CITY ATTORNEY ORIENTATION: League and Department Resources

Transcription

1 CITY ATTORNEY ORIENTATION: League and Department Resources League of California Cities City Attorneys Department Spring Conference Silverado Resort, Napa, CA May 7, 2003 by Valerie J. Armento, Esq. President, City Attorneys Department City Attorney, Sunnyvale 1

2 CITY ATTORNEY ORIENTATION: League and Department Resources 1. What is the League of California Cities and How is it Relevant to City Attorneys? The League of California Cities is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation. The League was founded in 1898 by a handful of public officials. Membership in the League is by cities; city officials are members of the League by virtue of their city's membership. The League's activities are funded by the annual dues each city pays, as well as revenues the League receives from publications and training programs. The League's activities and policy positions are set by a board of directors comprised of city officials. The board receives input from a variety of sources. League policy is implemented by the League staff which is headquartered in Sacramento. The League's ongoing service program includes legislative advocacy, legal advocacy, training programs, newsletters, a monthly magazine aptly titled Western City and a library. The League s legislative and policy report, Priority Focus, is released weekly throughout the legislative session, and on an as-needed basis between legislative sessions or interim breaks. It is available as an online delivery as well as in hard copy. At the end of the year, League legislative staff indexes and summarizes all city-related legislation chaptered during the year in its wrap-up bulletin. League-sponsored departments manage information sharing and conduct educational programs that update professionals on issues, enhance their leadership skills and allow for cross training. There are eleven functional departments of the League, representing each of the major areas of service within city government: 1) city attorneys, 2) city clerks, 3) city managers, 4) fire chiefs, 5) fiscal officers, 6) mayors and council members, 7) planning and community development directors, 8) police chiefs, 9) public works officers, 10) recreation, parks and community services managers, and 11) personnel officers. The League holds an annual conference in the fall of each year, alternating between northern and southern California and maintains a website A great way to learn more about the League in general is to peruse its website. Some website materials are open to all; some may only be accessed by registered city officials. You are encouraged to register to reap the full benefits of the site. 2. What is the City Attorneys Department? City attorneys, regardless of title, are members of the League s City Attorneys Department by virtue of their city s membership in the League. "Membership" in a general sense, is automatic but "membership" in a genuine sense is what you make of it. You are encouraged to be more than a member in name only; you are encouraged to become actively involved in what many view as the most diverse and knowledgeable assembly of municipal lawyers in the state. The Department is first and foremost composed of people, who offer each other professional, technical and personal support in the practice of municipal law. 2

3 The City Attorneys Department annually elects a president, first vice president and second vice president from among its ranks, who must be "the" City Attorney, whether in-house or contract, of a member city. Typically, a department officer "moves up" the offices, from second vice president to first vice president to president. To make sure the officers represent geographically diverse areas, the position of second vice president traditionally alternates between the northern and southern parts of the state. After having served as president, a city attorney is eligible to represent the department on the League's board of directors. The director is elected for a two-year term, in every odd year. The directorship also alternates between the north and south. The department officers and director, with the assistance of dedicated League staff, advise the League on the needs of city attorneys. They plan and preside over League city attorney conferences and programs. The department officers will also, from time to time, determine that a given issue merits the collective attention of city attorneys and create a committee to study and develop resources on the issue in question. The department president appoints the membership and leadership for many of these committees; the department president is also frequently asked to appoint city attorneys department representatives to League-wide committees. In 1991, the city attorneys department adopted bylaws to formalize and memorialize its traditions. The bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of those present at one of the two yearly meetings, as needed. 3. What is the Department's Continuing Education Program? The city attorneys department meets as a group twice each year. The department meets once in the spring (usually the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the first week in May) at a location selected by the department officers. The department meets again in the fall at the League's annual conference, which is usually held in September or October. At these meetings, city attorneys hear from their colleagues about recent developments in municipal law. Department officers report on the activities of the department; various department committees also meet during these conferences. In addition to the multi-day programs, the department has traditionally sponsored a continuing education program each year. The department selects an area of municipal law and spends an entire day on it. The seminars tend to cover both "nuts and bolts" and emerging issues. Most recently the seminars alternate between the northern and southern parts of the state and typically are held in February. The League is an approved provider by the State Bar of California for minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) courses. Attendance at any of the continuing education programs counts toward the continuing education requirements. Efforts are made to cover the "hard to get" requirements, such as ethics and elimination of bias, as well as more common substantive matters League city attorneys' programs are also either audio or video tape-recorded by a professional recording firm. Listening to or viewing tapes of League programs counts as "self-study" credit for mandatory continuing legal education. Tape/CD order forms are available at the conferences. 3

4 4. What materials does the Department make available? The Department has its own pages within the League of California Cities website, Of particular note is the Munilaw Research Center page, which includes links to all the League online resources of interest to city attorneys. These include the city attorney conference papers (back to 1997) and opinions, an ordinance file, litigation updates, the League library and inquiry service and hot topics. In addition, it includes online copies of publications such as Open and Public III: A User's Guide to the Brown Act (a detailed analysis and practical guide to the Act) and The California Municipal Law Handbook (a single volume treatise on municipal law topics). Further, the page contains links to various research services (such as municipal codes online), links to free legal research sites, state and federal courts and a variety of legislative and government links. If there is only one website you "bookmark," the Munilaw Research Center should be it. The League's database of city attorneys opinions, ordinances and papers depends on you, the city attorney, to send the League city attorneys opinions, ordinances and research memoranda. Please make an effort to remember your colleagues whenever you prepare any materials which might be useful to others and send any such documents to the League's Legal Department. Electronic transmission is preferred but hard copies are acceptable and certainly better than nothing at all. The League publishes a city attorneys newsletter or briefing packet three times a year in both hardcopy and online. The newsletter contains information about legal developments of interest to city attorneys, upcoming League meetings and seminars, and city attorney activities. Each edition of the newsletter features a message from the city attorneys department president and director as well as other timely items of interest. The city attorneys department encourages city attorneys to communicate with each other. To facilitate this, the League publishes a statewide roster of city attorneys online, by both city and attorney's last name, which can be accessed through the city attorney page on the League website. All department officers and their contact information may be found on the website, as well as the composition of the major department committees. The department also has a city attorney electronic mail group that enables attorneys to post questions on matters being grappled with to seek input from colleagues. Californiacityattorneys@yahoo.com. Contact Ariel Pierre Calonne, City Attorney, Palo Alto at acalonne@munilaw.com. 5. What are the Department's Main Committees? The department has several standing committees formed to address specific issues of interest to cities and their city attorneys. Membership on these committees is by department president appointment; however, the department president is always interested in knowing about people who wish to serve on appointed committees. Legal Advocacy Committee At the request of the city attorneys department, the Board of Directors of the League of California Cities approved the institution of the legal advocacy program in The program is designed to assist cities in taking a coordinated approach to litigation of major municipal significance. This legal advocacy program serves as the principal vehicle through which amicus curiae appearances occur. 4

5 The legal advocacy program is administered by a Legal Advocacy Committee composed of twenty city attorneys from throughout the state. The city attorneys department president appoints one member from each of the sixteen regional divisions of the League to serve staggered two year terms. In addition, the city attorney, or his or her designated assistant or deputy, of the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego serve as permanent members of the committee. Finally, the officers of the city attorneys department of the League sit as ex-officio members. The goal of the program is to advocate in support of such principles as local control, protecttion of local funds, and judicial deference to policy determinations of governing bodies. The Legal Advocacy Committee's duty is to evaluate cases submitted to it to determine the existence of issues of major significance to cities. The criteria for determining "major significance" are: The effect the case outcome could have on existing statutory or case law, and Whether the issue would have a statewide significance and is one in which all cities have a common interest in the same outcome, or Whether the issue would have a significant impact on a significant number of cities which have a common interest in the same outcome and would not have a foreseeable adverse impact on other cities. Vital to the effectiveness of the program is the information collection function performed not only by each committee member but also by every city attorney in the state. Each committee member is responsible for monitoring litigation arising within his or her division and bringing to the committee cases of significance to cities statewide. To assist in this process, each city attorney should regularly report to his or her committee representative information about cases pending by or against his or her city or other public agencies within their knowledge. The Legal Advocacy Committee has met regularly four times a year and at special meetings called by the committee chairperson or city attorneys department president. To obviate the problems created by the time schedules of the appellate courts, an executive committee of seven members may act between meetings of the full committee. The full committee or the executive committee's recommendations are then considered by the League's Board of Directors. The Board's actions are then published in Priority Focus. Municipal Law Handbook Committee. In 1993 the League and the city attorneys department published the first-ever comprehensive overview of California municipal law called The California Municipal Law Handbook. This tome has become a "must have" for the municipal law practitioner, since it was designed to be a "source of first resort" for city attorneys on municipal law questions. The book has been updated annually since 1994, and during 2003 is being substantially revised and expanded so that a completely new edition is anticipated to be published in The handbook and the update process are overseen by a committee of city attorneys. 5

6 Fair Political Practices Committee In order to keep abreast of developments pertaining to the Political Reform Act of 1974 and to foster working relationship with the Fair Political Practices Commission, the Department has a Fair Political Practices Committee. This committee has been instrumental in collaborating with the FPPC on revisions to various guidelines issued by the FPPC, and at times, representatives from the FPPC have made presentations at Department continuing education programs. The recently appointed FPPC head, Liane Randolph, is a former city attorney who served on this committee. City Attorneys Legislative Committee The Legislative Committee is also one of the Department's standing committees. The Committee is comprised of nine members, eight of whom are the Department's representatives to the various League Policy Committees, which advise the League board of directors on policy matters relating to legislation. The ninth member is the chair, appointed by the Department President. The purposes of this committee are: (1) to assist the League legislative staff in evaluating and analyzing the effect of legislative proposals on cities; (2) to draft, and assist the League in lobbying, legislation affecting cities; and (3) to provide assistance to the department officers, League staff, and League policy committees on legislation affecting cities. 6. What are some of the Department's Key Affiliates? Local City Attorney Associations Local city attorney associations provide a valuable forum in which city attorneys can share ideas and hear presentations on topics of interest. These groups are also a good way to get to know the municipal practitioners in your area. A number of associations are State Bar approved MCLE providers. A listing of the local associations is included on the website, and many maintain their own local directories with more detailed information. Municipal Law Institute Since 1997 a small group of city attorneys has functioned as the Municipal Law Institute and worked with the Public Law Research Institute at Hastings College of Law to present an annual conference on cutting edge issues in local government law for city attorneys, county counsels and other public lawyers. The primary mission of the MLI is to integrate the study of municipal law with the practice of municipal law in order encourage and train students to work in the municipal law profession; to promote through research and scholarly exchange an analysis of municipal law issues; and to provide training and professional development for lawyers in the public sector. It is anticipated that the MLI will become a standing committee of the Department in the near future 6

7 Institute for Local Self Government The Institute for Local Self Government is the nonprofit, nonpartisan research arm of the League. Local officials created the Institute in 1955 with support from the Ford Foundation. The goal of the Institute then and now is to focus attention and resources on the problems and issues that California s local leaders deal with every day. The Institute s mission is to serve as a source of independent research and information that supports and improves the development of public policy on behalf of California communities and cities. Among the products of the ILSG that are especially useful to city attorneys are the following publications: The California Inclusionary Housing Reader The Basics of Taking Law Development Agreement Manual Takings Law Explained A Local Official's Guide to Conflict Laws The Institute for Local Self Government's website is 7