January 26, 2022
Cal Cities News

In a victory for cities, the state’s Third District Court of Appeal recently upheld a longstanding legal principle that a city is entitled to broad interpretation of their land use plans. Cal Cities and others filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the city of Davis in this case. Read more

For the past two years, cities have had to balance conducting business in an open, transparent manner while protecting public health. In a recent ILG webinar, attorneys clarified parts of a recent law that allows cities to conduct remote meetings under modified Brown Act requirements. Read more

A new agreement on paid COVID-19 sick leave would require employers — including public agencies — with at least 26 workers to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental sick leave to recover from COVID-19. The proposal is similar to SB 95 (Skinner), which expired last fall. Read more

The League of California Cities released an updated version of its American Rescue Plan Act revenue loss calculators to reflect the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Final Rule and added information about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act resources to the Guide to Local Recovery portal. The National League of Cities is hosting two upcoming webinars to help cities’ pandemic recovery efforts, including one on American Rescue Plan Act compliance. Additionally, state leaders have reached an agreement on new COVID-19 sick leave legislation. Read more
Education and Events

The City Leaders Summit is a brand new Cal Cities event where city officials can influence policy decisions in the Capitol and gain top-notch leadership skills. This pinnacle event offers city officials exceptional opportunities to meet with legislators to advocate for cities’ top priorities, as well as participate in peer-to-peer discussions and in-depth sessions covering topics ranging from leadership to emerging issues facing cities. Cal Cities is seeking strong session proposals on leadership abilities, how to improve communities, and critical issues facing cities. Proposals must be submitted by Monday, Jan. 31. Read more

March 16-18 — Set in San Ramon, the Planning Commissioners Academy is designed for new and veteran planning commissioners and provides city officials with updates about recent legislative and regulatory changes, as well as an overview of the roles and responsibilities of a planning commissioner. This year's conference covers introductory and advanced California Environmental Quality Act procedures, tips on how to navigate SB 9 (Atkins, 2021) processes, planning commission roles and responsibilities, relationships between commission, staff, and city council, and key housing legislation. Register today

March 23-25 — The Public Works Officers Institute, located in Monterey this year, is designed for public works professionals of all career levels and provides them with the information and updates needed to more effectively run city and county public works departments. This year’s sessions cover a variety of topics, such as road safety, bridge programs, legislative updates, and leadership. Registration closes March 16.  Register today
Opportunities for Cities

The two-year program includes approximately $296 million for communities to beautify and improve local streets and roads. The California Department of Transportation has added new resources to its website, including recent webinar recordings, and has made minor updates to several documents. There is no minimum award. However, grants will not exceed $5 million, and cities must match part of the grant based on the “severity of disadvantage of the community surrounding the project." Applications submitted after Feb. 1 will not be accepted. Read more

The Fire Prevention Grants Program provides funding for fire prevention projects and activities in or near fire threatened communities. Funded activities include hazardous fuels reduction, wildfire prevention planning, and wildfire prevention education, with an emphasis on improving public health and safety while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Applicants must request a project tracking number before applying. Read more

More than $209 million in funding is available for cities to improve public health and safety through effective violence reduction initiatives that seek to reduce group-member homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. The program’s local match requirement can be met through any combination of cash and in-kind contributions, including donated office space, salary costs, and volunteer time. Additionally, the program reserves just under half of its total grants for cities. For more information, or to learn if your city is eligible, please email Public Safety Lobbyist Elisa Arcidiacono. Read more

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has announced a new one-time, initiative known as Prepare California. The state-funded program will provide outreach, technical assistance, and funds to subsidize local mitigation and resilience initiatives in socially vulnerable and high-hazard risk communities. In the announcement, Cal OES also noted that the state will help cover the local cost of eligible mitigation activities under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program as part of the initiative. Read more

According to a recent report from the National League of Cities, more than 80% of local government officials have experienced some form of harassment, abuse, or violence while in office. That same report states that 87% of public officials have observed an increase in such behavior, with many noting a dramatic increase since the beginning of the pandemic. Read more
More News and Events

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration gathered virtually last Wednesday to discuss several issues, including employer rule updates, healthcare priorities initiatives, disability retirement changes, investment strategy, and other key pension issues. The forum’s recording is available on the CalPERS YouTube channel and the forum slides are on the CalPERS website. Read more
Mar. 23-25

May 4-6

May 11-13 (Save the date!)

Sept. 7-9 (Save the date!)