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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.09 CA League of Cities Dues Increase (2) r �. OF DUBLIN �ITY AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 14, 1985 SUBJECT California League of Cities - Dues Increase EXHIBITS ATTACHED Memorandum dated December 17 , 1984 from William J . Carroll , President , League of CA Cities ; League of CA Cities 1984 Summary of Work Program Activities RECOMMENDATION Direct the City of Dublin League of CA Cities Delegate ( Cm. Vonheeder) to support the proposed dues increase at the Regional Meeting FINANCIAL STATEMENT: $1 ,859 annual dues which is $105 more than the 1984 dues DESCRIPTION The League of CA Cities Board of Directors has proposed an increase in the membership dues for 1985 . The amount of the dues increase is 6%. This action needs to be confirmed by the League ' s 13 Regional Divisions prior to February 17, 1985 • In 1983 , the membership approved an amendment to the League Constitution and Bylaws . The cities had expressed concern over the previous League policy of large periodic dues increases , which were usually approximately 50%. The amendment authorized - the Board of Directors by a 2/3 vote to increase dues up to 10% annually. The action of the Board of Directors must be ratified by a majority of the Divisions representing a majority of the cities rit'r.in 60 calendar days following the Board of Directors action . The League has attempted to operate its organization and maintain a 6 mon-:�h operating -reserve . During 1984 , the organization was able to operate tirith a balanced budget and was not required to utilize reserve funds. During this time period , approximately 59. 7;0 of the total revenue was derived from memberships while 27. 9% was from conferences and institutes , 4.9% from the annual exposition and 7 . 5% from investment income . The League has noted that the proposed increase will allow the organization to maintain its service program and address specific needs related to local government . Among the new areas which will be addressed will be the completion and implementation of a data processing/office automation program. The League will also initiate ,ublic information programs related to ballot measures which will address local governments finances and the League proposes to expand the part-time position in Washington, D .C . , to a full time position. These areas , along with the other services indicated in the summary attached provide important support to City Staff and elected officials . It is recommended that the City Council direct the City' s delegate to indicate Dublin' s support of the modest dues increase . ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ®®� RECEIYEQ NOME DEC 19193 .0910W League of California Cities MEMO 1400 K STREET • SACRAMENTO,CA 95814 • (916)444-5790 CITY OF DUBLIN aR ®®� Sacramento, California California cares Work T December 17, 1984 Work Together TO: Mayors, City Managers and City Clerks in Non-Manager Cities FROM: William J. Carroll, Mayor, Vacaville and President, League of California Cities r SUBJECT: League of California Cities' Financial Condition and Proposed Dues Increase The League of California Cities' Board of Directors by unanimous vote is proposing an increase in dues in the amount of six percent (6%) which represents a total net increase in revenues to the League in 1985 of approximately $74,680 or 3.5%. The action of the Board of Directors needs to be confirmed by the League's 13 regional divisions by February 17, 1985. The following memo provides a summary of the League's financial condition, its proposed dues schedule and the line item budget for calendar year 1985. Also enclosed is the Annual Report for 1984, which by all measures must be considered a tremendous success for our cities. You are urged to immediately review the enclosed materials and should you have questions regarding the proposed budget you are encouraged to contact the Executive Director Don Benninghoven in the Sacramento office of the League or members of the Board of Directors and to express your feelings regarding the dues increase to your respective League division. Background: The League of California Cities is a voluntary association of cities. I am pleased to report that the League continues to have 100% membership and that in 1984 dues represented approximately 59.7% of the total revenue while 27.9% was from con- ferences and institutes, 4.9% from the Annual Exposition and 7.5% from investment in- come. In the past, it has been the policy of the League to have large periodic dues increases, usually 50%, to offset inflation and costs of needed service programs. In 1983 when the membership agreed to the last dues increase it was the strong recommendation of city officials that the League make every effort to avoid large periodic dues increases in the future. The 1983 amendment to the League Constitution and Bylaws addressed that concern by authorizing the Board of Directors, by a two-third's vote, to increase dues up to ten percent annually. The amendment went on to provide for ratification of any dues increase by the regional divisions within 60 calendar days from the date of submittal by the Board of Directors. Ratification by a majority of divisions representing a majority of cities is required. Regional divisions not responding within 60 calendar days shall be considered to have ratified the dues increase. Current Financial Condition: League dues increase approximately 1.6% per year while expenses are increasing on an average of 10% per year. The one-time dues increase authorized in 1983 and implemented in 1984 permitted the League to once again operate with a balanced budget thus not requiring use of the reserve. In this regard it has been the policy of the League to maintain a six-month operating reserve. We are now once again in that position and will maintain a prudent reserve as is typically the practice in our cities. 11 t 1 4 I Attached is the line item budget for the League of California Cities, including the 1984 proposed budget, estimated actual expenses for the calendar year and the proposed 1985 budget. At the end of 1984, the League's financial condition is good. Less than anticipated expenses and higher interest rates, along with greater attendance at League conferences and institutes, has permitted the League to re-establish its prudent reserve and at the same time continue to move forward with a sound service program and a strong legislative advocacy program while also implementing a major data processing/office automation effort that will permit the League to enhance its legislative, membership and legal services to the membership. Proposal: The League Board of Directors, as authorized by the League's Constitution and Bylaws, is proposing a 6% dues increase, which will result in approximately $74,680 in new revenue for calendar year 1985. This dues increase represents a modest 3.5% increase in the total operating budget for the League. While city general purpose revenues are estimated to increase approximately 12.9% in 1984-85 according the the State Department of Finance, the League is able to maintain its service program and build upon that very successful program with this dues increase. In 1985, the League of California Cities in addition to carrying out the wide range of services which you see highlighted in the 1984 Annual Report will also be undertaking the following activities: -- Completion and implementation of the data processing/office automation hardware and software. The League has purchased a Hewlett-Packard 3000 with the appropriate software which will greatly enhance our word processing capabilities, list management and publications management, legislative bill service and electronic mail, library management, seminar and conference management, and research analysis and accounting. This is a significant step for the League, matched only by the very wise decision ten years ago to build a League headquarters office building in close proximity to the State Capitol. -- Public Information Campaign for the two constitutional measures sponsored by the League of California Cities and County Supervisors Association of California which guarantee cities and counties motor vehicles in lieu fees and will restore the authority to the electorate to approve general obligation bonds with a two-third's vote. Both of these measures are extremely important to cities and a well organized public information program will be initiated beginning in June of 185 that will require additional staff support and resources. -- The League office in Washington, DC, has provided an important link to both activities of concern to California Cities and our relationship with the National League of Cities. The Board of Directors is proposing to fund a full-time position in Washington, rather than in the part-time approach that has been utilitzed the past few years. These activities, coupled with the on-going programs. provided by the League, are contained within the proposed 1985 line item budget. LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES RE-VENUE exhibits 1979 - 1985 interest interest from reserves from exhibits reserves exhibits interest training exhibits training interest Interest interest exhibits interest training training training training training i i dues dues dues dues dues dues dues 1982 1983 1984 1985 1979 1_980 1981 ro osed $1,227,727 $1,427,920 $1,570,370 $1,596,718 $1,791,539 $2stimated $2, 113 ,254 $ 2,200,000 2 ,100,000 2,000,000 1,900,000 ♦® ♦ 1,800,000 . ♦O O 1;700;000 ♦s 1,600,000 1,500,000 ♦♦ BBB®� O®� 1,400,000 1,300,000 ♦♦ s 1,200,000 1,100,000 g�®aosm saaaaa a♦♦ 1,000,000 900,000 800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 - TOTAL REVENUE: DUES: EXPENSES: LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES -- SUMMARY OF DUES, REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES REVENUES Estimated Proposed 1984 Budget 1984 Actual 1985 Budget Dues $ 1,208,579 $ 1,239,568 $ 1,319,341 Conf. &Inst. Regis. 563,625 580,500 635,625 Interest 120,000 156,082 130,000 Annual Conf.Exhibits 98,000 101,330 94,500 Misc. &Cont. -0- 1,507 -0- Approp. Prior Year 35,065 _0- $86,664 TOTAL REVENUES $ 2,025,269 $ 2,078,987 $ 2,266,130 EXPENDITURES Personnel $ 902,749 $ 899,922 $ 995,314 Sacramento Lafayette Los Angeles Retire/Group Ins. 218,200 214,468 246,870 Soc.Security 59,100 57,656 63,000 Retirement 95,000 97,796 104,860 Hospital 48,900 45,415 62,060 Disability 3,650 3,545 4,200 Dental 11,550 10,056 12,750 Unemployment -0- -0- -0- Travel & Expense 105,000 85,330 88,500 Sacramento 68,072 Lafayette 600 Los Angeles 8,275 Washington 8,383 Rent 12,500 11,275 19,700 Los Angeles 13,200 Washington 6,500 Postage &Express 46,750 38,172 52,800 Sacramento 36,341 Lafayette 289 Los Angeles 1,542 Mailing Service 1,250 1,750 2,000 Telephone Exp. 51,590 46,881 54,000 Sacramento 39,196 Lafayette 1,588 Los Angeles 6,097 Office Supplies& Exp. 55,000 49,250 53,050 Sacramento 44,773 Lafayette 322 Los Angeles 4,155 Equip. Maint. Agrmt. 24,550 Board :Meeting Exp. 52,450 52,450 60,325 Dues& Memberships 59,830 57,607 61,030 a. NLC 49,320 49,140 b. Other 10,510 11,890 Taxes &Insurance 15,850 16,600 21,900 Annual Conf. &Inst. 210,905 245,402 249,430 Legislative Advocacy 40,000 18,375 20,000 Library 10,500 10,258 11,500 Special Services 38,500 29,475 46,500 a. Reg. Division 3,000 1,800 3,000 b. Research &Infor. 3,000 500 3,000 c. Comm.Expense 20,000 17,500 28,000 d. Other Services 12,500 9,675 12,500 Capital Improvements 73,195 88,754 60,800 Special Projects 68,000 57,252 75,000 a. Staff Devel. 15,000 7,000 20,000 b. Interns/Consul. 20,000 17,500 35,000 c. Salary Surveys 5,000 5,000 5,000 d. Range Riders 3,000 3,000 5,000 e. Data Automation 25,000 24,752 10,000 Annual Conf. Exhibits 55,000 61,402 55,000 Miscellaneous & Cont. 8,000 7.700 671561 TOTAL EXPENDITURES $ 2,025,269 $ 1,992,323 $ 2,266,130 F Y' SUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIE By Laws adopted October 1983 by the Annual Conference general assem- bly two thirds (2/3) vote required. ARTICLE IX DUES Section 1 . Dues . The Annual Dues for Member '.Cities , and the annual service charge for Registered Cities of the League , on and after January 1 , 1984 shall e as follows : For Cities having a population of : 1984 Proposed 1985 1 - 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 21 . 00 22 . 00 501 - 600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 . 00 56 .00 601 700 . . . . . . . . . . 105.00 111. 00 701 - 800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116.00 123. 00 801 - 900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 . 00 145 . 00 901 - 1,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168. 00 178. 00 1 , 0.01 - 1 , 250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263. 00 279 .00 1 , 251 - 1 , 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • 326 . 00 346. 00 1, 501 - 1 , 750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 . 00 412 . 00 1 , 751 . - 2 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462. 00 490.00 2 , 001 - 2 , 250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494. 00 524. 00 2 , 251 . - 2 , 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546 .00 579.00 2 , 501 - 2 , 750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578. 00 613 . 00 2 , 751 - 3 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630 .00 668. 00 3 , 001 - 4 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704 . 00 746. 00 4 , 001 - 5 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840.00 890.00 5 , 001 - 7 , 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 092 . 00 1 ,158. 00 7 , 501- 10 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 260. 00 1 ,336. 00 10 , 001 - 15 , 000 1, 523. 00 1 ,614 . 00 15 , 001 - 20 , 000 1, 754. 00 1 ,859. 00 20 , 001 - 25 , 000 2 , 195. 00 2 , 327 .00 25 , 001 - 30, 000 2 ,636 . 00 2 , 794. 00 30 , 001 - 40 , 000 3 , 245 . 00 3 ,440. 00 40 , 001 - 50 , 000 3 , 948 . 00 4, 185 . 00 50 , 001 - 60, 000 4 , 547 . 00 4 , 820.00 60 , 001 - 70, 000 4 ,998. 00 5 , 298.00 70 ,001 - 80, 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 250.00 5 , 565 .00 80, 001 - 90 , 000 5 , 597 .00 5 , 933.00 90 , 001 - 100 , 000 6 ,123 .00 6 , 500.00 100 , 001 - 125 ,000 6 ,993 .00 7 ,413 . 00 125 , 001 - 150 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 , 697 .00 8 ,159.00 150 ,001 - 200 , 000 8,747 . 00 9 ,272. 00 200 , 001 - 500 , 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 . 00* 465 . 00* over 500 ,000 406 . 00* 430. 00* *per each 10 ,000 population In no event shall the annual dues or service charges for any city exceed a total amount of $50 , 000 , and no city ' s dues will increase more than $5 , 000 per year. For the purpose of this section , the population of each city shall be the population determined by the State Controller in making the most recent allocation of subventions to cities . Section 2 . Incre_ :! in Dues . As may be warranted the Board of Directors by a two-thirds ' (2/3) vote may increase the dues schedule after notice and justification to the cities , as provided in Section 1 up to ten percent (10%) annually. Section 3 . Ratification by Regional Divisions . Any dues increase passed by the Board of Directors as provided for in Section 2 above shall be submitted to the regional divisions for ratification. Ratification by a majority of the regional divisions representing a majority of the member cities constitutes approval of the dues increase . Regional divisions must respond to the submittal of the dues increase within 60 calendar days from the date of submittal by the Board of Directors . Regional divisions not responding within 60 calendar days shall be considered as having ratified the dues increase . ®®®® League of California Cities M®®® 1400 K STREET • SACRAMENTO,CA 95814 • (916)444-5790 ®®MIL California Cities Work Together r' Sacramento, California December 17, 1984 TO: Mayors, City Managers and City Clerks in Non-Manager Cities FROM: Don Benninghoven, Executive Director 1984: THE YEAR IN REVIEW A Summary of Work Program Activities of the League of California Cities A number of significant developments for California cities took place in 1984. Among them were the repeal of the AB 8 Deflator, returning traditional sources of revenue to cities and counties . . . legis- lative approval of a Constitutional Initiative to appear on the June 1986 ballot to permanently guarantee the VLF will go to local government . . . the defeat of binding arbitration and other labor- related bills damaging to local government . . . Legislative approval of another June 1986 ballot initiative which would reinstate local government authority to issue general obligation bonds . . . and, to the relief of city officials throughout the state, the defeat of Proposition 36 in the November election. While these are important, public and memorable accomplishments, they provide only a glimpse of the efforts of League members and their association to promote effective government this year. What follows is a summary of the highlights and many of the more mundane, but equally significant, accomplishments of the League and its members in 1984. 1 . WORK PROGRAM ACTIVITY: POLICY DEVELOPMENT A major function of the League is to provide a structure to enable city officials to identify the needs of cities and develop legislative and administrative action plans to fill those needs. In 1984, the League's eight standing policy committees -- representing some 500 city officials -- met on a total of 37 occasions to study the issues , make recommendations for action by the Board of Directors and provide direction to the League' s legislative staff. Among the major accomplishments of the year was the development of the League's Infrastructure Policy Statement, calling for passage of legislation recognizing the pent-up need for billions of dollars in new and re-constructed infrastructure in cities statewide. . Three of the League's standing committees cooperated in identifying six areas where action was needed: stability in local government finance; the reinstatement of local government authority to issue general obligation bonds ; state funding increases; greater flexibility in existing state infrastructure programs ; the creation of new local and state credit pooling options ; and the creation of new state infrastructure bond programs to address needs not currently being met. In all, the policy committees recommended Board positions on hundreds of legislative measures and statewide propositions on the June and November ballots and analyzed and recommended League positions on 50 resolutions presented at the 1984 Annual Conference. Implementing 51 Annual Conference Resolutions passed at the 1983 Annual Conference was another important task of the League organization this year. Seven resulted in passage of new legislation, seven were adopted by the National League of Cities, and 17 others were fully implemented through other means. The committees also provided guidance to the League's leadership in pursuing cooperative agreements with private sector organizations. This year that function included making recommendations which set the stage for discussion with representatives of the state's utilities re: guidelines for undergrounding conversion. WORK PROGRAM ACTIVITY: LEGISLATIVE AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS The 1984 legislative session was an extraordinary session for local government. Not only was it unusually active, but it also was perhaps the most successful in recent memory. Unquestionably it was the "year of local government finance." The League legislative staff read, analyzed and followed more than 1 ,000 bills during 1984; supported, amended and actively lobbied approximately 200, and vigorously opposed some 200 bills detrimental to cities. 2. 1 In the League's top priority area -- long-term local government finance -- virtually all League objectives for fiscal stability were achieved. We secured repeal of the AB 8 Deflator, reinstating the Motor Vehicle License Fee as a local government revenue source. And we obtained the necessary two-thirds vote of the legislature to approve two constitutional amendments which will appear on the June 1986 ballot: a constitutional guarantee that the VLF will go to local government and reinstatement of local government authority to issue general obligation bonds. In other priority areas the League was nearly as successful . On a priority list of 26 bills , the Legislature adopted 14 of the League's 17 sponsored or supported bills. Moreover, all five of the bills the League considered the most damaging to cities were defeated. However, two major .problems were not resolved: the reform of California's joint and several liability rule and the imposition of a gas tax increase for city and county .street and road maintenance and construction. These objectives will lead the. list in 1985. During the course of the year, the legislative staff negotiated with state agency staff members on issues of concern to city officials, prepared and distributed 35 Legislative Bulletins .and other special bulletins; provided an orientation to the legislative process to 16 legislative interns from cities around the state; and monitored and, to a limited extent, influenced federal legislative and administrative agencies. Special legislative events for the year included a one-day "March on the Capitol " attended by 260 city officials; a Mayors and Council Members Legislative Conference for approximately 250 elected city leaders ; two Legislative Implementation Briefings, attended by a total of 362 people; and a Municipal Assistants Legis- lative Briefing. WORK PROGRAM: LEGAL SERVICES An important function of the League's Legal Services section is providing staff support to the Legal Advocacy Committee, the statewide group of city attorneys who review and evaluate court cases concerning issues of major importance to cities. This year the LAC considered approximately 130 cases and evaluated them for possible Board action. In 17 of those cases, the Board approved inviting consenting cities to prepare friend of the court briefs to provide the courts with an additional municipal legal perspective. One example of the significant work of this committee is the case of Springs Ambulance Service v. City of Rancho Mirage et al , which challenged the authority of cities to grant franchises. Recog- nizing the case would affect the outcome of almost all municipal antitrust actions now pending in California, the committee recommended and the Board agreed to ask cities to join in an amicus brief in support of the City of Rancho Mirage when the case was appealed 3. in federal court. The case has since been resolved in favor of the city. On a day-to-day basis , the League's legal staff responds to approximately 50 inquiries a week, primarily from the state's nearly 300 part-time city attorneys. Questions range from simple requests for statements of law to complex analyses of how laws may apply in a specific case. Recent examples have included whether the Brown Act's requirement for open meetings prohibits the use of secret ballots by the council when electing a mayor, whether a city which awards bonuses for exceptional service by department heads must divulge the actual payments to individuals or merely the total pool of bonuses awarded, and whether Martin Luther King's birthday is a holiday for city workers and, if not, what documents exist to support that con- tention. The League's legal staff also provided support for the City Attorney Department and its special ad hoc committees and develops continuing education opportunities for city attorneys. This year nearly 450 attended the City Attorneys Department Spring Meeting and two continuing education seminars. Publications include quarterly Legal Advocacy Committee Reports on significant pending cases, approximately 70 summaries of cases of broad interest to city officials for Western City magazine, and newsletters to keep city attorneys informed of current legal develop- ments, cases , and opinions of the Attorney General , the Fair Political Practices Commission and city attorneys. MEMBERSHIP SERVICES What are other cities doing to regulate smoking . . . how does a city make the change from a general law to a charter city . . . what are the relative merits of electing or appointing a city treasurer. . . . what's the best way to evaluate a city manager's performance. . . what are the pros and cons of directly electing the mayor. . . Responding to these and other inquiries at a rate of more than 130 a week is one important membership service the League provides to encourage the development and exchange of information and ideas to promote effective city operations. Other ways the organization met that goal in 1984 include staffing more than 250 division and area manager meetings, coordinating the activities of ten functional departments, maintaining an extensive municipal library, periodically preparing and distributing 16 specialized newsletters and 'bulletins , and conducting 39 conferences ,institutes and seminars attended by more than 8000 city officials. The League also staffed an Employee Relations Service, which published 12 newsletters , conducted five training programs and responded to 10 to 20 inquiries per week. The staff also updated the computerized Total Compensation Information Service -- often referred 4. to as the "salary survey" -- involving 44 positions in 434 cities and counties. A major membership service completed in 1984 was a study which led to the formation of the now separate and independent California Cities Financing Corporation, an entity designed to facilitate credit pooling and provide an additional financing option to California cities. Other services included coordinating Public Service Skills i and the Range Rider program; staffing of a Small Cities Committee and conducting workshops on concerns of small communities; and continued development of support for local government cirricula in K through 12. classes. The League also researched and prepared. a number of new or revised publications, including Alternative Service Delivery Options; Handbook for New Council Members; Local Energy Strategies: A Second Look; and the Planning Commissioner's Handbook. The latter so filled a heed to California's cities that the first edition of 1500 sold out within two months, and the publication already is in its second printing. The League's monthly magazine Western City published 55 feature articles and expanded by 40 pages in 1984, while advertising revenues kept the magazine in the black for the second straight year. WORK PROGRAM ACTIVITY: ORGANIZATION An essential part of the League's operation is the activity labeled simply as "organization," the framework and support services, necessary to carrying out the objectives of the organization. This includes overall direction of the League staff, office management, accounting and financial management, and support for the Board of Directors. For the most part, the success of this portion of the League is best illustrated by the results of the other work program activities for the year: the highly successful legislative program of 1984, the busy and informative membership services agenda, the comprehensive legal services program, and the high quality of recommendations and the depth of involvement by the membership in policy development. However, two major activities which fall under this category merit special attention this year: the development and implementation of a public information program on Proposition 36 and the evaluation and purchase of data processing/office automation system for the League headquarters. 5. Public Information Campaign on Proposition 36 Early in 1984, even before Proposition 36 qualified for the November ballot, the League's leadership recognized the significant, detrimental impact the measure would have on city services and began building the groundwork for an extensive program to inform the public. The first step was to gain the support of business and industry, the financial community, taxpayers and public interest groups concerned about the quality of local government in California. The next step was to develop an extensive grassroots network of city and county officials, private sector representatives and interested citizens to identify the specific impact of the proposition and communicate that story to the media and to their neighbors. These two coalitions formed the basis of an extensive public education effort which included editorial board meetings, addresses before community groups , and general buttonholing of the media to engage their resources in a thoughtful analysis of the impact of the measure in the early months before the election. At this point, much of the League's effort was devoted to behind-the-scenes activities aimed at gaining private support for the city perspective and informing local officials about the Proposition through a series of special bulletins and during regularly scheduled meetings. But the League's public education efforts became more visible in .the last few weeks before the election, when a series of well-attended news conferences were initiated throughout the state, a videotaped debate on the proposition was distributed and cablecast on more than 65 cable television stations, the League staff responded to media inquiries on the proposition at a rate of more than 55 inquiries a week, and a number of other efforts were undertaken. It's very difficult to measure how important this effort was to public perception of Proposition 36, but the successful outcome of the election tends to confirm the validity of a measured rational approach to public education on issues vital to cities. Data Processing/Office Automation Much of what the League does, whether it is legislative advocacy or membership services, depends heavily upon word processing, list management, legislative bill tracking, registration management and research analysis. With the exception of an outside service bureau that now processes our mailing labels, the above activities have been accomplished manually. In 1983 the Board of Directors authorized Price Waterhouse to conduct a feasibility study to ascertain the benefits and cost for word processing and office automation. During 1984, and with the continued assistance of Price Waterhouse, the League has undertaken 6. a comprehensive requirements definition and selection process leading to the purchase in late September of a Hewlett-Packard 3000, auxiliary equipment and software. This major investment will have a significant impact on the. . League of California Cities and its members in 1985 and well into the future. Integrated word processing and list management not only will permit the League to process written communications more efficiently but provide the capability to direct correspondence in a much more effective way. For instance, the automated system will enable the League to target mailing to mayors or to the media of cities within the districts of legislators considering legislation important to cities. Also, the League headquarters has subscribed to a new, automated legislative bill tracking system which not only will aid League staff efforts but also permit cities choosing to hook up to the system to track bills and receive electronic mail messages , including the League's Legislative Bulletin and other important information. These two potentially effective developments present almost limitless opportunities to help the League organization better serve its membership. PLANS FOR 1985 During the coming year, the League organization expects to continue and fine-tune the work program activities reported above and add the following new efforts: - - Complete the installation of the data processing/office automation equipment started in 1984, train staff members in its use and get the system into operation. Complete implementation of the electronic bill tracking service. - - Consider developing a computerized municipal legal research database. - - Use law school interns to index city attorney opinions and for other special projects. - - Develop a series of middle-management training programs. Investigate alternative telecommunication opportunities for cities , including the use of electronic mail . - - Publish three new or updated reports : A Guide to Newly Incorporated Cities ; Unemployment Insurance Manual for Local Government; Internships in Municipal Government. 7. - - Evaluate the content, format, timing and utility of the Total Compensation Information Service. - - Develop a public information program on two constitutional amendments to appear on the June 1986 ballot: to guarantee the Vehicle License Fee will be solely for cities and counties and to reinstate local government' s authority to issue general obligation bonds. 8.