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BACKGROUND <br />The Livermore/Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) was formed in 1985 by means <br />of a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JEPA) between the County of Alameda and <br />the cities of Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton pursuant to Government Code Section <br />6500 et seq. The JEPA provides for the creation of the Livermore/ Amador Valley <br />Transit Authority as a separate and distinct public entity empowered to own, develop, <br />operate and administer a public transportation system. <br />The JEPA has remained virtually unchanged since its adoption in 1985. LAVTA has <br />revised the JEPA in order to add new provisions which will facilitate the smooth <br />operation of LAVTA and its Board, and to bring it in line with LAVTA's current practices. <br />The LAVTA Board of Directors has approved the revisions and is now asking the cities <br />and county to approve the amended and restated JEPA. <br />DISCUSSION <br />The following are the major changes to the document <br />Chances to Voting Requirements The existing JEPA requires five votes for certain <br />actions and mandates that at least 14 days pass between the introduction of such an <br />action and its passage. The restated JEPA maintains these requirements for many <br />actions but not for actions on contracts lasting for more than one year. This limitation on <br />contract approvals proved to be a burden for staff by requiring atwo-month process to <br />approve any contract that will last longer than 12 months regardless of the cost or <br />significance. <br />Treasurer The restated JEPA corrects an inconsistency between the JEPA and the <br />Bylaws by designating LAVTA staff to act as treasurer. The existing JEPA has one of <br />the member agencies being designated as Treasurer and controlling all funds of the <br />agency. The Bylaws provide that the treasurer function may be exercised by LAVTA <br />staff. The current practice is to have staff, under the direction of the Board, perform the <br />functions of treasurer by controlling LAVTA's accounts with banks and the Local Agency <br />Investment Fund. This practice conforms to state law but needs to be clarified in the <br />JEPA. The amended and restated JEPA will state that the Treasurer function will be <br />conducted by LAVTA staff. <br />Clarifyina Restrictions on Power Agencies forming Joint Power Authorities are <br />authorized to empower the Authority to exercise any legal power held in common by the <br />member agencies, but the law also imposes a restriction on the exercise of the JPA's <br />power so that it is limited to the powers of one of the member agencies. The current <br />JEPA limits LAVTA's powers to that of the agency designated as its Treasurer. <br />However, since there is no clear designation of a particular agency as Treasurer in the <br />Bylaws, this provision is vague. Historically, the City of Pleasanton was designated as <br />the Treasurer meaning that the Authority's powers were limited to that of a general law <br />city. To clarify the legal limits on LAVTA's powers, the restated JEPA will specifically <br />state that LAVTA's powers be limited to those of the City of Pleasanton meaning the <br />powers will be limited to those of a general law city. <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />