee reviewed proposed 1998 legislative objectives (CMRi 154:98) on March 10, 1998. The P&S Committee approved the legislative objectives and directed staff to develop andincorporate an additional objective addressing the issue oflntemet taxation and bring the amended set of objectives to Council for adoption.. DISCUSSION Staff attended regional legislative forums focused on proposed State and Federal Intemet taxation legislation and explored the implications of this legislation with input from several City departments. The following policy statement was developed to reflect the City’s position on Intemet taxation: The City of Palo Alto will monitor Intemet taxation legislation currently being considered at the State and Federal levels. In the long term, the City hopes to see the issue ’of Internet taxation addressed in the context of broader fiscal reform to protect and. strengthen the revenue base that supports local government services. Within the context of the current fiscal system, the City of Palo Alto would: Oppose legislation that would restrict the ability of local government to tax sales transacted via the Interact or to collect .cable franchise fees and utility user taxes, CMR:217:98 Page 1 of 3 ¯ Support the inclusion of a sunset date in legislation which imposes a moratorium on local taxation of Intemet access. The purpose of this moratorium should be to clarify the implications of such taxation for the Internet industry and local government funding and develop methodologies to tax, as appropriate, transactions that take place on the Internet rather than taxing Intemet technology itself,~hereby limiting its growth. Support legislation that establishes a coherent, nationwide tax program in which Internet and catalog sales are not exempted from sales taxes in ways that result in economic disadvantages to local businesses and local government. The above policy statement on Intemet taxation has been incorporated into the attached 1998 legislative objectives. With this addition, the objectives consist of 32 statements of the City’s position on a variety of issues of significance to the City organization and the community. The focus of the platform is primarily in the areas of revenue and taxation, transportation and utilities. Many of these priorities are continued from the previous year. Since the 1998 legislative objectives are more focused, it will be necessary to maintain the flexibility currently afforded in the City’s process of legislative advocacy to enable a timely response to new issues. As the Council and staff identify issues throughout the year that are important to the City, but not expressly included in the 1998 platform, the Mayor is empowered to sign legislative advocacy letters that he deems to be consistent with City policy and/or other legislative objectives. RESOURCE IMPACT The adoption of 1998 legislative objectives does not represent a change in existing City resource allocation. City staff will continue to be expected to allocate time to legislative advocacy, although in a more focused way on a smaller set of legislative objectives. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This adoption of legislative objectives does not represent a change to existing City policy. TIMELINE Upon adoption by the City Council, the 1998 legislative objectives will immediately become the basis for the City’s legislative advocacy. The process to develop the City’s 1999 legislative platform will begin in the Fall of 1998. Analysis of legislative action taken by CMR:217:98 Page 2 of 3 City departments and the results of the legislative session will be presented to Council in early 1999. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The.adoption of legislative objectives is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS 1998 Legislative Objectives PREPARED BY: Audrey Seymour, Senior Executive Assistant Assistant City Manager CMR:217:98 Page 3 of 3 CITY OF PALO ALTO 1998 LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES COMMUNITY SERVICES Support legislation that provides funding for municipal infrastructure projects, including bond measures for matching grants to support urban parks, community centers, open space properties and amenities and library renovation and construction. Oppose legislation that limits the abilities of libraries to provide the public with access to information, using the Internet as a tool. Support legislation that promotes regional collaboration to increase accessto library resources. ELECTIONS Support legislation which preserves local control and integrity of elections for charter cities. Simplify procedures for recall and replacement of public officials. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Support efforts to allow for Public Employees’ Retirement System medical benefits by contract amendment for domestic 9artners. HOUSING Support legislation to authorize extended notice of rent increases to,residential tenants. page 1 of 5 ,, PUBLIC RECORDS Support legislation which enables cities to charge fees to cover the costs associated with the research and retrieval of documents for the public. ¯Support legislation to authorize reasonable access to electronic public records. PUBLIC WORKS Oppose legislation that limits local control of solid waste collection and maintains the authority of municipalities to control solid waste flows through exclusive contracts, licenses, permits and franchises. Support efforts to reduce landfill waste, including development of additional markets and greater State compliance with the 50 percent diversion goal. REVENUE AND TAXATION Support legislation and/or efforts to revise the State constitution that restore and preserve revenue raising options and/or provide more revenue flexibility to cities, including preserving the authority to issue debt and approve general obligation bonds with a simple majority vote and restoring the authority to levy special purpose taxes with a less than 2/3 majority vote. (Specific examples include SB 110, ACA10 and efforts to allow cities and counties to jointly plan for one cent sales tax increases). Support legislation to clarify and mitigate the impacts of Proposition 218. Support legislation that restores city revenues that were shifted to other levels of government in prior years and which limits the ability of the State to take actions which shift revenues in the future. (e.g. AB511, ERAF Reform) Support legislation that restricts the State from issuing unfunded mandates. Support efforts to ensure that any restructuring of State and local government should assign the responsibility for programs on the basis of how services can be provided and funded most effectively. issueof~nternetmX.iition addressed in-m~onte~tt_pfbroad~ ~tifi~l reform t0proteetand strengthen the reVenu~base that ~sUpports total govemmentseivices. ::Withinthe~eon[ext page 2 of 5 of the current fiscal system, the City of Palo Alto=would: Oppose legislationthat would restrict the ability.of localg0vernment to t~x_.sales transacted via .the Internet or to collect Cab!e:franc~se fees.and utility user ~.taxes. support the inclusion Of a Sunset:date inlegislafion:which:imposes amorat0rium on local taxationofinternet access. ’The purpgse of thismoratodum should be to clarify the implications of such th.xafionfor the,Interact!industry and local government funding and develop methodologies totax;:as appropriate,transactions ~that take place on ~’~te~et- rather ttma~g Intemet .technology itself, thereby limiting,its growt ~h: Support legislation that establishes:a~oherent, nationwide tax program in which Interact and catalogsales are n0texemPted=from,~!es~ta~es in ways that result in economic disadvantages to localbo-sinesses and lo~al government. TRANSPORTATION The City of Palo Alto will work with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to promote the following objectives: Maintain existing funding for transportation programs and protect dedicated transportation funds from diversions to the State General Fund or to other non- transportation purposes. Address the negative impacts of the California Supreme Court’s Guardino decision, including amending the State Constitution to authorize local special taxes for transportation purposes to be approved by a simple majority vote. Oppose limiting the flexibility of Caltrans and local agencies to contract out transportation project development work. Support legislation to provide a tax credit to employers who purchase public transit passes for their employees. Seek a Petroleum Violation Escrow Account (PVEA) appropriation to provide priority signal and intersection improvements for transit service along the Line 22 bus route. Support an approach to Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) reauthodzation that: -Preserves the basic framework and innovations of ISTEA -Retains/expands upon key ISTEA principles, including funding flexibility and a balance between highway and transit investments Provides long-term, sustained investment in the nation’s transportation infrastructure page 3 of 5 Maintains the Federal role in transit Strengthens partnerships between Federal, State and local interests ¯Recognizes/strengthens the nexus between land use, air quality and transportation Support efforts to limit aircraft noise from San Francisco International Airport and enable notification and involvement of impacted cities in planning and decisions that affect aircraft noise. Efforts might include: amending noise standards to address Single aircraft as well as cumulative noise; inspecting and replacing outdated noise monitoring equipment; installing noise monitoring equipment in impacted communities, including Palo Alto; requiring notification of impacted cities regarding changes in flight patterns, hours and volumes and providing Caltrans with the authority to impose penalties if State noise regulations are not met. UTILITIES Support local control of decision-making for local utilities, including: rate-making; regulatory authority; utility transfers to the general fund; bundling of telecommunications services with electric or other utility services; use of poles, conduits and other utilities infrastructure; water purchases and implementation of the Best Management Practices of the California Urban Water Conservation Council. Support legislation for electric utility industry restructuring that: Maintains the concept of municipal utilities Creates a level playing field for municipal utilities with respect to other players in the marketplace Improves the efficiency of the electric system for the benefit of all consumers Retains existing regulatory authority and contractual commitments made on behalf of those consumers Facilitates customer choice, effective competition and market participation and opposes Federal restructuring proposals which undermine customer choice --Provides fair stranded cost recovery -Provides liability protection for electric utilities that have constructed their facilities according to safe practices Opposes changes to Federal power pricing policies from cost-based to current market rate Opposes the transfer of control or ownership of the Federal power marketing administrations (PMAs) to private entities Supports the goals of the Federal Central Valley Project Improvement Act and its implementation in a manner that does not unfairly burden CVP power customers Oppose limits to cities’ abilities to directly or indirectly provide telecommunications services or infrastructure under terms that are established locally. page 4 of 5 Support efforts to develop a more open and competitive market for water Oppose the imposition of a financial charge on urban water retail suppliers that would be used to specifically fund rural safe drinking water grants, groundwater clean-up and fish and wildlife enhancements. Support water quality standards based upon known health risks as determined from scientific evaluation. Support clear definition and legislation of business confidentiality rights for publicly operated utilities and their customers. OTHER Oppose Federal Communications Commission regulation of cable companies that preempts local franchise authority, protection of right-of-way and taxing authority. page 5of 5