Initiative Text

To the City Council of the City of Petaluma: We the undersigned, registered, qualified voters of Petaluma, California, hereby propose amendments to the City Charter of the City of Petaluma and designate a specific portion of City revenues towards the maintenance and repair of City streets, and petition the City Council to submit the same to the voters of Petaluma for their adoption or rejection at the next succeeding municipal election or at any special election held prior to the municipal election or otherwise provided by law. The proposed amendments read as follows:

THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

Section I. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

A. The City of Petaluma Needs Better Streets. The City of Petaluma is responsible for maintaining more than 160 linear miles of City streets. However, years of neglect have left City streets in need of significant maintenance and repair. Presently, the Petaluma City Charter and Municipal Code do not provide for specific funding for City street maintenance and repair. The voters hereby declare that an amendment to the Charter of the City of Petaluma is appropriate to create minimum funding requirements to maintain or repair City streets.

B. This Initiative Will Contribute to the Overall Welfare of the City. This initiative furthers the City’s economic development goals. Streets in disrepair slow traffic, endanger public safety, cause damage to vehicles and generally impede commerce. Providing better streets for our City will work to relieve traffic congestion and make traversing our City via automobile, motorcycle and bicycle safer and more efficient.

C. No New Taxes. This Initiative does not raise or impose any new or additional taxes on residents of the City; rather it directs City leaders to dedicate an existing portion of revenues towards street maintenance and repair.

D. The City Needs the Project Immediately. Streets in disrepair become worse at an ever-increasing rate. Without immediate repairs, the conditions of our City streets will rapidly deteriorate until they are un-drivable and require costly reconstruction. Repair costs escalate by lack of maintenance and hamper the City’s ability to fund other projects.

E. Voter Approval Required. The project requires approval of the voters of the City and cannot be changed except by the voters of the City.

Section II. AMENDMENT OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA.

Upon the effective date of this Initiative, Section 60.5 of Article IX of the Charter of the City of Petaluma, is added to read as follows:

Section 60.5. City Street Maintenance and Repair Program

A. Definitions.

Unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context so requires, terms used in this Section are defined as follows:

1. “Maintenance” means the upkeep and preservation of the condition of streets, including the cost of ordinary repairs that are necessary and proper from time to time for that purpose. “Maintenance” shall not include the costs associated with any City employee’s administration of maintenance projects but shall include costs for materials, labor, and field supervision directly related to a maintenance project authorized under this Section.

2. “Prior Year’s Budget” means the amount of all revenues collected for the previous fiscal year from the General Fund revenue sources as described in the Fiscal Year 2004 Adopted Budget, City of Petaluma, California General Fund Budget Summary.  This amount includes, but is not limited to, revenue from Taxes, Licenses, Permits and Fees, Intergovernmental funds, Charges for Services, and Funds Transfers In.  In the Fiscal Year 2004 Adopted Budget, the General Fund revenue amount was $33,311,950.

3. “Repair” means to mend, remedy, restore, and/or renovate the condition of existing streets, which have become imperfect, to the condition in which they originally existed, or as near as may be. “Repair” shall not include the costs associated with any City employee’s administration of repair projects but shall include costs for materials, labor, and field supervision directly related to a repair project authorized under this Section.

4. “Street” means any public drive or thoroughfare including roads or public ways within the incorporated area of the City of Petaluma. “Street” does not include commercial or residential service entrances or private driveways leading from the street onto premises adjoining the public street area. “Street” also does not include sidewalks, dedicated and separate bicycle paths, fire hydrants, streetlights, traffic signal lights, street signage, lane, roadway and crosswalk markers and striping, guardrails, the construction of new streets or repairs in relation to utility services such as telephone, television signal distribution or electrical lines, water, sewer or other similar utilities.

B. Allotment of Municipal Funds – Street Maintenance and Repair.

1. Commencing in the first fiscal year following enactment of this amendment, the City shall dedicate for street maintenance and/or repair projects an annual amount not less than ten percent of the Prior Year’s Budget from revenue collected by the City pursuant to the Petaluma City Charter. Funds dedicated pursuant to this Section shall be used only for street improvement and/or repair projects, as defined, during the next upcoming fiscal year.

2. Except as provided in subdivision D, in each successive fiscal year following enactment of this amendment, the amount required by subdivision B-1, shall increase by one percent per fiscal year. In no event shall the amount of revenue dedicated pursuant to this Section exceed twenty percent of the Prior Year’s Budget.

C. Funds Remaining at Close of Fiscal Year – Rollover of Funds.

Dedicated funds that remain unallocated at the close of the fiscal year for which they were dedicated shall be allocated and spent for use on specific street maintenance and/or repair projects within six months following the close of the fiscal year for which they were dedicated.

D. Reduction in Percent of Allocable Funds – Street Condition Ratings.

If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Pavement Management Program (PMP) (or equivalent rating should another rating be used in place of the MTC PMP’s current system) determines that the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of all streets in the City of Petaluma is rated at not less than seventy-five, the minimum permissible amount of revenues dedicated pursuant to this Section shall remain at its current dedicated level for one additional fiscal year. Following the end of the next upcoming fiscal year, the minimum permissible amount of revenues dedicated pursuant to this Section may be reduced at a rate of one percent per fiscal year. The minimum permissible amount of annual revenues dedicated pursuant to this Section may subsequently be reduced by an additional one percent per fiscal year for every fiscal year thereafter should the PCI of all streets in the City of Petaluma continue to receive an index of seventy-five or higher under the MTC PMP, or equivalent rating.

Following any reduction in funding pursuant to this subsection, should the PCI, or equivalent rating, determine that the condition of any street in the City of Petaluma is rated at less than an index of seventy-five, the minimum permissible amount of annual revenues dedicated pursuant to this Section shall increase by one percent per fiscal year, beginning the next upcoming fiscal year, up to a maximum twenty percent, as provided, or until the PCI, or equivalent rating, determines that the condition of all streets in the City of Petaluma has a PCI of seventy-five or higher.

E. Use of Additional Funding Sources.

The City Council may dedicate funds from any source permissible under Federal, State and Municipal law for street maintenance and/or repair projects to meet the required amount of allocable funds required under this Section.

F. Additional Sources of Funding.

Nothing in this Section shall preclude the City Council from proposing and approving additional funds, above the minimum required amount, for the purpose of funding of street maintenance and/or repair projects as defined in this Section.

G. Prioritization of Street Maintenance and/or Repair Projects.

Street maintenance and/or repair projects shall be prioritized based on existing conditions and need for maintenance and/or repair, as determined by the City of Petaluma Department of Public Facilities and Services. Representative(s) of the Department of Public Facilities and Services shall report to the City Council regarding existing conditions and need for maintenance and/or repair, twice yearly - on or before June 1 and on or before December 31. Additional reports may be required by the City Council.

H. Suspension of Street Maintenance and Repair Program – Disaster.

By unanimous vote, the City Council may suspend funding for street maintenance and/or repair projects in the event a natural or manmade disaster occurs within, or severely impacts, the City. The term “natural or manmade disaster” includes earthquake and similar catastrophic geologic anomalies; tornado, hurricane and similarly severe weather; riot; domestic terrorism; and fire, either naturally occurring or manmade. Funding for street maintenance and/or repair projects shall resume the next upcoming fiscal year at the level at which it was suspended. This subdivision shall not preclude the City Council from suspending funding for street maintenance and/or repair projects, for purposes of disaster recovery, in years subsequent to a disaster occurring within, or severely impacting, the City.

Section III. SEVERABILITY.

If any term, provision, condition, requirement, or portion thereof, of this Initiative is for any reason held invalid, unenforceable, or unconstitutional in a final non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed severed and of no force and effect, and the remainder of this Initiative shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in effect without such severed portions. The voters of the City hereby declare that they would have adopted this Initiative and each portion thereof regardless of the fact that an invalid portion or portions may have been present in this Initiative.

Section IV. AMENDMENT.

Any reduction in municipal street maintenance and repair funding as provided in this measure shall only be accomplished through another initiative measure(s) approved by a majority vote of the electorate of the City.