July 15, 2020
Executive Director and President's Message

The League of California Cities Annual Conference & Expo is one of the most important events of the year for city officials to learn and collaborate on solutions to common challenges and an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments. With so many factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic still unknown and the health and safety of League members, staff, partners, vendors, and guests as our top priority, the Board Executive Committee has made the decision to transform the annual conference, scheduled Oct. 7-9 in Long Beach, into a virtual event.  Read more
League News
 
Cities and counties throughout California are being recognized for their creative and cost-effective projects to improve local streets, roads, and bridges. The League would like to congratulate the city winners of the 2020 Outstanding Local Streets and Roads Project Awards. Read more

Effective July 1, 2020, businesses subject to Mandatory Commercial Recycling and Organics Recycling must provide recycling and organics containers to collect waste generated by customers from products they purchase and consume on the premises. Read more

With cities throughout the state facing various stay-at-home orders, parks and recreation departments are offering a series of creative virtual camps and programs, keeping kids active, engaged, and educated over the summer.  Read more
 
All California cities have submitted their application to the Department of Finance (DOF) to receive their CARES Act allocation! The League held a webinar July 14, with Kristin Shelton, Chief of the Research and Analysis Unit from DOF, to discuss CARES Act eligible expenses and reporting requirements and give cities the opportunity to ask questions about the funding requirements. Read more
Education and Conferences 

The League is soliciting session proposals for an upcoming educational event designed for city clerks of all tenures to learn new skills and information on current issues and topics that will help in daily operations within their city. The 2020 City Clerks New Law & Elections Seminar is scheduled for Dec. 9-11 in Monterey, and continuing education credits are available.  Read more

The League launched its new Wildfire Response and Recovery Webinar Series to help city officials prepare for the upcoming wildfire season, while continuing to respond to and navigate the COVID-19 crisis. Register for the League’s third webinar on July 22 and learn about decision making and relationship building before, during, and after a wildfire to help keep your community safe.  Read more
Opportunities for Cities

A healthy and productive workforce is vital to your city’s success. Sponsored by the League Partner Program, Kaiser Permanente, Keenan, and the HEAL Cities Campaign, the Cities For Workforce Health program is designed to help cities engage their employees in a culture of health and productivity at the workplace. Cities can apply for a 2021 Cities for Workforce Health consulting grant to help improve health and safety for their employees. Apply by Aug. 14. Read more

The largest nonprofit health care delivery system in East San Gabriel Valley, Emanate Health, will undergo a variety of renovations and upgrades at various locations, including cities of Covina, West Covina, and Glendora, using tax-exempt and taxable bonds issued by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority. Read more
More News and Events

A California Court of Appeal issued an opinion last week finding no merit to a lawsuit alleging that the City of Santa Monica’s at-large elections system violated the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The opinion offers further clarity for cities on the legal standards used to assess CVRA claims, as requested by the League in its friend-of-the-court brief. Read more

Months of developing projects and partnerships have finally paid off for the cities of Ventura, San Diego, Arcata, and the Town of Mammoth Lakes. All four agencies received word that grant applications developed in partnership with the Institute for Local Government through its BOOST Pilot Program will receive funding. Read more
     
Wednesday, July 29 at 10 a.m. PST   – The U.S. Supreme Court decided fewer cases than usual in the 2019-20 term, but the rulings were substantial. Hear from attorneys who argued some of the top cases as they discuss some of the term's most relevant decisions to states and local governments.  Presenters:   Elbert Lin with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Jeffrey Harris with Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, and Adam Liptak, Supreme Court correspondent of  The New York Times .   Register now

Read how cities like Arcata, Culver City, Oceanside, Oxnard, Paramount, Pittsburg, Salinas, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Watsonville, West Hollywood, and Ventura are balancing  the essential needs of their communities with projects planned before COVID-19 to address energy, equity, and the environment. Learn about their strategies in this month’s Western City magazine.
League in the News
California Workers Hit by Pandemic Will Pay More for Health Care , July 14, Bloomberg Law (also appeared in Financial Advisor Magazine) 

“Cities in California face at least a $7 billion shortfall in revenues over the next couple of years as a result of the pandemic, with little state or federal aid to address those shortfalls,” said League of California Cities legislative representative Bijan Mehryar in an emailed statement. “Any cost increases, whether that be pension or insurance rates, will be a challenge for cities and will throw yet another obstacle in the way of their ability to deliver core services to their residents.”
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