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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 03/16/2021 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 027, 2021, APPROVI Agenda Item 21 Item # 21 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY March 16, 2021 City Council STAFF Molly Saylor, Senior Sustainability Specialist Judy Schmidt, Legal SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 027, 2021, Approving and Appropriating an Off-Cycle Funding Request Contingent on the Outcome of the April 6, 2021, Election, to Support Initial Implementation of Ordinance No. 026, 2021, Establishing Regulations Regarding Disposable Bags. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on March 2, 2021 by a vote of 6-1 (Nay: Summers), provides $87,500 in funding to support the initial 2021 roll-out of the Disposable Bag Ordinance and the Waste Reduction Program, including outreach and engagement and making free bags available to the community. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, March 2, 2021 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 027, 2021 (PDF) Agenda Item 15 Item # 15 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY March 2, 2021 City Council STAFF Molly Saylor, Senior Sustainability Specialist Judy Schmidt, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 027, 2021, Approving and Appropriating an Off-Cycle Funding Request Contingent on the Outcome of the April 6, 2021, Election, to Support Initial Implementation of Ordinance No. 026, 2021, Establishing Regulations Regarding Disposable Bags. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to consider adoption of an appropriation ordinance which provides $87,500 in funding to support the initial 2021 roll-out of the Disposable Bag Ordinance and the Waste Reduction Program, including outreach and engagement and making free bags available to the community. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of this Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Reducing Plastic Pollution is an adopted Council Priority, which aligns with the community’s goal to sustain and improve the health of the Cache la Poudre River and watershed and its Road to Zero Waste goal to produce zero waste by 2030. Past Council Action Work Sessions: February 11, 2020 - Staff provided plastic pollution context and learnings from peer communities. Council provided direction for action both on micro and macro pollution. October 27, 2020 - Staff provided a progress update on plastic pollution awareness work, including impacts of COVID-19 on plastic use, policy development and community engagement, and a staff recommendation. Councilmembers indicated interest in moving plastic bag policy to a ballot measure. December 8, 2020 - Staff provided Council a suite of policy options for a plastic pollution ordinance and related ballot measure. Council provided feedback on these policy elements and other logistics. January 12, 2021 -Staff shared a draft bag ordinance with Council and received feedback on outstanding policy details, including fee amount and structure, and income-qualified relief. Staff also recommended funding 2021 ordinance roll-out and engagement. Regular Meetings: December 15, 2020 - Councilmembers adopted Resolution 2020-118 directing staff to draft an ordinance for Council to discuss at a work session on January 12, 2021. February 2, 2021 - Council approved the Disposable Bag Ordinance on first reading and continued consideration of this related off-cycle appropriation Ordinance No. 027, 2021 on first reading to March 2, 2021. ATTACHMENT 1 COPY Agenda Item 15 Item # 15 Page 2  February 16, 2021 - Council approved the Disposable Bag Ordinance on second reading and adopted Resolution 2021-023, referring Ordinance No. 026, 2021 to a vote of the registered electors of the city at the next regular municipal election on April 6, 2021. Overview of 2021 Funding Ordinance Contingent upon the outcome of the April election, this appropriation ordinance provides $87,500 to support successful roll-out of the Disposable Bag Ordinance in 2021 including outreach and engagement and to provide free bags to the community. More information is included in an updated version of the Implementation Resourcing document shared with Council at the January work session. (Attachment 1) On an ongoing basis, the Waste Reduction Program will be self-supporting out of the fee revenue generated. This funding would be used to establish the Program in anticipation of rollout in 2022, and then the general fund will be repaid from bag fee revenue by the end of 2023. Specifically, this funding will allow for the following activities if the Disposable Bag Ordinance is passed by the voters:  $35,000 to resource outreach and engagement efforts including an awareness and outreach campaign and provision of reusable bags.  $52,500 to provide staff capacity to conduct outreach and engagement including support for grocer planning and coordination of reusable bag distribution. Projected program revenues are outlined in the table below: Based on the above projections for revenue, staff anticipates full repayment to the General Fund reserves could occur before the end of 2023, while also allowing the new Waste Reduction Program costs of ~$270,000 per year to be self-funded and other systems costs to be covered as appropriate. Staff recommends approval of this appropriation based on learnings from past programs, where it was observed that proactive outreach and education supports better compliance. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS The primary impact would be a $87,500 lower reserve balance in 2021 and 2022. Most potential impacts to City finances have been mitigated by structuring the appropriation amount to be repaid to General Fund reserves within three years. Based on projected fee revenues, the risk that repayment would not occur in that window is very minimal unless implementation is significantly delayed. ATTACHMENT 1 COPY Agenda Item 15 Item # 15 Page 3 ATTACHMENTS 1. Implementation Resourcing (PDF) 2. Council Finance Committee Feedback (PDF) 3. Powerpoint Presentation (PDF) ATTACHMENT 1 COPY -1- ORDINANCE NO. 027, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROVING AND APPROPRIATING AN OFF-CYCLE FUNDING REQUEST, CONTINGENT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE APRIL 6, 2021, ELECTION, TO SUPPORT INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 026, 2021, ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS REGARDING DISPOSABLE BAGS WHEREAS, City Council has identified plastics pollution as a priority concern, which aligns with the City’s Climate Action Plan (“CAP”) goals of reducing greenhouse gasses and with the community’s Road to Zero Waste goal to produce zero waste by 2030, as well as the City’s strategic objective to sustain and improve the health of the Cache la Poudre River and all watersheds within the City; and WHEREAS, Council has considered and adopted Ordinance No. 026, 2021, Amending Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to Establish Regulations Regarding Disposable Bags and Mitigation of Other Sources of Single Use Plastic Pollution (the “Disposable Bag Ordinance”) regulating the distribution of disposable bags and future mitigation of other sources of single-use plastic pollution; and WHEREAS, Council has adopted Resolution 2020-118 referring the Disposable Bag Ordinance to a vote of the City’s registered electors at the April 6, 2021, municipal election; and WHEREAS, contingent on the outcome of the April 6, 2021 election, Council desires to appropriate funds to support initial implementation of the Disposable Bag Ordinance and the Waste Reduction Program created thereunder, including outreach, education and engagement and making free reusable bags available to the community, prior to May 1, 2022, when the requirements of the Disposable Bag Ordinance go into effect; and WHEREAS, this appropriation protects the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of Fort Collins and serves the public purposes of maintaining and improving the health of the Cache la Poudre watershed and furthering the City's Climate Action Plan and Road to Zero Waste goals; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9 of the City Charter pe rmits the City Council, upon the recommendation of the City Manager, to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year such funds for expenditure as may be available from reserves accumulated in prior years, notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended the appropriation described herein and determined that this appropriation is available and previously unappropriated from the General Fund and will not cause the total amount appropriated in the General Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received in that Fund during this fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: -2- Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the General Fund the sum of EIGHTY-SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($87,500) for expenditure from the General Fund in 2021 to support initial implementation of the Disposable Bag Ordinance and the Waste Reduction Program created thereunder, including outreach, education and engagement and making free reusable bags available to the community, provided the voters approve City Council referred Ordinance No. 026, 2021, at the April 6, 2021 Election. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 2nd day of March, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 16th day of March, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 16th day of March, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk