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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Legislative Review Committee - 09/06/2016 -City Managerಬಬs Office City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6505 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com Legislative Review Committee Meeting Notes September 6, 2016, 3:30 p.m. Commons Conference Room Present: Gino Campana, Councilmember; Ross Cunniff, Councilmember; Ray Martinez, Councilmember; Carrie Daggett, City Attorney; Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager; Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager; Tyler Marr, Policy and Project Analyst; Lindsay Ex, Environmental Program Manager Absent: None Guests: Kevin Jones, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce The meeting came to order at 3:30 pm. Approval of Minutes x LRC unanimously approved the July 19th meeting notes. Review alignment of Policy Statements from Colorado Communities for Climate Action x LRC heard a presentation from Lindsay Ex, Environmental Program Manager, regarding the recently updated policy priorities from the CC4CA group. x LRC was asked if there was any discomfort with the proposed CC4CA policies in terms of interacting with the City’s legislative agenda. x Ex explained that there are18 policies that the group has identified as priorities. They cover a wide range of topics all related to GHG reduction. Staff identified (via green highlighting) direct correlation between priorities and CC4CA priorities. o 3 policies were flagged as potentially in conflict with City goals. x Councilmember Campana asked about our current level of involvement. Staff attends meetings and votes on proposals. We also contribute member dues to the amount of $15,000 annually. Ex indicated that Fort Collins level of involvement has been high and our influence has been noticeable on the draft priorities document. o Front Range Communities involved include Golden, Boulder, Boulder County and Fort Collins 2 o Funding goes towards lobbyist at the statewide level and to pay group’s coordinator, Rocky Mountain Climate Group o Campana questioned the return of the $15,000 investment in this group. Ex replied that efforts on the statewide level matter and the relationship building has been very important to making progress. o Ex noted that there is currently more “give than get” – Our skillset is currently helping to propel the organization o Councilmember Campana asked if the City can justify a reduction in the lobbying offer towards expertise lobbying on the climate level. He asked that staff explore/message that point. x LRC will look in more depth at the policy statements and will notify staff via email if something looks out of order. Other members of Council are welcome to comment as well. x LRC requested that the CC4CA items be highlighted and identified separately in bill tracking as the session gets under way. x LRC will finalize their opinion of the CC4CA items at their October 11th meeting Water Now Alliance Letter. x Ginny Sawyer reported that the City’s Federal delegation is in support of the proposed change to IRS rules related to raising the threshold for which taxes become required on water related rebates. x LRC unanimously requested a resolution be brought forth in support of the change to the rule. Review DC Agenda x Councilmember Campana and Mr. Marr reported that they would be meeting with all members of Fort Collins’ congressional delegation and also the National League of Cities during a trip to Washington, D.C. on September 14th . Topics of discussion are to include I-25, train-horn noise, transient concerns, It’s on Us, water collaboration efforts and the Road to 2020. CML Municipal Priorities x Sawyer and Marr reported that transportation funding, the “Homeless Bill of Rights”, and urban renewal reform are all issues from the Colorado Municipal League’s legislative preview document that correlate with the City’s legislative agenda. Staff will continue to monitor the landscape for anticipated legislative items for the 2017 session. 3 Begin work on Policy Agenda x LRC held a discussion of purpose of Policy Agenda. Group discussed and agreed that the agenda is used to guide positions on non-City legislative or policy items. x LRC agreed to take out the verbatim copy of the strategic objectives and agreed to instead incorporate strategic objectives via reference in the introduction. x LRC agreed to add additional information in the introduction explaining the purpose of the various sections. x LRC reviewed the existing priorities and agreed that the existing priorities should all remain, with a new one added in terms of transients/occupation of City property x LRC agreed to potentially explore an item related to required cooperation between state institutions like universities related to local ordinances. Other Business x Councilmember Cunniff will be out of town on October 11th, the next scheduled meeting. x Next meeting will include finalization of CC4CA Policies, and continued work on the Policy Agenda/Priorities x City Attorney Daggett reported that CML’s Geoff Wilson resigned and the City should expect changes in CML’s legislative approach. More information will follow as staff learns of additional information. x Councilmember Campana requested a clarifying memo from the City Attorney’s Office about what the system and expectation is in terms of confidential memos. The meeting adjourned at 4:35 P.M.