Council members to meet state lawmakers for Legislative Day

Agenda: Construction sales tax, retirement system, road funds

Members of the Yuma City Council head to Phoenix today for their annual Legislative Day. They will meet with state legislators to discuss various topics during the daylong special work session.

The following topics are on the agenda for discussion and possible action:

• Construction sales tax. The councilors will learn about — and possibly approve — modifications to the construction sales tax system that “create a long-term, sustainable policy that maintains state and municipal revenues; ensures local revenues are received at the location in which the construction activity occurs; provides simplicity for the industry; and improves compliance.”

• Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. The council will consider legislation that consolidates the current 233 local boards to something significantly more efficient and uniform to assist in the efficient resolution of claims and ultimately save money and time, and provide more equitable resolutions to claims.

• PTSD Presumption For Public Safety Employees (House Bill 2501). The council will urge the Legislature to put a moratorium on increased benefits for public safety employees.

• Highway Users Revenue Fund: The council will ask the Legislature to restore HURF to statutory funding levels and explore alternative funding for road construction.

• Occupational Licensing (Senate Bill 1404). The council will ask the Legislature to protect the right for cities to issue business licenses and regulate occupations in the future as necessary.

• Current Legislation Issues: The council will discuss with legislators other current legislation affecting cities.

The agenda also calls for a possible executive session with legal counsel in connection with the city’s agreement with Spectrum. The cable provider pulled NBC, CBS and Estrella programming from the lineup on Feb. 2, without giving prior notice to customers, after Spectrum and Northwest Broadcasting failed to negotiate a new agreement.

The city is seeking damages in the amount of $864 for every day that the cable provider blacks out local channels KYMA-NBC and KSWT-CBS.

The city is also demanding that Spectrum credits Yuma subscribers for dropping the channels without notice.

On Feb. 6, Assistant City Attorney Dan White sent a letter to Charter Communications, Spectrum’s parent company, accusing the cable provider of breaching its license with the city and violating federal requirements, including failure to give subscribers a 30-day notice of impending changes to services.

Northwest Broadcasting, which owns the local channels, and Spectrum are blaming each other for the breakdown in negotiations.

Spectrum provides cable to the cities of Yuma, San Luis and Somerton, the counties of Yuma and Imperial, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and Yuma Proving Ground.