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Home My WebLink About1996 09 04 CC MIN SS1996 09 04 CC MIN SS@˜}MIN SS SEP 4 1996[Þ›[H638 BALDWIN PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION, CITY HALL, 14403 EAST PACIFIC AVENUE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1996 The City Council of the City of Baldwin Park met in a Study Session in Room 307 at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS LOWES, LOZANO, MUSE, AND MAYOR VARGAS ALSO PRESENT: City Attorney Bower, Dir. of Administrative Services Yeats, Acting Chief of Police Lopez, Dir. of Public Works Mousavi, Dir. of Rec/Community Services Nunez, and City Clerk Gair 00- The absence of Councilmember Martinez was excused. 00- TOPICS OF DISCUSSION Director of Administrative Services Yeats stated that SB 1590 was introduced and would have made the Guardino decision not applicable to any tax that was first imposed or increased prior to December 14, 1995, the effective date of the Guardino decision. Unfortunately, SB 1590 failed passage in the Legislature. The measure did pass the Senate, it was not taken up in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee. Assembly members Hannigan and Brown tried to propose amendments to SB 2143 that incorporate the provisions of SB 1590 into this bill. The League has informed the City that this effort has failed, and no legislative remedy will be forthcoming until the next session. On August 12,1996, Judge Ronald C. Kline granted the City of La Habra's demurrer to a suit filed against it by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association HJTA), seeking to halt collection of that City's utility users tax. The motion was granted without leave to amend the complaint, and the court dismissed the lawsuit. The city demurred to the suit, arguing that it should have been brought no later than three years after the tax was adopted. If the La Habra decision is affirmed on appeal, the decision would allow cities and counties to continue collecting taxes imposed without voter approval unless those ordinances were challenged within three years of their adoption. BIB] 37175-U01 MIN-U02 SS-U02 SEP-U02 4-U02 1996-U02 LG1-U03 LI1-U03 FO3433-U03 FO3447-U03 FO3509-U03 DO4165-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 10/11/2001-U04 ADMIN-U04 MIN-U05 SS-U05 SEP-U05 4-U05 1996-U05 BIB] 37260-U01 1996-U02 09-U02 04-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LG1-U03 LI1-U03 FO3433-U03 FO3447-U03 DO4165-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 10/11/2001-U04 ADMIN-U04 CITY-U05 COUNCIL-U05 MINUTES-U05 1996 09 04 CC MIN SS@˜}MIN SS SEP 4 1996[Þ›[H638STUDY SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL PAGE NO. 2 OF THE CITY OF BALDWIN PARK SEPTEMBER 4,1996 There is some risk in this position, in that the ruling may be reversed on appeal based on the theory that each action by a city to collect the tax creates a new opportunity to raise a PROP 62 claim. Two final points are 1) the La Habra decision is not binding on other courts in the state, although it may have persuasive value. Only a published decision of a court of appeal is a binding precedent, but even that can be overturned by the Supreme Court. Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act" sponsored by the HJTA, qualified for the November 5,1996 ballot. It that measure becomes law, it will require voter approval by November 6,1998 of taxes imposed after January 1,1995 without voter approval by any city. Therefore PROP 218 will allow voters to validate post-i 995 taxes, while the La Habra case, if upheld on appeal, would protect pre-1995 taxes which went unchallenged for three years after enactment. There are three issues to consider: 1. If the tax is placed on the ballot in November 1997, and it passes, this will serve to validate the tax, but will not resolve the issue of retroactivity. 2. If the tax is placed on the ballot in November 1997, and it fails, we lose the revenue and still would be subject to the issue of retroactivity. 3. If the City does nothing, the issue of the retroactivity and validity of the tax could be solved by the passage of PROP 218 and the decision in the case of Turner v. County of Butte. It is possible that the Court could rule Guardino solely prospective in its application. Council stated that they would like to see a breakdown of all the taxes paid by the citizens for a handout and publish in the NOW" to show where their taxes dollars actually go. Council concurred to wait patiently through this process before holding an election. Director of Public Works Mousavi stated that since the meeting of September 3rd, that staff will go back and look at Park West and redesign it and set a budget to achieve the design plans. Director of Administrative Services Yeats stated that there will be a in-line roller rink built in Irwindale that will be the largest in the Western United States. 00- The City Council recessed the Study Session at 6:40 p.m. BIB] 37175-U01 MIN-U02 SS-U02 SEP-U02 4-U02 1996-U02 LG1-U03 LI1-U03 FO3433-U03 FO3447-U03 FO3509-U03 DO4165-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 10/11/2001-U04 ADMIN-U04 MIN-U05 SS-U05 SEP-U05 4-U05 1996-U05 BIB] 37260-U01 1996-U02 09-U02 04-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LG1-U03 LI1-U03 FO3433-U03 FO3447-U03 DO4165-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 10/11/2001-U04 ADMIN-U04 CITY-U05 COUNCIL-U05 MINUTES-U05 1996 09 04 CC MIN SS@˜}MIN SS SEP 4 1996[Þ›[H638STUDY SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL PAGE NO. 3 OF THE CITY OF BALDWIN PARK SEPTEMBER 4, 1996 00- CLOSED SESSION The regular Study Session adjourned to a Closed Session to consider Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation, Name of Case: United States et al. vs. Montrose Chemical Company et al., Case Number: CV-90-3122-MH, pursuant to Government Code 54956.9. In Closed Session the City Council approved the amended consent decree Montrose Chemical). 00- The City Council reconvened at 6:50 p.m. Roll call remained the same. 00- Mayor Vargas adjourned the Study Session at 6:50 p.m. Th re were no 0 *ections. LI DA L. R, CITY CLERK BIB] 37175-U01 MIN-U02 SS-U02 SEP-U02 4-U02 1996-U02 LG1-U03 LI1-U03 FO3433-U03 FO3447-U03 FO3509-U03 DO4165-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 10/11/2001-U04 ADMIN-U04 MIN-U05 SS-U05 SEP-U05 4-U05 1996-U05 BIB] 37260-U01 1996-U02 09-U02 04-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LG1-U03 LI1-U03 FO3433-U03 FO3447-U03 DO4165-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 10/11/2001-U04 ADMIN-U04 CITY-U05 COUNCIL-U05 MINUTES-U05