December 29, 2011
Note: the following is the news release that was distributed following the California Supreme Court Ruling in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos.
In the wake of today's ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding the elimination of redevelopment agencies, the California Redevelopment Association (CRA) and League of California Cities (League) vowed to work with state legislators immediately to develop legislation to revive redevelopment in order to protect local communities, job creation and our economy.
December 16, 2011
On Thursday, the League hosted a webinar with the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) on the 2012 Business Plan. Participants heard first hand from the HSRA on how this plan differs from previous ones. The new plan uses conservative ridership and revenue estimates, assumes three percent inflation, and plans for a phased implementation and blended operations. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation can be found on the League's website.
December 16, 2011
Information for the calendar year 2010 is now available on Controller John Chiang's website documenting salary, pension and other compensation for city and county employees. The update released on Wednesday, Dec. 14 includes data for 674,000 city, county and special district workers as well employees from the state of California, the University of California and the California State University systems. This week's update totals $48.8 billion.
December 16, 2011
City officials grappling with the labor reporting requirements of SB X2 9 (2009) may be confused by recent emails sent to some public works directors stating that cities will be required to pay a one-quarter percent fee of the city's construction budget to the state for the state Labor Compliance Program (LCP). Cities are not required to pay this fee to the state on all public works projects.
December 16, 2011
The registration and housing deadline for the City Managers’ Department Meeting, scheduled Feb. 1 – 3 in Indian Wells, is Jan. 6, 2012.
December 16, 2011
Register now for the 2012 New Mayors and Council Members Academy and cross it off your list before the start of the new year.
December 16, 2011
The Association of California Cities Allied with Public Safety (ACCAPS) is a non-profit organization which was established in 1988 by a core group of cities in California that had State prisons, community correctional facilities, or medical/mental health correctional institutions within their municipal jurisdiction.
December 16, 2011
It’s not too early to make plans to attend the National League of Cities (NLC) 2012 Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C.
December 16, 2011
The Institute for Local Government (ILG) has several new online publications to help local officials successfully apply public engagement and collaborative approaches to inform and shape local government policies and actions.
December 16, 2011
A preview of stories in Western City magazine.
December 14, 2011
On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown and Department of Finance (DOF) Director Ana Matosantos held a press conference to discuss the state's economic forecast. According to DOF, revenues for FY 2011-12 are $2.2 billion below projections, activating some of the automatic "trigger cuts" included in the FY 2011-12 state budget. The Aug. 19 CA Cities Advocate story, "State 'Trigger Cuts' Loom as State Revenues Fail to Match Budget Projections" outlines many of $980 million in cuts which will become effective in January and February 2012.
December 9, 2011
The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) adopted emergency regulations at its Dec. 8 hearing to implement AB 646 (Chapter 680, Statutes of 2011), which will take effect Jan. 1, 2012. The emergency rulemaking package will now move to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for review and approval.
December 9, 2011
Sadly, Richard Dixon, who served on the League's board of directors from 2005-2010, died on Friday, Nov. 25 at the age of 63. Dixon was one of the city of Lake Forest's first council members in 1991. During his tenure on the Lake Forest City Council, he served as mayor pro tem in 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2005 and as mayor in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007. His memorial service will be held today, Friday, Dec. 9.
December 9, 2011
The League has opened registration for several of its upcoming conferences and is also soliciting session topics for its 2012 Annual Conference & Expo in San Diego.
December 9, 2011
A preview of stories from this month in Western City magazine.
December 2, 2011
During the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Congress of Cities Conference in Phoenix held Nov. 9 – 12, more than 90 Western municipal officials attended the Western Municipal Association’s (WMA) meeting to elect its new leadership and discuss issues facing the 14 states that make up WMA’s membership.
December 2, 2011
The League of California Cities’ City Managers’ Department annually presents three prestigious awards honoring distinguished members of the department.
December 2, 2011
Western City magazine has compiled its most popular stories into a “Hit List” showing the top five articles on WesternCity.com during the past month.
November 7, 2011
The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos this Thursday, Nov. 10 at 9 a.m. in San Francisco.
November 7, 2011
Last Friday evening U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D – Calif), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Max Baucus (D – Mont.), and David Vitter (R – La.) introduced the Senate version of the federal transportation authorization, or Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).