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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2011-04-25 #HAGENDA STAFF REPORT DATE: April 25, 2011 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council THRU: Jill R. Ingram, Acting City Manager FROM: Mark Persico, AICP, Director of Development Services SUBJECT: LETTER TO THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OPPOSING THE "SUPER CITY" SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Authorize the Mayor to sign the attached letter opposing the "Super City" concept. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS: On April 7, 2011, County Supervisor John Moorlach authored an Opinion article in the Sun Newspaper supporting a "Super City." The idea is to merge the City's of Los Alamitos and Seal Beach with the unincorporated community of Rossmoor into one city. On April 11, 2011, the Council directed staff to prepare a letter stating the City's opposition to the idea. A draft letter has been prepared for the Mayor to sign. FISCAL IMPACT: None. RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the attached letter. SUBMIT ED BY: Mark H. Persico, I Director of Development Services NOTED AND APPROVED: MR. Ingram, Acting City Manager Attachment A. Sun Newspaper Opinion Article Supervisor Moorlach, April 7, 2011 B. Letter Opposing the "Super City" Agenda Item H ATTACHMENT "A" SUPERVISOR MOORLACH OPINION ARTICLE SUN NEWSPAPER APRIL 7, 2011 T hursday, April 7, 2011 Egg! Time to Re-Draw the Lines? SUN NEWSPAPER Today, most of Orange County's nearly 3 million residents receive their municipal services (fire, police, sewer, water, courts, and social services, for example) through a myriad of government agencies, but primarily the county, cities, and special districts. This "quilt work" of service providers has developed slowly over the County's 122 -year history—ever since Orange County successfully broke off from Los Angeles County in the summer = = s* of 1889. At that time, there were only three incor- orated cities in Orange County—Anaheim, P g ty— Anaheim, Santa '-• Ana and Orange —and the total County population consisted of 13,500 residents. - Over the decades, to address the County's grow - ing population and service demands, we've added more cities and special districts -;-lots of 'them. John Moorlach Today, in 2011, we have 34 incorporated cities, 26 independent special districts, and the county which all, in one way or another, retain responsibility for providing munici- pal services to OC residents. Our cities range in population from 6,300 (Villa Park) to 358,000 (Santa Ana). Our independent special districts serve populations ranging from 2,500 residents (Sunset Beach Sanitary District) to 330,000 residents (Irvine Ranch Water District). Because I tend to 'ive and breathe local government issues, I do a lot of thinking about government organization and how to best serve our residents. Is the quilt work we now have in place in Orange County the best way to provide services to our residents? If somehow, all the lines defining city and special district boundaries disappeared in Orange County, and you had a blank slate to start with, would you redraw the lines in the same way? Are 34 cities too many? Are 26 special districts overkill? Is there a better way? I have to believe there is, and I am beginning to believe that we do have too many government agencies in this county, and that we could do a more efficient, cost effective job of delivering services if some cities or special districts were combined.' As chairman of the Orange County Local' Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which is in charge of setting boundaries for cities and special districts, I have been a proponent of looking into the feasibility of combining the cities of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and the unincorporated community of Rossmoor into a single city (the so- called "super city" concept). Raising this'idea, as you can imagine, has not made me popular with a few of my constituents (or fellow elected officials) in these communities. I am very aware of and respect the individual identities of these areas, the passion of their residents,. and the desire to remain separate identities. The long -term fiscal pressures on all local govern- ments, however, demand that elected officials look at the full range of governance options to increase efficiency - including those -that many consider politically infeasible or wildly unpopular with residents. I believe the super city idea is at least worth exploring. it just might be time to redraw the lines. John Moorlach is the District 2 Orange County Supervisor. His district includes Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton, Rossmoor and Sunset Beach. He is serving his last term as a supervisor. ATTACHMENT "B" LETTER OPPOSING THE "SUPER CITY" CONCEPT April 25, 2011 Honorable Bill Campbell Orange County Supervisor Board Chairman Hall of Administration' 333 W. Santa Ana Boulevard Santa Ana, CA 92701 SUBJECT: Opposition to Proposed "Super City" Concept Dear Chairman Campbell: The Seal Beach City Council is strongly opposed to the "Super City" concept currently being proposed by Supervisor Moorlach. This country was founded on representative democracy and the fact that elected officials should be close to the electorate. In a recent opinion article published in the Sun Newspaper on April 7, 2011, Supervisor Moorlach identifies what he considers a problem - a "quilt work" of local service providers. The article asks if there are "too many cities" or if there is an "overkill' of special districts. The City of Seal Beach does not believe this is the case. While the County may have service delivery issues in Rossmoor, the City Council does not believe the answer is the merger of three separate and distinct communities — Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, and Seal Beach - into a "Super City." The concept is without merit and the Seal Beach City Council stands firmly opposed to the idea. We have a collaborative working relationship with the Board of Supervisors and in that regard, on behalf of the Seal City Council, implore the Board of Supervisors to acknowledge our vehement, opposition to the "Super City" concept. Sincerely, Michael P. Levitt, Mayor City of Seal Beach cc: Supervisor Moorlach Supervisor Nguyen Supervisor Nelson Supervisor Bates