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CITY OF SAN LEANDRv <br />STAFF REPORT <br />DATE: January 20, 1998 <br />TO: John Jermanis, City Manager <br />FROM: Bob Maginnis, Police Chief <br />Artie Fields, Assistant to the City Manager'-',-4 <br />APPROVED AND <br />FORWARDED TO CITY <br />COUNCIL <br />J Jermanis <br />C,,y Manager <br />SUBJECT: Joint Powers Agreement - Saturday Night Special Legal Defense Fund <br />SUMMARY AND RECONENIENDATION <br />Staff recommends that the City Council approve the attached resolution authorizing the City <br />Manager to enter into a Saturday Might Special legal defense agreement with other Bay Area <br />cities, in an amount not to exceed $5,000. Funds for this agreement will be set aside in the City <br />Manager's Office budget in the event that the City or one of the other participating cities is sued. <br />BACKGROUND <br />The City Council adopted an ordinance on September 3, 1996 (see Attachment 1), prohibiting the <br />sale of Saturday Night Specials, or "Junk Guns", within the limits of the City of San Leandro. <br />This ordinance is substantially similar to ordinances passed by 16 other Bay Area cities (see <br />Attachment 2). Based on the dichotomy of public opinion, it is quite likely that one or more of <br />these ordinances will be challenged legally at some point in time. This would impose legal defense <br />costs on the City whose ordinance has been challenged and, if successful, could result in a judicial <br />determination which would invalidate all similar ordinances passed by other cities. <br />Recognizing the collective interest of all cities which have passed such ordinances, the City of San <br />Pablo proposed a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement which would provide financial support to <br />any participating City facing a legal challenge to its authority to pass such an ordinance. In the <br />event of a legal challenge, each participating City would contribute up to $5,000 toward court <br />costs and the cost of outside counsel incurred in defense of the ordinance. In the event that costs <br />exceed available funds, participating cities would discuss the possibility of voluntarily increasing <br />contributions. <br />If approved, the City of San Leandro would become one of nine other cities currently involved in <br />the joint powers agreement, which include: Alameda, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Oakland, <br />Pinole, Pleasanton, Richmond, and San Pablo. <br />gus/agam.= <br />- 147 <br />