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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 12b - Extending the term of the Citizen's Financial Advisory Committee DATE: February 19, 2019 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager By: Michael Bruckner, Assistant to the City Manager Laena Shakarian, Management Aide SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 7244 AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 7202 BY EXTENDING THE TERM OF THE CITIZEN’S FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND REAPPOINTMENT OF ITS CURRENT MEMBERS Recommendation: Adopt SUMMARY On February 20, 2018, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 7202 establishing a Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee to review the City’s long-range financial forecast and provide recommendations for potential cost containment and/or revenue enhancement strategies. The Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee recently presented their Final Report to the City Council. Included in the Final Report was a recommendation to extend the duration of the Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee from its original six (6) month mandate and reappoint the Committee Members in order to address the City’s unfunded actuarial accrued liability (“UAAL”). Further, the Committee Members all expressed an interest to participate in the City’s review of alternative options to address the UAAL. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 7244, and reappoint its current Committee Members. BACKGROUND At the December 5, 2017, City Council meeting, the City Council requested that the City Manager bring forward a discussion item to create an independent Ad Hoc Citizens’ Committee to review and make recommendations regarding the City’s long-term financial outlook. Information was provided to the City Council at the February 6, 2018, City Council meeting, and following discussion the City Manager was directed to prepare a Resolution establishing a Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee. On February 20, 2018, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 7202 establishing a Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee to review the City’s long-range financial forecast and provide recommendations for potential cost containment and/or revenue Resolution No. 7244 - Extending the term of the Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee February 19, 2019 Page 2 of 3 enhancement strategies. Per Resolution No. 7202, the Committee had a six (6) month mandate, meeting about twice per month for four (4) months, then developing and providing the City Council with a summary of findings and conclusions within 60 days of its final meeting. The Committee held its first meeting on July 24, 2018, and submitted its Final Report to the City Council at the January 15, 2019, City Council meeting. Following discussion, the City Council voted to receive and file the Report and direct staff to implement its recommendations. DISCUSSION As defined in Resolution No. 7202, the nature, scope of work, composition, deliverables, and staff support of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee was as follows: 1. The Committee be comprised of five (5) Arcadia residents appointed at-large; 2. The nomination process should follow the same guidelines as City Council appointments to the Planning Commission, including an interview by the City Council; 3. Candidates should have experience in finance but it is not necessarily required; 4. The Committee shall have a six (6) month mandate, meeting about twice per month for four (4) months, then developing and providing the City Council with a summary of findings and conclusions within 60 days of its final meeting; and, 5. The Committee shall be chartered with reviewing the City’s long-range financial forecast and providing recommendations to the City Council for revenue enhancements and cost containment. It is recommended that the Committee’s term be extended for another 12 months or until such time that the Committee believes that its review of the City’s UAAL has been completed. At that time, the Committee will make a recommendation to the City Council for the Committee to be disbanded. Due to the specialized nature of this Committee, all five members previously selected had relevant backgrounds in finance. Given their familiarity with the City’s financial picture and their expressed commitment to studying the UAAL issue further, it is recommended that the City Council reappoint all current Committee members to a new term. The City Council selected the following members to the Committee: Resolution No. 7244 - Extending the term of the Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee February 19, 2019 Page 3 of 3  Mickey Segal  Howard Ursettie  Jessica Louie  Robert Miller  Tommy Thai The reauthorization of the Committee allows for the City to continue engaging stakeholders in the process of identifying potential cost containment strategies to address the City’s structural deficit in the General Fund. Per Resolution No. 7202, the nature, scope of work, composition, deliverables, and staff support of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee will remain the same. The recommended amendment to Resolution No. 7202 would specifically extend the six (6) month charter of the Committee and reappoint the members of the Committee to continue working on identifying the best means of addressing the City’s UAAL in the short-and long-term. To this end, in the Final Report, the Committee recommended that the City Council use whatever additional proceeds it has available now or in the future to focus on paying down its UAAL liabilities as quickly as possible. The Committee pointed out that addressing the City’s UAAL costs is of utmost importance to the City’s long-term fiscal sustainability; however, more research and analysis is required before the Committee can reach a final conclusion on a strategy for these efforts. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA. FISCAL IMPACT The costs associated with extending the term of the Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee include staff time, supplies, and materials. Sufficient funding is available in the City Council’s Fiscal Year 2018-19 operating budget to absorb these costs. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 7244 amending Resolution No. 7202 by extending the term of the Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee and reappointment of its current Members. Attachment: Resolution No. 7244