Title
Adoption of Resolution Extending the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program. (Police 10031100)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda (City) is a member of the Alameda County Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Authority (Alco AVA) which was formed in 1993 and has since funded approximately $34.8 million county-wide for participating agencies to abate approximately 465,000 abandoned vehicles. The Alco AVA is set to expire May 31, 2023. Staff recommends that the City adopt a resolution to renew this Agreement until May 31, 2033 and continue receiving funding for abandoned vehicle abatement.
BACKGROUND
In 1990, the California State Legislature enacted legislation allowing for the creation of county-based vehicle service authorities, whose purpose was to provide funding to counties and municipalities to abate abandoned vehicles. In 1993, the Alco AVA was formed pursuant to Vehicle Code § 22710(a), which required a two-thirds vote of a county’s Board of Supervisors and a majority of a county’s cities with a majority of the incorporated population to adopt resolutions providing for the establishment of the of a vehicle abatement authority. After its formation, Alco AVA subsequently imposed a one-dollar ($1.00) annual vehicle registration fee on vehicles registered to an owner with an address in the County of Alameda.
Vehicle registration fees are collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles and allocated to the Alco AVA by the State Controller’s Office pursuant to Vehicle Code § 9250.7(b), which specifies that after deducting its administrative costs, the Controller must transmit funds proportionally to each county’s vehicle abatement authority based on the amount collected from registered vehicle owners in each county. Fees are then allocated to the Alco AVA participating agencies, such as Alameda Police Department (APD) based on an adopted formula involving their individual percentage of vehicles abated, population, and land area in relation to the totals for these factors in the Alco AVA as a whole. The current participating agencies are the County, and all cities in the County except Albany and Emeryville.
On May 31, 2013, City Council adopted Resolution 14727 (see Exhibit 1) to extend the Alco AVA until May 31, 2023. Alco AVA cannot exist without authorization by a majority of cities representing a majority of the incorporated population in Alameda County. The City’s and other cities’ adoption of their own respective resolutions in 2013 reauthorized for 10 years the existence of Alco AVA, which distributes funds collected from registration fees to cities in the County to fund their abandoned vehicle abatement programs. APD has been using the funds allocated by Alco AVA to the City for the past 10 years to support the operation of APD’s abandoned vehicle abatement program.
DISCUSSION
The current program is set to expire at the end of May 2023. State law, specifically Vehicle Code § 9250.7(g), allows the local service authorities to extend the program every 10 years with the approval of two-thirds of the County’s Board of Supervisors and resolutions adopted by a majority of the cities comprising a majority of the population of the incorporated areas. If enough cities in the County do not adopt this resolution, then the Alco AVA will not be reauthorized and no future funds for vehicle abatement will be collected or distributed via this mechanism. Staff recommends that the Council adopt a resolution to support extension of the Alco AVA to continue receiving approximately $60,000 in funding for the City’s abandoned vehicle abatement program.
ALTERNATIVES
• Adopt the resolution to support the extension of the Alco AVA and continue receiving funding for the City’s abandoned vehicle abatement program.
• Decline to adopt the resolution; APD can formulate a plan to fund its abandoned vehicle abatement program independently of the Alco AVA. The City will stop receiving funds from Alco AVA.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Fees generated by Alco AVA generate on average $60,000 annually and are used to help support APD’s vehicle abatement program, which consists of one full-time uniformed Abandoned Vehicle Technician.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Alameda Municipal Code 8-7.8 prohibits vehicles from being left unattended for more than 72 hours. Alameda Municipal Code 8-22 provides APD the authority under Vehicle Code § 22660 to remove abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines § 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution extending the abandoned vehicle abatement program.
Respectfully submitted,
Nishant Joshi, Chief of Police
By,
Ryan DeRespini, Police Lieutenant
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O'Brien, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Resolution 14727