TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY OF CHINO
FROM: LINDA REICH, CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT
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Amendment to the Agreement for the Joint Exercise of Powers Relative to the San Bernardino Associated Governments.
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RECOMMENDATION
Approve Amendment No. 4 to the San Bernardino Associated Governments Joint Powers Authority Agreement and approve the increase in City of Chino member dues to $58,614, with an annual price increase based on the Consumer Price Index or 2%, whichever is less.
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FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed JPA Amendment will modify the formula to calculate membership dues. The estimated membership dues for the City of Chino would increase incrementally over 2 years from the current amount of $20,322 to $39,706 in FY 2024-25 and then to $58,614 in FY 2025-26, requiring an increase of $19,384 in the existing FY 2023-25 adopted budget.
CITY OF CHINO MISSION / VISION / VALUES / STRATEGIC ISSUES
The recommendation detailed above further the City’s values and strategic issues that serve as key pillars on which identified priorities, goals, and action plans are built, by fostering:
• Financial Stability
• Responsible Long-Range Planning
• Public Service Excellence through Internal and External Partnerships
• Effective Technology
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Expenditure: 1002000-43310 |
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BACKGROUND
The City of Chino is a Member Agency of the San Bernardino Council of Governments (SBCOG), which is governed by the San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) Joint Powers Authority (JPA) composed of 24 cities and towns and the five San Bernardino County Supervisorial Districts. The SBCOG provides a forum for member agencies to exchange information and collaborate on regional issues, thus improving coordination, leveraging resources, reducing duplication of effort, and strengthening regional advocacy.
The JPA agreement specifies the methodology by which Member Agencies are assessed membership dues. These are currently calculated on an original assessment based on each Member Agency’s population (50%) and assessed property valuation (50%), and two flat fees of $5,337 and $8,000, adopted in 2016 and 2022, respectively, per Member Agency. The City of Chino currently pays $38,292 in annual membership dues.
In 2018, the SBCOG Board adopted a five-year work plan with funding for its implementation provided by two primary sources, membership dues and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)/Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) funds. The work plan includes the Emergency Communications Nurse System, the Inland Regional Energy Network, the Smart County Master Plan, and Grant Assistance, including the Active Transportation Program (ATP) and Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grants 1.0 and 2.0.
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
On July 5, 2023, the SBCOG Board received a report on the 2018 work plan and funding showing that HERO funds, the SBCOG’s main supplemental fund source, had been depleted. Budget projections showed there would be insufficient funding to continue to implement existing programs, with the agency operating at a deficit in FY 2026-27 under the status quo.
An Ad Hoc Committee was created and tasked with discussing the expansion of the COG’s capacity and increasing the dues paid by the member agencies. The committee researched the funding sources, budgets, programs, and operations of other councils of governments (COGs) in the area and identified three options for calculating dues moving forward, ultimately recommending an increase in the SBCOG’s work capacity, including adding staff and increasing its budget, and a change in the calculation of dues. The new assessment would be based on population (50%) and general fund tax revenues (50%), added to the current assessment. In addition to the assessment for baseline services, optional subscription services would be available at an additional cost. Annual cost increases would be imposed according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 2%, whichever is less.
In January 2024, the SBCOG Board accepted the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation and approved Amendment No. 4 to the JPA agreement. Amendment No. 4 officially changes the name of the organization from San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) to San Bernardino Council of Governments (SBCOG) and removes the specific formula for assessing member dues, which is instead to be determined by Board-approved policy, thus providing the Board flexibility in the future if the method for assessing member agency dues needs to change. The formula to calculate membership dues would be modified as previously noted, which would increase the estimated membership dues for the City of Chino incrementally over 2 years from the current amount of $20,322 to $39,706 in FY 2024-25 and then to $58,614 in FY 2025-26, requiring an increase of $19,384 in the existing FY 2023-25 adopted budget.
To allow the member agencies and the SBCOG to adjust their budgets as necessary to reflect the new dues for FY 2024-25, SBCOG staff requests member agency action by April 30, 2024. The new member dues would go into effect July 1, 2024.