2014-04-16 LEGISLATIVE - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Sarmiento also mentioned that advocacy efforts related to the fixed guideway project need to continue. He added that the City Council is very supportive of the project and has designated the City Manager as the project manager. He asked that lobbyists work with Mr. Cavazos and not the consultant since decisions and the lead needs to come from the City Manager's Office. Councilwoman Martinez reminded lobbyists that the Tiger grant deadline is coming at the end of April and asked staff to keep grants a top priority. Michele Martinez also talked about the importance of regional collaboration. Santa Ana should be leveraging these resources as much as possible and sharing the principles with other regional agencies that have similar goals and needs. An example of regional collaboration would be water conservation efforts which would fall under goal # 6. With the new bond act, Santa Ana should be able to capitalize on and be innovative and creative in seeking funding in a collaborative effort. Michele Martinez thinks having this platform is helpful, especially because it is in line with the Strategic Plan. It provides direction when the Council is asked to take a position on a particular legislation or a resolution. Sonia Carvalho mentioned that we should continue to monitor SIB 7 - prevailing wage issue and state funding restriction for charter cities — since it's a high priority for Santa Ana. Tony Cardenas mentioned that the League of California Cities is working on a law suit and several cities are joining the effort. After the Legislative Committee provides comments and input, it will be ready to go to the full City Council. 4. Report Out — Legislative Resolutions and Letter Requests City Manager David Cavazos reviewed the legislative resolutions and letter requests process. He added that staff is sensitive about communication and will make every effort possible to communicate to the Legislative Committee. Councilwoman Martinez mentioned that it is very simplified and staff needs to make sure that the City Council and staff are on the same page. She added that it's important that these resolution /letter requests get vetted fully and then communicated to the full Council so that the entire Council is aware. Sonia Carvalho mentioned that it's beneficial to have a process. Her expectation is that all requests will go to the City Manager. When the City Council adopts the Legislative Platform, the City Manager will have a guide and will use his judgment to make decisions. If it's something controversial, then the City Manager may need to call a special meeting of the Council. If the issue is not addressed in the process and the City Manager determines that it's not within the process scope, then he will place the item on the agenda for the full Council. Legislative City Council Committee Minutes April 16, 2014, Page 3