10-26-1993 - Special
TI-lE ~ITY OF EDGErfiTER
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Crl'Y HJ\.NJl.GEU' S OFFICE
(904)424-2404 FAX-(904)424-U09 SUNCOM 383-2404
Mayor Jack II. Hayman
f)lstr/ct / CUllt/dlmtlt/ Kirk /l. J/III/!.\'
/)istrict 2 Councilwuman Louise A. Martin
District 3 CuuncUman Michael D. /lays
District 4 Councilman David L. Mllchum
City Manager (;,'/Jrge Eo McMlIlult/
Votinq Order Clly Allurney Krista A. Sturey
Mayor Hayman City Clerk Susan J. Wadsworth
Councilman Jones
Councilwoman Martin
Councilman Hays
Councilman Mitchum
bctober 25, 1993
To All Members of the City Council:
I hereby call a Special Meeting of the City Council
for Tuesday, October 26, 1993, at 7:00 p.m. in the
Edgewater Library to consider and possibly adopt
resolution 93-R-26, recognizing October 27, 1993, as
National Unfunded Mandates Day, and to educate the media
and citizens about constraints unfunded mandate
compliance place on local government budgets.
/
CITY CLERK
lsk
Pursuant to Chapter 286, F.S., if an individual decides
to appeal any decision made with respect to any matter
considered at a meeting or hearing, that individual will
need a record of the proceedings and will need to insure
that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made.
J
RESOLUTION NO. 93 -R-26
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF EDGEWATER,
FLORIDA, RECOGNIZING UNFUNDED MANDATES DAY IN
OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL UNFUNDED MANDATES DAY,
OCTOBER 27, 1993; ENCOURAGING ALL CITIZENS TO
RECOGNIZE THE SEVERE PROBLEMS THAT THESE
MANDATES IMPOSE ON CITIES; REPEALING
RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the number of unfunded federal mandates on cities and
counties have significantly increased during the last decade; and
WHEREAS, many federal programs, which were made available to
local governments to ease the burden of carrying out federal
mandates, have been terminated or drastically reduced; and
WHEREAS, these mandates have been added to the financial
hardships that some cities and counties are experiencing and have
resulted in the need for many local governments to increase
revenues or curtail services; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown these mandates consume one - fourth
of most city, county, and school budgets meaning that these local
dollars are used to fund state and federal priorities rather than
local priorities; and
WHEREAS, these are numerous proposals before Congress to
limit unfunded mandates and the burdensome regulations that
accompany many federal laws, and
WHEREAS, October 27, 1993, has been designated as National
Unfunded Mandates Day in order to call attention to the severe
problems that these mandates impose on cities and counties.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City
of Edgewater, Florida: 'f ► I'S' l/
Section 1. Requests that the Clinton Administration and
Congress pass meaningful legislation to end the practice of
unfunded mandates, and to include in any future mandate, provisions
requiring local government input, cost /benefit analyses, and
scientifically sound assessments of purported health, safety, or
environmental risk.
Section 2. That the City of Edgewater encourage educational
partnerships between city government and schools.
93 -R -26 1
.
Section 3. That the City of Edgewater has proclaimed October
27, 1993, as "Unfunded Mandates Day" in observance of National
Unfunded Mandates Day.
Section 4. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in
conflict herewith be and same are hereby repealed.
Section 5. This resolution shall take effect upon adoption.
After Motion by and Second by , the
vote on this resolution was as follows:
Mayor Jack H. Hayman, Sr. XXX
Councilman Kirk Jones XXX
Councilwoman Louise A. Martin XXX
Councilman Mike Hays XXX
Councilman David L. Mitchum XXX
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this day of October, 1993.
ATTEST: CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF EDGEWATER, FLORIDA
By:
Susan J. Wadsworth Jack H. Hayman, Sr.
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED FOR FORM & CORRECTNESS:
Krista A. Storey
City Attorney
•
93 -R -26 2
THE CITY OF EDGEWATER
POST OFFICE BOX 100 - EDGEWATER, FLORIDA 32132 -0100
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
(904)424 FAX SUNCOM 383 - 2404
Mayor Jack H. Hayman
District 1 Councilman Kirk E. Jones City Manager George E. McMahon
District 2 Councilwoman Louise A. Marlin October 25, 1993 City Attorney Krista A. Storey
District 3 Councilman Michael D. hays City Clerk Susan J. Wadsworth
District 4 Councilman David L. Mitchum
Letter to the Editor
The Observer
P. 0. Drawer B
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170
Dear Editor:
Have you ever wondered why the cost of providing city or county services
keeps going up? At the same time, do you hear from your local elected
officials that they are doing what they can to contain these costs? Why
the conflict?
A main culprit is sometimes called a federal unfunded mandate. A mandate
is a law, rule, regulation or requirement imposed on a "lower" level of
government by a "higher" level of government. State and local governments
have mandates imposed on them by the federal government. Local governments
often have no other choice but to pass the cost of a requirement to
citizens as a property tax increase or cut in services. When mandates are
passed on to local governments, they normally take 10 - 25 percent of the
budget away from the control of your elected city and council officials.
Of all the issues that local officials are involved in, few are more
aggravating than mandates. Mandates go to the heart of what governing is
all about -- autonomy, accountability and money.
Let me say right now that cities and counties are not against doing the
right thing. We recognize the need for policies that ensure basic and
equal protection for all citizens and have always been willing to enter
into partnerships with the federal government to implement these policies.
We all want clean air and water, well trained police and fire personnel,
and excellent schools.
However, the real issues of concern are how we go about dealing with these
problems, who should pay the cost of coping with them, and how much is too
much? Because federal officials pass the responsibility for raising taxes
to cover unfunded mandates on to local officials, they do not have to think
of the cost or reasonableness of their mandates. For example, it makes no
sense for local governments in Georgia to be mandated by the federal
government to test water to determine whether it contains harmful minerals
which are found only in western states. However unfair this example may
sound, it is really occurring - -and you're paying for it through higher
local taxes and fees which your local officials have no control over.
Letter to the Editor
Page Two
Volusia County recently adopted a resolution calling for the State of
Florida and U. S. Congress to stop the practice of passing laws and
requirements on to local governments without providing the adequate
research and cost benefit analyses about the costs of compliance.
We have also designated Wednesday, October 27, 1993, as "Unfunded Mandates
Day in the City of Edgewater" in observance of National Unfunded Mandates
Day. Thousands of cities and counties across the nation are observing this
day to call attention to this serious problem.
Relief from this problem will occur only when Congress hears from the
public. I encourage all citizens to discuss this serious problem with all
their elected officials.
Sincerely,
f;/:i - tee PD 2/cc
E. McMahon
City Manager
City of Edgewater
GEM:lsk
cc: Mayor and Council)
ICMA. the professional association
of appointed adannutrators
• serving arras. countess. regional councils.
_ and other local governments
ICMA
: t )
777 North Capitol St. NE. 0500 Or L (202) 289.4262
Washington. DC 20002-4201 y T. - -^ a Fax (202) 962 -7600
` 4393
i ) 1�,7,�? r October 7,199&
Dear ICMA Members and Interested Parties:
Thank you for your interest in combatting the impact of unfunded federal and state mandates on
local government. Enclosed you will find a sample resolution, press release, letter to the editor,
and general information for October 27,1993, National Unfunded Mandates Day. On this day,
it is hoped that hundreds of simultaneous press conferences and public forums will occur. Your
participation m this movement is crucial to sending a strong, unified message to federal and
state officials, and to educating the media and citizens about the constraints unfunded mandate
compliance places on local government budgets. This event is being sponsored by the US.
Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities (NLC), the National Association of
Counties (NACo), and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). ICMA
member participation for this event is being coordinated by ICMA's Environmental Mandates
Task Force.
Created in 1992, the Task Force was organized around the issue of environmental mandate
finance and management, and has become a catalyst for promoting changes in federal regulatory
policy. The goals of the Task Force are to provide better communication with EPA,
Congressional leaders, and other decision makers; and to build coalitions to promote federal
legislation, regulatory, and policy changes that reflect the concerns of local government.
Besides discussions with invited guests at meetings, Task Force members have also had the
opportunity to meet with the Minority Counsel of the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce to provide input on new legislation, and with EPA's Intergovernmental Partnerships
Team, which was part of Vice President Gore's National Performance Review.
With the national attention currently given to federal unfunded mandates, now is a critical
time to get involved with the Task Force. I would like to take this opportunity to personally
invite you to become a member of ICMA's Environmental Mandates Task Force.
I encourage you to join and become part of an important team determined to make sense of, and
make changes in, overwhelming regulations and legislation imposed on local government.
Attached you will find the Task Force Mission Statement and Policy Recommendations as well
as an application.
Should you have any questions about the Task Force please to do not hesitate to call Sarith
Guerra, Acting Director, Environmental Programs, at 202/962 -3649 or Anthony Crowell,
Assistant Project Manager, at 202/962 -3674.
Sincerely,
d
William H. Hansell Dan Kiernan
Executive Director President