REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
July 30, 2015
FROM: BRUCE RUDD, City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a Transition Agreement between the City of Fresno and the Fresno County Fire District.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the material terms of a Transition Agreement between the City of Fresno and the Fresno County Fire District and direct the City Manager to finalize and execute a Transition Agreement, subject to approval by the City Attorney.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As a condition of annexation the Fresno Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) requires a Transition Agreement between a city and the Fresno County Fire District. The Transition Agreement between the City of Fresno and the District expired on December 30, 2012. The previous agreement resulted in a lawsuit being filed by the District against the City as well as a challenge by a local developer over the calculation and/or the collection of the fee. The proposed Transition Agreement has effectively addressed these, as well as other concerns, related to the previous agreement.
BACKGROUND
The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) has taken the position that they will not approve any annexations unless there is a Transition Agreement in place between a city and the Fresno County Fire District. As a result of LAFCo's position the other affected cities, except for Fresno, have entered into subsequent Transition Agreements with the District. These agreements all contain a "me too" clause, which means that a city has the ability to amend their existing Transition Agreement if there are subsequent changes negotiated by another city.
As was the case with the other cities, Fresno's Transition Agreement expired more than two years ago. The previous agreement, which was originally executed on November 20, 2003, was problematic and resulted in a lawsuit being filed by the District against the City regarding the calculation of the "transition fee" as well as a challenge by a...
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