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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-22-2010 Steering Committee Agenda Packet AGENDA REGULAR MEETING OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010 AT 5:30 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 10844 Ellis Avenue Fountain Valley, California 92708-7018 www.ocsd.com DECLARATION OF QUORUM PUBLIC COMMENTS REPORT OF COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER ACTION ITEMS 1. Approve minutes of the August 25, 2010 Steering Committee meeting. INFORMATION ITEMS 2. Public Affairs Report (Gold) CLOSED SESSION During the course of conducting the business set forth on this agenda as a regular meeting of the Steering Committee,the Chair may convene the Committee in closed session to consider matters of pending real estate negotiations, pending or potential litigation,or personnel matters,pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.8,54956.9,54957 or 54957.6,as noted. Reports relating to(a) purchase and sale of real property; (b)matters of pending or potential litigation; (c)employment actions or negotiations with employee representatives; or which are exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act,may be reviewed by the Directors during a permitted closed session and are not available for public inspection. At such time as final actions are taken by the Board on any of these subjects, the minutes will reflect all required disclosures of information. September 22, 2010 Convene in closed session, if necessary. 3. a. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL RE. INITIATION OF LITIGATION (Government Code Section 54956.9(c)) Significant Exposure to Litigation and Potential Litigation That the District May File Number of Potential Cases: 1 re EnerTech b. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Government Code Section 54954.5 (f)) 1) Agency Designated Representatives: James D. Ruth, General Manager; Robert Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager; Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance and Administrative Services; Jeff Reed, Human Resources and Employee Relations Manager; and Paul Loehr, Human Resources Supervisor. 2) Employee Organizations: a) Peace Officers Council of California representing employees in the Professional Group and Supervisor Group. Reconvene in regular session Consideration of action, if any, on matters considered in closed session. OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY ADJOURNMENT The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for October 27, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. September 22, 2010 Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2,this agenda has been posted in the main lobby of the District's Administrative offices not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time above. All public records relating to each agenda item, including any public records distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting to all,or a majority of all,of the members of District's Board, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board, located at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, California. Items Not Posted: In the event any matter not listed on this agenda is proposed to be submitted to the Committee for discussion and/or action, it will be done in compliance with Section 54954.2(b) as an emergency item or because there is a need to take immediate action,which need came to the attention of the Committee subsequent to the posting of agenda, or as set forth on a supplemental agenda posted in the manner as above, not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date. Public Comments: Any member of the public may address the Steering Committee on specific agenda items or matters of general interest. As determined by the Chair,speakers may be deferred until the specific item is taken for discussion and remarks may be limited to three minutes. Matters of interest addressed by a member of the public and not listed on this agenda cannot have action taken by the Committee except as authorized by Section 54954.2(b). Consent Calendar: All matters placed on the consent calendar are considered as not requiring discussion or further explanation, and unless a particular item is requested to be removed from the consent calendar by a Director of staff member, there will be no separate discussion of these items. All items on the consent calendar will be enacted by one action approving all motions, and casting a unanimous ballot for resolutions included on the consent calendar. All items removed from the consent calendar shall be considered in the regular order of business. The Committee Chair will determine if any items are to be deleted from the consent calendar. Items Continued: Items may be continued from this meeting without further notice to a Committee meeting held within five (5)days of this meeting per Government Code Section 54954.2(b)(3). Meeting Adjournment: This meeting may be adjourned to a later time and items of business from this agenda may be considered at the later meeting by Order of Adjournment and Notice in accordance with Government Code Section 54955 (posted within 24 hours). Accommodations for the Disabled: The Board of Directors Meeting Room is wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability related accommodations, please contact the Orange County Sanitation District Clerk of the Board's office at(714)593-7124 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of accommodation requested. Notice to Committee Members: For any questions on the agenda or to place any items on the agenda, Committee members should contact the Committee Chair or Clerk of the Board ten days in advance of the Committee meeting. Committee Chair: Larry R. Crandall (714)593-4400 General Manager: James D. Ruth (714)593-7110 General Counsel: Brad Hogin (714)415-1006 Clerk of the Board: Donna Terrones (714)593-7130 E-mail: dterrones(a)ocsd.com STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir. 09/22/10 AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number 2 Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information only SUMMARY This report is the monthly Public Affairs Division update that includes legislative and political information from Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, lobbyists' activities, and outreach education and communication programs to member cities, employees and the public. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Legislative Update September is typically a quiet month at the State and Federal Levels as the State Legislature adjourned in late August and Congress is out until mid-September. Nonetheless, the State Legislature wrapped up its 2009-10 session without a budget in place for the second time since the 1990s and very little accomplished on other fronts. On this final day of session, the legislature made a token attempt to pass a budget but without the 2/3 support needed, most knew nothing would pass. Aside from the budget, numerous other bills were debated and voted upon on the last day of session. The legislature considered bills on a variety of subjects, including: plastic bag bans, spaying and neutering of dogs and cats, health insurance rates, starting age for kindergarten, and modifying horse racing wagering among others. Getting lots of attention in Sacramento were the bills in response to the scandals in the City of Bell. Ultimately, only a few bills passed, due mostly to partisan bickering and last minute scrambling. Among the bills not passed was one that would have extended salary and benefit disclosure requirements to state officials. The Correa bill dealing with disclosure for cities, counties and specials districts also failed passage but the State Controller has already requested this information for publication. In Congress, with members getting back to work in mid-September not much has occurred. However, as most observe, with a bitter election cycle all major policy discussions will be put off until after November 2. The Federal budget will also be stalled until after the election, which means any discussion of OCSD's appropriations requests will be wrapped up with the budget discussions. The monthly state legislative matrix is attached to this report. Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 1 Public Affairs Report Last year, at the direction of the Chair and members of the Steering Committee, OCSD inaugurated our first Honor Walk and recognized a former employee for outstanding contributions to the District. As a result of the process last year (based on Steering Committee input) the Public Affairs team is revamping the nomination and selection process to streamline things and give people the opportunity to comment on the nominees. Like last year, when we kick off the process later this year, we will accept nominations for both past Board Members and past employees. We are in the process of updating the Honor Walk nomination process but like last year, the Steering Committee will select the finalist(s) to be recognized with an engraved brick. Staff will be coming back to the Steering Committee later this year with the new nomination process. On September 29, the Chair and Vice-Chair will be attending the annual OCSD VIP recognition lunch. This is the event that recognizes the employee volunteers for giving their time outside of work to things like tours, community events and speaking engagements. Form No.DW-102-1 Agenda Report—SC Revised:01/08/07 Page 2 OCSD Legislative Matrix 9/13/2010 AB 192 (Gatto D) Public retirement benefits: excess salaries. Current Text: Amended: 8/20/2010 ndf html Introduced: 2/2/2009 Last Amend: 8/20/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 8/31/2010-S. DEAD Desk I Policy Fiscal Floor Desk Policy Fiscal Floor Conf. Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered 1st House I 2nd House Conc. Summary: The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), which provides a defined benefit to its employees based on age at retirement, service credit, and final or highest compensation paid to the employee. In the case of an employee who has been employed by one or more contracting public agencies, retirement benefits distributed to that employee is the obligation of all of contracting public agency employers and is prorated to each of the contracting public agencies based upon the number of years that the employee worked for each of those agencies. This bill would provide that the obligations for retirement benefits that are attributable to excess compensation earned by a nonrepresented employee who was employed by one or more public agencies shall be the sole obligation of the subsequent contracting agency that paid the excess compensation. This bill would define "excess compensation" as the final compensation of an employee of a contracting agency who previously worked for another contracting agency to the extent the final compensation received from the current contracting agency is in excess of 15% of the salary paid by the prior contracting agency, as adjusted for actuarial increases in that salary. Position AB 827 (De La Torre D) Local public employees. Current Text: Enrollment: 8/31/2010 pdf html Introduced: 2/26/2009 Last Amend: 8/27/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 8/31/2010-A. ENROLLMENT 2Yearl Deskl Pol&1 Fiscal I Flood Deski Policyl Fiscal I vioor c;or- Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered Summary: The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act contains various provisions that govern collective bargaining of local represented employees. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. Existing law requires all contracts of employment between an employee and a local agency employer to include a provision which provides that regardless of the term of the contract, if the contract is terminated, the maximum cash settlement that an employee may receive shall be an amount equal to the monthly salary of the employee multiplied by the number of months left on the unexpired term of the contract, with a maximum of 18 months. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2011, additionally prohibit an employment contract for a local excluded employee, as defined, from including any clause that provides for an automatic renewal, an automatic compensation increase, as specified, or an automatic compensation increase in excess of a cost-of-living adjustment. The bill would also require the local agency, as defined, to complete a performance review of any excluded employee, as defined, before an increase in compensation in excess of a cost-of-living adjustment may be implemented for that individual. The bill would also specify that those records, procedures, and actions shall conform to the requirements of law, including, but not limited to, the Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act . By expanding the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. Position Oppose AB 2182 (Huffman D) Contractual assessments: onsite sewer and septic improvements. Current Text: Enrollment: 9/3/2010 odf htmi Introduced: 2/18/2010 Last Amend: 8/20/2010 Is Fiscal: N Location: 9/3/2010-A. ENROLLED 2Year ki P.M11111iiiiiiii1ftscal I Floor I Desk I Policy Fiscal I Floor Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered 1!7 Dead � "use- on._ Summary: Existing law authorizes a legislative body of a public agency, as defined, to determine that it would be convenient and advantageous to designate an area within which authorized officials and free and willing property owners may enter into contractual assessments to finance the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other real property. This bill would expand these provisions to include contractual assessments to finance onsite sewer and septic improvements, as defined. The bill would permit onsite sewer and septic improvements to be installed to convert residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other real property from an onsite septic system to community sewer collection service and to modify or replace existing onsite sewer and septic improvements. The bill would also permit these assessments to be used to replace or upgrade an existing septic system if specified requirements are met. The bill would also prohibit a public agency from permitting a property owner to participate in a contractual assessment program if the total amount of assessments and taxes on the property exceeds 5% of the property's market value, as specified. The bill would require the preliminary report issued in connection with the contractual assessment program to include criteria for determining the underwriting requirements, as well as safeguards to be used to limit the total annual property tax and assessments on the property, as specified. Position AB 2256 (Huffman D) Product labeling: flushable products. Current Text: Amended: 6/1/2010 pdf html Introduced: 2/18/2010 Last Amend: 6/1/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 8/13/2010-5. DEAD Desk I Policy Fiscal Floor Desk Fpoiicy Fiscal Floor Conf. Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered 1st House I 2nd House Conc. Summary: Existing law regulates the labeling requirements on various consumer products. This bill would prohibit, on or after January 1, 2012, a person from packaging or labeling a consumer product , as defined, for distribution or sale in California if that product is contained in a package, or has an affixed label, that states that the product is flushable, sewer and septic safe, or other like term or phrase unless the product meets specified criteria. The bill would require a person who has packaged or labeled a consumer product for distribution or sale in California that is labeled as flushable, sewer and septic safe, or other like term or phrase, to maintain, in written form, documentation of the testing substantiating the validity of the claim , except as specified . The bill would exempt certain retailers and wholesalers from these provisions. The bill would make violation of this provision punishable by a fine of up to $2,500. Position Support AB 2407 (Harkey R) California regional water quality control boards: boundaries. Current Text: Introduced: 2/19/2010 odf html Introduced: 2/19/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 4/23/2010-A. DEAD Desk Policy Fiscal Floor Desk Policy Fiscal Floor Conf. Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered 1st House I 2nd House Conc. Summary: Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the 9 California regional water quality control boards are among the principal state agencies that carry out responsibilities relating to water quality. The act prescribes the boundaries of each regional board. This bill would revise the description of the boundaries of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Position SB 696 (Wright D) Child support: compromise of arrears. Current Text: Amended: 6/3/2010 odf html Introduced: 2/27/2009 Last Amend: 6/3/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 7/2/2010-A. DEAD Desk I Policy Fiscal Floor Desk Policy Fiscal Floor Conf. Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered 1st House 2nd House Conc. Summary: Existing law establishes a statewide compromise of arrears program pursuant to which the Department of Child Support Services may accept offers in compromise of child support arrears and interest accrued thereon owed to the state for reimbursement of aid paid pursuant to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act. An offer in compromise must be rescinded and any compromised liability reestablished unless there is a finding of good cause or a determination by the director that it is in the best interest of the state to do otherwise. Existing law provides that the acceptance of an offer in compromise is deemed to be in the best interest of the state with regard to arrears that accrued as a result of a decrease in income when an obligor was a reservist or member of the National Guard activated to United States military service, and failed to modify the support order to reflect the reduction in income. This bill would provide that acceptance of an offer in compromise is deemed to be in the best interest of the state with regard to arrears that accrued as a result of a decrease in income when the obligor failed to modify the support order to reflect the reduction in income when an obligor was a reservist or member of the National Guard activated to United States military service, when the obligor was incarcerated for more than 90 days and does not have other sources of income, when the obligor's sole income was based on specified forms of public assistance, or when the obligor was receiving inpatient services in a medical facility for more than 90 days and does not have other sources of income. Position Support SB 918 (Payley D) Water recycling. Current Text: Enrollment: 9/7/2010 odf html Introduced: 2/1/2010 Last Amend: 8/20/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 9/7/2010-S. ENROLLED 2Year Floor Desk I Policy Fiscal Floor Conf. Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered De; Dead isL r,vuse 2nd House I Conc. Summary: Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards as the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish uniform statewide recycling criteria for each varying type of use for recycled water where the use involves the protection of public health. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to adopt uniform water recycling criteria for indirect potable water reuse for groundwater recharge, as defined, by December 31, 2013. The bill would require the department to develop and adopt uniform water recycling criteria for surface water augmentation, as defined, by December 31, 2016, if a specified expert panel convened pursuant to the bill finds that the criteria would adequately protect public health. The bill would require the department to investigate the feasibility of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse, as defined, and to provide a final report on that investigation to the Legislature by December 31, 2016. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, to report to the Legislature from 2011 to 2016, inclusive, as part of the annual budget process, on the progress towards developing and adopting the water recycling criteria for surface water augmentation and its investigation of the feasibility of developing water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse. The bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to enter into an agreement with the department to assist in implementing the water recycling criteria provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. Position SB 1107 (Kehoe D) Water quality: interceptor and trap grease. Current Text: Amended: 5/24/2010 odf html Introduced: 2/17/2010 Last Amend: 5/24/2010 Is Fiscal: Y Location: 8/13/2010-A. DEAD Desk I Policy Fiscal Floor Desk Policy Fiscal Floor Conf. Enrolled Vetoed Chaptered 1st House I 2nd House Conc. Summary: (1) Existing law regulates the transportation of inedible kitchen grease and requires the transporters of inedible kitchen grease to be registered and to pay specified fees. The State Water Resources Control Board is among the principal state agencies with authority relating to water quality. This bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2012, to develop, adopt, and implement regulations, that include specified requirements, for a manifest system to track the transportation of interceptor and trap grease. The bill would require the state board to impose a fee sufficient to cover the costs of implementing the act. The bill would require the state board to deposit all revenues from the fee in the Interceptor and Trap Grease Manifest Fund, which the bill would establish. The bill would authorize the board to expend moneys in the fund to implement the act, subject to appropriation for that purpose. The bill would define "interceptor and trap grease" to mean grease that is principally derived from food preparation, processing, or waste, and that is removed from a grease trap or grease interceptor. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. Position Total Measures: 8 Total Tracking Forms: 8