HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-26-2011 Steering Committee Agenda Packet Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Orange County Sanitation District 5:00 P.M.
Regular Meeting of the 1 - Administration Building
Steering Committee Conference Rooms A & B
10844 Ellis Avenue
ti Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 593-7130
AGENDA
DECLARATION OF QUORUM:
PUBLIC COMMENTS: If you wish to speak,please complete a Speaker's Form and give it to the Clerk
of the Board. Speakers are requested to limit comments to three minutes.
REPORTS: The Committee Chair and the General Manager may present verbal reports on miscellaneous
matters of general interest to the Directors. These reports are for information only and require no action by the
Directors.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
1. Approve minutes of the September 28, 2011 Steering Committee Meeting.
ACTION ITEMS:
No action items.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
2. Public Affairs Report
3. Strategic Plan Update
ACTION ITEMS:
No action items.
10/26/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 1 of 3
CLOSED SESSION:
During the course of conducting the business set forth on this agenda as a regular meeting of the Board,
the Chair may convene the Board 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 Board during a permitted
closed session and are not available for public inspection. At such time as the Board takes final action on
any of these subjects, the minutes will reflect all required disclosures of information.
Convene in closed session.
(1) CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL RE. INITIATION OF LITIGATION
(Government Code Section 54956.9(c))
Number of Potential Cases: 1
Potential litigation against the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority to collect
unpaid invoice amounts.
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 Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
at 5:00 p.m.
10/26/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 2 of 3
Accommodations for the Disabled: Meeting Rooms are 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-
7130 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of
accommodation requested.
Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2,this agenda has
been posted outside the main gate of the Sanitation District's Administration Building located at 10844 Ellis Avenue,
Fountain Valley,California,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
the Board of Directors, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board.
NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for the Committee Meeting, items must be submitted to the
Clerk of the Board 14 days before the meeting.
Maria E.Ayala
Clerk of the Board
(714)593-7130
mayala(o)ocsd.com
10/26/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 3 of 3
STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir.
10/26/11
AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number
2
Orange County Sanitation District
FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager
Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs Manager
SUBJECT: Public Affairs Update
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
Public Affairs Update
Community outreach
The Public Affairs team continues our ongoing outreach to community and civic groups.
The goal is to discuss who we are and what we do to protect public health and the
environment. The addition of the recently published annual report and general
information brochure is helping educate the public about OCSD. The following is a list of
recent presentations.
( Brea Rotary
( Brea Kiwanis
( Yorba Linda Rotary
( Tustin Kiwanis
( Placentia Rotary
Tustin Chamber of Commerce
Tustin Lions
Staff will also inform Board Members when our team is in your community via email.
Page 1 of 4
The Public Affairs Team is also working with the Environmental Compliance Division on
our annual holiday outreach to Tustin for the fats, oils and grease (FOG) program.
There is one area of Tustin that is unique because OCSD owns the local sewer lines so
we provide outreach to prevent sewage spills. Residents receive a kit with tools to
prevent FOG from getting in the sewer system. Other communities in Orange County
can provide these tools to their residents directly through a cooperative program with
our member cities.
Grants update
Staff reviewed possible opportunities and discussed Federal grants with Eric Sapirstein.
The feeling in Washington is that once they get through the "Super Committee"
discussions and focus on budget matters, there may be select grant opportunities
available for infrastructure or energy-related projects.
Staff will continue to watch for every available opportunity to seek grant funding.
Federal Legislative Update
Legislative Advocate: Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources
Congress returned to work on October 10 following another break and the big question
is whether the Super Committee can finalize their work and develop recommendations
on revenue and spending measures by November 23.
The focus on the November 23 deadline for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit
Reduction (Super Committee) to report its plan to Congress to reduce federal spending
by $1.2 trillion has obscured a key point in the process to assemble the deficit plan. By
October 15, House and Senate congressional committees must report
recommendations on how to slice and dice the federal budget and with it implicitly state
what the future policy priorities should target over the next decade. However, this path
to provide input is the only clear element of the approach.
Partisanship within congressional committees likely means that Republican and
Democratic ranks will develop separate reports to submit to the Super Committee. The
Super Committee with its twelve members will probably have limited opportunity to
consider the input since it is expected that it will need to develop a final plan in early
November to ensure that it will meet the November 23 deadline to report to Congress.
Rumors abound about Super Committee ability to meet deadline
Washington's rumor mill is rife with thoughts about the Super Committee meeting its
November 23 deadline to report a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan. Among the
speculation is thinking that a deadlocked committee will seek an extension of perhaps
six months to finalize a plan. While this approach may at first blush seem like a face-
saving way to avoid a collapse of negotiations, Wall Street angst, and further erosion in
the economy because of despair over Washington's ability to establish a budget plan, it
is not so simple. Any action to extend the deadline would likely require an amendment
to the Budget Control Act and subsequent agreement by the President to sign the
extension into law.
Page 2 of 4
Unlike recent budget debates, the White House may have the upper hand on the issue.
The mandate of the budget agreement provides that if Congress fails to arrive at a plan
that reduces the deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years, the President must impose
across-the-board spending cuts on defense and domestic spending to achieve the $1.2
trillion mark while protecting entitlement spending from any reductions. This provides
the White House and its congressional allies with powerful leverage to secure an overall
agreement.
In conclusion, the ability to extend the deadline may not be easy to achieve.
Congress keeps the lights on
On October 4, the House of Representatives voted 352 to 66 to adopt a measure that
will keep the government running for another six weeks through November 18. Fifty-
three Republicans and thirteen Democrats voted against the funding measure. The
action followed Senate passage last week and was signed into the law by the President.
The turn of events buys time for lawmakers to cobble together a final spending
agreement for fiscal year 2012 that began October 1. The House and Senate must
reconcile the twelve appropriations bills, which is a herculean task given the political
tensions between the House and Senate. The House approved six spending bills and
the Senate has passed just one measure.
House Committee prepares for hearing into infrastructure financing options
On October 6, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,
John L. Mica (R-FL), announced that a hearing would be conducted on October 12 on
President Obama's infrastructure bank proposal, which is included in his American Jobs
Act.
Chairman Mica stated, "While I support innovative financing to meet our nation's
infrastructure needs, the multi-billion dollar, Washington bureaucracy-based
infrastructure bank President Obama is advocating raises many concerns."
He went on to say that he believes a better approach would be to build on existing state
infrastructure banks, as opposed to creating another federal agency.
State Legislative Update
Legislative Advocates: Christopher Townsend, Heather Dion and Casey Elliott,
Townsend Public Affairs
End of legislative session
The legislative session ended a month ago with Governor Brown facing a stack of bills
awaiting signature or veto. Here are some of the key bills we have followed:
Page 3 of 4
SB 293 (Padilla) has been signed by the Governor. This measure limits the amount of
allowable retention proceeds in public works contracts to five percent (OCSD and
current law allow up to ten percent). This five percent retention requirement in SB 293
has been an ongoing battle for at least a decade with three previous governors vetoing
similar measures.
OCSD and CASA, along with several other local government and education
organizations, as well as hundreds of individual public agencies, submitted letters of
opposition throughout the legislative process, expressing serious concerns over limiting
retention proceeds in public works contracts. Ultimately, the major contractor and
subcontractor groups supporting the measure won the battle this year, arguing that in
this down economy, a ten percent requirement prohibited many of them from bidding on
public works projects.
SB 482 (Kehoe) has been signed by the Governor. SB 482 transfers primary jurisdiction
for the beach water quality monitoring program from the Department of Public Health to
the State Water Resources Control Board. OCSD worked very closely with CASA and
the author's office (along with the State Water Resources Control Board) to carefully
craft amendments to alleviate some of our concerns. By the time the bill was sent to the
Governor, we removed our opposition and went neutral on the bill.
AB 646 (Atkins) has been signed by the Governor. The bill allows local public employee
organizations to, among other things, request fact-finding if a mediator is unable to
reach a settlement within 30 days of appointment. OCSD and CASA, as well as several
other local government organizations were opposed to the measure which was
sponsored AFSCME and AFL-CIO, and supported by other unions.
What is next?
The legislature is now adjourned through the end of the year. The big question
remaining is the status of the redevelopment funds since the cities filed suit. If the court
supports the cities' claims, the state will lose $1.7 billion. Many think the State will be
grappling with another budget hole at the end of this year or early next year, meaning
they will have to meet to figure out reductions or revenues.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
N/A
CEQA
N/A
BUDGET / DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY COMPLIANCE
N/A
Page 4 of 4
STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir.
10/26/11
AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number
3
Orange County Sanitation District
FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager
Originator: Robert Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager
SUBJECT: Strategic Plan Update
GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
Information only.
SUMMARY
Staff will provide the Steering Committee with a summary of the 2011 Strategic Plan
Update Workshop that took place October 19, 2011.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
N/A
CEQA
N/A
BUDGET / DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY COMPLIANCE
N/A
Page 1 of 1