11-13-2002 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 the passage by Congress of legislation restraining new federal mandates, should help address the 2 problem, but other steps are necessary. 3 4 Response: 5 6 • Existing unfunded mandates should be reviewed and modified or repealed where 7 possible. 8 • No additional statewide mandates should be enacted, unless full funding for the 9 mandate is provided by the level of government imposing it or a permanent stable 10 revenue source is established. 11 • Cities should not be forced to comply with unfunded mandates. 12 • Cities should be given the greatest flexibility possible in implementing mandates to 13 ensure their cost is minimized. 14 15 SD -3. City Costs for Enforcing State and Local Laws (AF) 16 17 Issue: Cities experience substantial costs enforcing state and local laws, particularly 18 those related to traffic, controlled substances, and incarceration of prisoners. The current method 19 in our criminal justice system of recovering costs for law enforcement and prosecution through 20 fines is insufficient to meet the costs incurred by local governments. 21 22 Response: The Legislature should review this issue and adopt measures that 23 provide for complete reimbursement of the costs incurred by local governments in 24 enforcing state and local laws. Solutions that should be considered include the following: 25 26 • Increasing fine amounts. 27 • Removing or modifying county and state surcharges that conflict with cost recovery 28 principles. 29 • Requiring the defendant to pay the full costs of enforcement and prosecution as part of 30 any sentence. 31 32 SD -4. Design -build (AF) 33 34 Issue: The standard bid procedure cities are required to use in selecting contractors for 35 municipal buildings can be quite costly. Private sector development uses a process known as 36 "design- build" in which various filers submit project proposals that include both a design and the 37 construction costs for that design. The selection is then based on the total package. By granting 38 specific statutory authority to use the design -build alternative to the Metropolitan Sports 39 Facilities Commission and state agencies, including the Dept. of Revenue, the Legislature has 40 recognized the financial savings it can provide. In documented instances, cities have saved 41 taxpayers up to 10 percent of the total project cost by using the design -build alternative. 42 43 The design -build process also permits improved project management and oversight. 44 However, absent statutory authorization to use this alternative, cities are vulnerable to lawsuits 45 from unsuccessful bidders. In addition, the design -build process for playground equipment can 46 encourage greater creativity while maintaining cost controls. Special legislation was enacted for 77