HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso - CC - 050-2018RESOLUTION NO. (EDfi8
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SEND A LETTER OF OPPOSITION
REGARDING ASSEMBLY BILL 1912, PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT:
JOINT POWERS AGREEMENTS: LIABILITY
WHEREAS, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act (Government Code Section 6500 et seq., the
Act) provides that two or more public agencies may by agreement jointly exercise any power
common to the parties to the agreement and may by that agreement create an entity, a Joint
Powers Authority (JPA), which is separate from the parties to the agreement; and
WHEREAS, JPAs play a vital role in promoting regional and, in some cases, statewide
collaboration in addressing public needs that cannot be effectively achieved by each local
government agency acting on its own, and
WHEREAS, the City of Burlingame is a member of several JPAs and benefits from the
efficiencies and services provided by JPAs; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill (AB) 1912 places substantial burdens and new unworkable
requirements on cities by applying retroactive as well as prospective joint and several liability for
all retirement related obligations to any current or former member of a JPA throughout its
existence; and
WHEREAS, AB 1512 would mandate that a public retirement agency file suit against all
agencies that have ever been a member of a terminated JPA for all retirement related obligations
and prohibits any retirement system from approving a new JPA without express joint and several
liability provisions; and
WHEREAS, AB 1 912 conflicts with the California constitutional debt limit provisions
prohibiting an agency from incurring indebtedness beyond the agency's ability to pay the debt
back from revenues received in the same fiscal year without the approval of two{hirds of its
voters; and
WHEREAS, AB 1912 grants exclusive authority to the CaIPERS public retirement agency
to unilaterally assign liabilities to all current and former agencies of a JPA "in an equitable
manned', retroactively, without regard to the specific liabilities of potentially hundreds of agencies;
and
WHEREAS, AB 1912 creates funding and operational impairments, owing to the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued regulations (GASB 68,2012 and76,
2015) that require each state and local agency to report all financial liabilities associated with
public pension and OPEB liabilities: and
WHEREAS, AB 1912 holds all agencies of a JPA accountable for the investment shortfalls,
future discount rate reductions, and other assumption changes made by the retirement agencies
even if the agencies are able to pay the lump sum amount of the current unfunded liability from
the JPA; and
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WHEREAS, these reporting standards play a vital role in assessing the fiscal health and
viability of an agency; and
WHEREAS, AB 1912 specifies that these provisions apply retroactively to all parties, both
current and former, to the joint powers agreement, and so apply to all existing joint powers
agreements; and
WHEREAS, AB 1912 would also require any current agreement that does not meet these
requirements to be reopened to include a provision holding all member agencies party to the
agreement jointly and severally liable for all of the public agency's obligations to the system.
The City of Burlingame opposes AB 1912 and authorizes the Mayo. to send a letler of opposition
to the bill's author, Assemblymember Rodriguez, with a copy to the League of California Cities
and others.
Mayor Michael B nngg
I, Meaghan Hassel-Shearer, City Clerk of the City of Burlingame, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Resolution was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 16th day
of April, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: BEACH, BROWNRIGG, COLSON, KEIGHRAN, ORTIZ
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
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NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME DOES
HEREBY RESOLVE THAT: