Yorba Linda eyes fee hikes; water district assesses effectiveness; school district provides incentive; college district raises non-resident tuition

Here's a look at noteworthy actions from Yorba Linda's city, water and school leaders:

A first report from a consultant hired under a six-year contract to review fees charged for various city services is expected in six months. Recommendations for sizable boosts in some fees are anticipated, since many were set more than 12 years ago.

State law allows cities to recoup costs of services by charging fees, including cost-of-living increases. If higher fees are adopted, they can be phased in over a period of time. The report will include comparisons with nearby cities.

A memo to the 20 city commissioners notes that under a recently adopted policy, appointed officials who identify their city positions on social media sites must include the words “Content on this site does not represent any official position of the City of Yorba Linda, only that of (name) in (his/her) personal capacity.”

At the Yorba Linda Water District, assessment of the governing board's effectiveness has been completed by the board's five elected directors and seven management employees.

Directors and managers both labeled “community rapport” as “very effective” and “clear sense of purpose” as “very ineffective,” with several differences of opinion on seven other categories.

The directors ranked “conflict management process” as “very effective”; “teamwork” and “a supportive framework” as “somewhat effective”; “productivity,” “chairperson leadership” and “roles” as “somewhat ineffective”; and “staff relationships” as “very ineffective.”

The managers ranked “a supportive framework” as “very effective”; “conflict management process” and “staff relationships” as “somewhat effective”; “teamwork” and “productivity” as “somewhat ineffective”; and “roles” and “chairperson leadership” as “very ineffective.”

At the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, trustees adopted an incentive for an early retirement or resignation notice for certificated employees, noting the advance notice “can help in early recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers.”

Employees who provided notice through Jan. 12, will receive $2,000, while those who provide notice through March 2 will receive $1,000. As of Feb. 13, 31 employees qualify for the bonus.

Trustees appointed Nicholas Fiore from Esperanza High School as the student representative on the board of education for the second semester, replacing Kiara Espericueta of La Entrada High School, the first semester rep.

Fiore will report on school activities and offer student viewpoints to board discussions of educational issues. The student board position rotates among the district's high schools.

At the North Orange County Community College District, trustees raised non-resident tuition to $258 per unit plus a $19 per-unit capital outlay fee upon a motion from Jeff Brown of Yorba Linda. The $19 fee can be waived for economic hardship or for victims of foreign persecution.

Yorba Linda City Council opposes potential state legislation limiting local zoning control; boosts city funds with uncashed checks, unclaimed deposits

Two Yorba Linda matters merit attention this week: forceful opposition by a unanimous City Council to potential state legislation that would limit local control over zoning and a notable boost to the city treasury from uncashed checks and unclaimed deposits dating back to 1993.

At the tail-end of last week's council meeting, Yorba Linda's elected leaders approved sending a strongly-worded letter to state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), sponsor of a bill that would “undermine” locally adopted general plans and housing elements, according to the letter.

The bill, SB-827, “would exempt certain housing projects from locally developed and adopted height limitations, densities, parking requirements and design review standards” by allowing private housing developers and transit agencies exemptions from these controls in specified situations.

The situations include housing within one-half mile of a “major transit stop” or along a “high-quality transit corridor” that “could be miles away from an actual bus stop,” the letter stated.

The letter noted that Yorba Linda and other cities already are required to zone at densities “at levels necessary” to meet the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation obligations.

And the letter, signed by Mayor Gene Hernandez, stated the bill “would provide developers a means to generate additional profits without any requirement to build affordable housing.”

The letter added: “Exempting large-scale developments from general plans, housing elements and zoning ordinances goes against the principles of local democracy and public engagement.”

Public engagement, according to the letter, “often leads to better projects” and “disregarding such processes will increase public distrust in government and could lead to additional ballot measures dealing with growth management.”

Copies of the letter were sent to local representatives state Senator Josh Newman, Assemblyman Phillip Chen and Congressman Ed Royce, two senate committees and officials with the League of California Cities and Association of California Cities.

My Oct. 20, 2017, column reported on a new policy regarding city-issued checks that have gone uncashed and deposits that have gone unclaimed for three or more years. The policy states that after a public notice, the money would be transferred to the city's general fund.

Full-page advertisements listing $1.06 million in unclaimed funds were published in this newspaper Dec. 7 and 14, with a claims period ending Jan. 21. Some 45 percent of the funds were claimed by that date, leaving $585,981 to be transferred to the general fund.

Interestingly, one large cash deposit returned was from Shapell Industries, now Toll Brothers, according to a report by Finance Director Scott Catlett. He stated that $26,000 on deposit for completion of a 1995 tract had never been returned after required improvements were made.  

Placentia-Yorba Linda school district trustees vote one percent wage increase for teachers for 2017-18

Tentative agreement has been reached on a new three-year contract for teachers at the 34 campuses of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District that grants the educators an across-the-board one percent salary increase for the current school year, the first pay hike since 2015-16.

The tentative contract, signed by representatives of the district and the teachers union, is expected to be ratified at an upcoming meeting of the district's five elected trustees. Also included in the pact is an agreement to reopen the clause on wages for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

The increase will total $496 for a credentialed first-year teacher and range upwards to $1,028 for a 30-year teacher with specified advanced education credits, under a new salary schedule that will begin at $50,145 for a beginning teacher and end at $103,802 for the 30-year veteran.

The seven elected trustees at the nine-campus Brea-Olinda Unified School District recently approved a one percent salary increase for their teachers. The new salary scale ranges from $51,503 for a credentialed first-year teacher to $105,111 for a 26-year teacher with advanced credits.

And the current salary scale for teachers at eight campuses in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District ranges from $55,585 for a credentialed first-year teacher to $112,679 for a 23-year teacher with advanced credits.

Teachers are paid for 185 work-days in the Brea-Olinda and Placentia-Yorba Linda districts, while the Fullerton district pays for 186 work days.

One key feature in the new Placentia-Yorba Linda contract is a provision that will compress the current 30th-year step to a 28-year top beginning in the 2018-19 school year. According to contract language, the new 28th-year pay step will increase by $5,000.

Of course, teachers can earn extra pay for additional assignments, such as academic and athletic coaching, various adviser roles, curriculum and committee work and other specific duties.

In the Placentia-Yorba Linda district so far this year, 23 middle school and 41 high school teachers earn extra pay for teaching an additional period each day for annual pay ranging from $7,164 to $17,300, depending on each teacher's placement on the salary schedule.

One interesting add to the new contract: “Unit members shall not be required to change diapers.”

On another matter, Placentia-Yorba Linda trustee Karin Freeman reports the Orange County Committee on School District Organization, of which she is a member, approved the district's recently adopted plan to elect trustees from five voting areas on a 9-0 vote.

She said: “Of note were the compliments made by committee members about our...overall process and the criteria used to create the map options.” (Three options were presented.)

Next step is approval from the state Board of Education, expected next month, before signups begin in July for the two trustee areas scheduled for the November ballot.

Yorba Linda to debut new website, web address on March 1 and expand social media presence

Yorba Linda is planning a March 1 launch date for a new city website and a vastly increased presence on four popular social media sites.

A new, simpler address – www.yorbalindaca.gov – will lead users to the city site, designed under a three-year contract with CivicPlus, a Kansas-based firm specializing in developing local government websites.

A “dotgov” designation “assures users that they are accessing an official city website, since only government entities are issued a .gov domain,” noted a report to the City Council from Allison Estes, assistant to the city manager.

All “dotgov” domains are administered by the General Services Administration and must follow federal guidelines to avoid suspension or termination. Guidelines include no non-government advertisements and no political or campaign information, Estes stated.

“The purpose of the website is simply to convey information to the public and is not a First Amendment 'public forum' for general discussion of city-related subject matter,” Estes said.

Regarding privacy, Estes stated: “Any private information regarding an individual that is collected on the city's website will be used only for the intended purpose outlined on the website” and the city “will not disclose any personal information to any third party, unless required to do so under federal or state law,” including California's Public Records Act.

Only city-sponsored events will appear on the website calendar, a policy Estes said is also practiced by Brea, Fullerton, La Habra and Placentia. Other organizations are able to post information on government access channel 3 under a separate policy.

Although the library and parks and recreation are on some social media sites, the city's general presence is set to begin March 1, according to a report by city communications coordinator Valerie Passarella.

The sites recommended include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and NextDoor. The new social media policy applies to council members, commissioners, appointed officials and the city staff.

Of special interest in the lengthy policy are regulations regarding public comments on the city postings on the sites. Basically, “the city reserves the right to determine what information shall and shall not be placed on city social media sites.”

Among other policy statements:

--“The city reserved the right at any time to remove any and all comments and content and, to the extent permitted by law, to remove comments and content in violation of its Social Media Sites Terms and Conditions of Use.”

--“Two or more posts containing inappropriate content as outlined in this policy or posts from a spam account may result in the account being blocked from the city's social media accounts entirely.”

--”The city will at its discretion remove posts and all comments related thereto at regular intervals at such time as the event in the post is either past or the post has existed for 90 days.”