HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 14-7479 - Opposing Charter Amendment 14 that Proposes to Amend Section 702 of the Downey Charter By Removing the Requirement that the City Shall Provide for the Staffing of the Police & Fire Departments Through Its Own Staff & to Remove theRESOLUTION NO. 14- 7479
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DOWNEY OPPOSING
CHARTER AMENDMENT 14 THAT PROPOSES TO AMEND SECTION 702 OF THE
DOWNEY CITY CHARTER BY REMOVING THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE CITY
SHALL PROVIDE FOR THE STAFFING OF THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS
THROUGH ITS OWN STAFF AND TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT A TWO-
THIRDS ADVISORY VOTE IS NECESSARY BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL MAY
CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE METHODS OR AGREEMENTS FOR PROVIDING POLICE
AND FIRE SERVICES
WHEREAS, since the first City Charter adopted in 1964, section 702 of the Downey City
Charter has provided that the City shall provide through its own staff for the police and fire
departments;
WHEREAS, initially other departments were included in this requirement all but police
and fire were removed in a 1996 charter revision;
WHEREAS, in 1997, Downey firefighters proposed to amend the charter by initiative on
the 1998 ballot to transfer fire services to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, but later
abandoned this approach;
WHEREAS, the City Council sponsored and placed on the ballot a measure to amend
Downey City Charter section 702 to authorize the City Council to consider an alternative method
or agreement to provide police or fire services only if such method or services were first
submitted to and approved by a two–thirds advisory vote of the electorate;
WHEREAS, the City Council-sponsored ballot measure was approved by the voters in
1998 and the current language of Downey City Charter section 702, and its requirement that
police and fire services be provided through City staff has been in the City Charter since its
inception in 1964 while the voters amended the Charter in 1998 to authorize the Council to
deviate from this requirement by obtaining prior two-thirds advisory voter approval for any
alternative method or contract for providing police and fire services and current section 702
reflects longstanding official Council and voter policy as amended in 1998;
WHEREAS, on September 18, 2012, resident Sheila Pautsch (“sponsor”) sponsored a
new charter amendment (“Charter Amendment 14’) which proposes, among other things, to
amend section 702 to remove the requirement that police and fire services be provided by city
staff and that any alternate method or contract considered by the Council for providing such
services obtain prior voter approval by a two-thirds advisory vote;
WHEREAS, the City Attorney prepared a title and summary of the measure. The
sponsor raised no concerns about its language and the measure was circulated with the
City Attorney-prepared title and summary and the requisite numbers of signatures were
obtained;
WHEREAS, at the City Council regular meeting of May 14, 2013, a feasibility study
prepared by the Los Angeles County Consolidated Fire Protection District (“Los Angeles County
Fire Department”) to provide fire services to the City of Downey was presented to the City
Council
WHEREAS, after receiving public comment, the City Council received and filed the
report, and took no further action on it;
RESOLUTION NO. 14-7479
PAGE 2
WHEREAS, at the May 14, 2013 meeting, the City Council certified the sufficiency of
signatures for Charter Amendment 14 to qualify it for the ballot, and ordered city staff to prepare
an impact analysis of the measure as authorized by Elections Code section 9212;
WHEREAS, the impact analysis of Charter Amendment 14 would focus on the following
elements:
•
•
•
•
Its fiscal impact to the City;
Its impact on the community’s ability to attract and retain business and
employment;
Its impact on housing prices; and
Its impact on the quality and quantity of public safety services to the City and
residents.
WHEREAS, on June 3, 2013, the sponsor of the proposed Charter Amendment 14
wrote a letter to the Mayor and Council and City Clerk stating that it would be an “abuse of
discretion” if the proposed charter amendment was not submitted to voters on November 5,
2013 and the City Attorney wrote back on June 1 1, 2013 to the sponsor’s lawyer, who is also
counsel for the Downey Fire Union, explaining that under state law, the proposed Charter
Amendment 14 could only be placed upon the June 2014 or November 2014 ballots (see
attached);
WHEREAS, at its regular meeting of June 1 1, 2013, city staff presented the City Council
with the findings of the impact analysis (attached) pertaining to Charter Amendment 14 which
concluded that:
•The report concluded that while the fiscal year 2013 -14 impact of contracting
with the Los Angeles County Fire Department was cost neutral by comparison
with like staffing levels at the Downey Fire Department, the Los Angeles County
Fire Department had imposed a 4% annual cost increase on contracting
agencies over the prior five years, whereas the Downey Fire Department has
reduced its budget by 7% over the same;
The existing business community, as well as perspective businesses and
developers, place a significant value on Downey’s in-house public safety services
both because of local control and accountability and because of the ability to
address all problems at a one-stop-City Hall;
Real estate professionals believe that Downey's public safety services have
helped to maintain higher than average median home values; and
the Downey Fire Department would provide a higher staffing level and thus better
service than contracting with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
•
•
•
WHEREAS, the City Council received public comment on the impact and thereafter,
received and filed the impact analysis report;
WHEREAS, at its regular meeting of June 11, 2013, the City Council called for the
holding of a special municipal election to be held on the June 3, 2014 Statewide Primary
election to submit to the electorate Charter Amendment 14;
RESOLUTION NO. 14-7479
PAGE 3
WHEREAS, at its regular meeting of January 28, 2014, the City Council adopted
implementing resolutions for the special municipal election for Charter Amendment 14, the City
Attorney submitted her impartial analysis of Charter Amendment 14 as authorized by the
Elections Code, and the ballot label posing the question to City of Downey voters was adopted
(see attached);
WHEREAS, in late January 2014, the City received complaints from citizens that
persons claiming to be conducting a poll for the City asked citizens questions about Charter
Amendment 14;
WHEREAS, the City is not conducting any such poll and had to issue a press release as
to this fact;
WHEREAS, the City also received complaints from citizens that the pollsters are making
misrepresentations as to the City Councilmembers’ positions on Charter Amendment 14, and
thus it is important for the City to formally clarify the City Council’s position by adopting this
Resolution;
WHEREAS, under the California Supreme Court’s jurisprudence “it is permissible for the
public entity to evaluate the merits of a proposed ballot measure and to make its views known to
the public”... “ as long as it does not expend public funds to mount a campaign on the
measure.” ( Vargas v. City of Salinas (2009) 46 Cal.4th 1, 36.)
WHEREAS, it is lawful for the City Council to adopt its position on Charter Amendment
14, especially under these circumstances when its position is being misrepresented to the
public; and
WHEREAS, the City Council makes a formal record as to the City’s position on Charter
Amendment 14 in order to ensure that no further misrepresentations are made about the City
Council’s position, and to further clarify that no polls were conducted by city staff concerning
proposed Charter Amendment 14, and to provide the accurate
facts about the genesis and history of Charter section 702, prior charter amendments to this
section proposed and/or adopted and the history of the proposed Charter Amendment 14 on the
June 2014 ballot.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DOWNEY DOES
HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of Downey hereby opposes Charter
Amendment 14 which proposes to amend section 702 of the Downey City Charter by removing
the requirement that the City shall provide for the staffing of the Police and Fire Departments
through its own staff and to remove the requirement that a two-thirds advisory vote is necessary
before the City Council may consider alternative methods or agreements for providing police
and fire services
RESOLUTION NO. 14-7479
PAGE 4
SECTION 2 The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 25th day of Februa C
,/+ -
FERNANDO VASQUEZ, Mayor
fRa–aTI Riaa
City Clerk
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was adopted by the City Council of
the City of Downey at a regular meeting held on the 25th day of February, 2014, by the
following vote, to wit:
AYES: Council Members:
NOES: Council Member:
ABSENT: Council Member:
ABSTAIN: Council Member:
Brossmer, Guerra, Saab, Marquez, Mayor Vasquez
None
None
None
i/;’bL£JhlA=KiMETc
City Clerk