TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Tom Kisela, City Manager
FROM: Mike Vigliotta, City Attorney
1. Subject
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Adoption of Resolution No. 11501 authorizing the City Manager and City Attorney to perform claims procedures and functions under the California Government Claims Act and amending Resolution No. 8966 to increase settlement authority amounts for designated employees.
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2. Summary
The proposed Resolution would authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to perform “Administrative Functions” under the Government Claims Act, such as rejection of claims, and increase settlement authority amounts for designated employees but in an amount not to exceed $50,000. Settlement of civil liability claims in an amount in excess of $50,000 would require City Council approval.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 11501. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange adopted pursuant to Government Code Section 935.4 of the California Government Claims Act (“Act”) authorizing the City Manager and City Attorney to perform administrative functions under the Act and amending Resolution No. 8966 to increase the settlement authority amounts for designated employees for settlement of civil liability claims against the City.
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4. Fiscal Impact
None.
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 4: Providing Outstanding Public Service
a) Obtain, implement, and evaluate public input into our services and programs.
6. Discussion and Background
The California Government Claims Act (“Act”) requires, in part, that claims for money or damages be presented to the public entity to determine whether to accept or reject a claim. At this time, all claims recommended for denial (rejection) by staff are presented to the City Council for formal action at an open and noticed public meeting.
Government Code Section 935.4 provides that a local public entity such as a City Council, by ordinance or resolution, may authorize an employee of the local public entity to perform administrative functions under the Act and, further, resolve claims against the local public entity not in excess of $50,000. Resolution No. 8966, adopted on June 23,1998, created a Claims Settlement Committee composed of City employees and established settlement authority amounts for designated employees. Administrative Regulation 1.3 thereafter memorialized the amounts delineated in Resolution No. 8966. Specifically, it provided settlement authority ranges, including ranges not in excess of $2,000, not in excess of $5,000, not in excess of $15,000 and not in excess of $30,000, with the authority to settle in amounts in excess of $30,000 remaining with the City Council.
At the October 24, 2023, regular City Council meeting, the City Council directed the City Attorney to consider removing claim denials from City Council consideration, as the action is an inefficient use of staff and Council time and prevents the City Council from focusing on other matters of City business. The proposed Resolution, in delegating administrative functions under the Act, as defined, accomplishes this directive.
In addition, it is staff’s opinion that the ranges, and upper limit, of settlement authority, already delegated to designated employees by Resolution No. 8966, should be amended in order to reflect the more realistic costs of settlement of civil claims, mirror the City Manager’s current contract authority amount ($30,000) and reflect the amount contained in Government Code Section 935.4 as the upper limit of settlement authority ($50,000).
The proposed Resolution recommends the following ranges (or “Approved Levels” as designated by the Resolution):
|
Risk Manager, with concurrence of the City Attorney |
Up to $5,000 |
|
City Attorney |
$5,001 to $15,000 |
|
City Manager, with concurrence of the City Attorney |
$15,001 to $30,000 |
|
Claims Settlement Committee |
$30,001 to $50,000 |
|
City Council |
Over $50,000 |
The proposed Resolution also provides that that the City Attorney and/or City Manager can present any claim to the City Council for denial or settlement, should they determine, in their sole and absolute discretion, that a claim is best and more appropriately acted upon by the City Council rather than staff.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• Resolution No. 11501