Proposal:

Establish the Office of Public Affairs & Local Government Assistance; Add a Designated Deputy Position to Serve as Deputy Executive Officer for the Office; Create a Local Government & Small Business Assistance Committee; Enhance the AQMD’s Outreach Program; and Establish a Policy Regarding Performance Objectives;

Committee:

This action reflects on-going discussions with the Administrative and Legislative Committees

Recommendation:

1. Establish the Office of Public Affairs & Local Government Assistance;
2. Add a Designated Deputy position to serve as Deputy Executive Officer for the Office;
3. Create the Local Government & Small Business Assistance Committee;
4. Enhance the AQMD’s Outreach Program; and
5. . Establish a Policy Regarding Performance Objectives.

James M. Lents, Ph.D.
Executive Officer

Background

The AQMD’s public outreach efforts were the subject of two bills introduced in the recently-concluded Legislative session. During negotiations to offer administrative alternatives in lieu of the legislation, the AQMD made a number of suggestions to address Legislators’ concerns.

At its June meeting, the Governing Board conditionally approved a proposal to take several actions administratively in response to and in lieu of AB 3248 (Napolitano). These actions included: (1) the establishment of an Office of Public Affairs & Local Government Assistance and a Designated Deputy position to serve as Deputy Executive Officer for that Office for the purpose of enhancing the AQMD’s outreach and small business and local government assistance; (2) the establishment of a Local Government and Small Business Assistance Committee; and (3) the conducting of a Legislative Summit. Concurrently, the AQMD proposed to Assemblywoman Martha Escutia to take several actions administratively in lieu of proposed legislation outlined in her AB 3206, which the Assemblywoman accepted. These actions complement those envisioned by AB 3248 and include: (1) enter into a Small Business Outreach Pilot Program (three components were suggested and have since been expanded upon: a Clean Air Ambassador Program; Focus Groups, a Community Fair; or some combination of these; and (2) establish a policy regarding performance objectives.

This Board letter addresses AQMD’s commitments regarding these issues.

Proposal

1. Establish an Office of Public Affairs & Local Government Assistance (PA & LGA) and a Designated Deputy position to serve as a Deputy Executive Officer to administer the responsibilities of said Office.
   
   The responsibilities of the Office are to:

   a) Directly apprise the Governing Board of business, environmental, and community concerns;
   b) Provide local government assistance and public outreach;
   c) Manage the AQMD’s business retention efforts;
   d) Provide input during rule development regarding public affairs and small business assistance;
   e) Review AQMD’s procedures and programs for impacts on small business and local government;
   f) Provide notice to the public of all proceedings of the Governing Board and the Hearing Board;
   g) Provide advice on and facilitate public participation;
   h) Facilitate requests for public records;
   i) Recommend measures to enhance public participation;
   j) Report on significant issues regarding fee impacts on small business and local government;
   k) Provide assistance in obtaining financing for air pollution reduction and pollution control equipment;
   l) Provide staffing to the Local Government and Small Business Assistance Committee.

   The responsibilities of the Designated Deputy are to:

   a) Administer the Office of Public Affairs & Local Government Assistance;
   b) Serve as liaison and ombudsman for small business and local government assistance;
   c) Serve on the Executive Council of top management staff;
   d) Chair the Fee Review Committee; and
   e) Provide information concerning business, environmental, and community concerns directly to the Governing Board.

2. Create a Local Government and Small Business Assistance Committee whose members shall be appointed by the Chairman of the AQMD Board as follows: fifteen individuals consisting of four local government elected officials, three AQMD Board Members, four small business representatives, and four members of the general public. This Committee would have the responsibility to review and make recommendations regarding:
   a) public outreach activities related to the impacts of existing and proposed regulations on small business and local government;
   b) source education;
   c) small business loan and assistance programs;
   d) draft rules; and
   e) a policy for first-time offenders -- a no penalty “fix-it” notice (Notice to Comply) unless violations are flagrant or intentional

3. Enhance the AQMD’s Outreach Program

   a. Convene an annual Legislative Summit to review progress in reducing emissions and assessing the impacts on local communities and the economy; and to develop policy recommendations on the allocation of AB2766 funds and their use by cities in mobile source reduction programs. Invitees would include all local elected officials, state legislators, and Members of Congress within the AQMD jurisdiction, the Southern California business community, and the public. Staff has already begun work on this event which is tentatively scheduled for January 31, 1997.

   b. Establish a Small Business Outreach Pilot Program. Both Southern California’s economic future and the health of generations to come depend on a working partnership between the thousands of small business owners and the air quality agency. These businesses are trying to serve their local community while making a decent living. At the same time, state and federal law require that the air quality agency aggressively manage the clean-up of the air. Control strategies are most effective in reducing pollution when they are understandable and inherently practical for businesses to implement. Our rules must recognize the often precarious nature of small business survival. This innovative pilot program will meaningfully enhance the extent and effectiveness of the AQMD’s Small Business outreach and education.

   The following three options for the enhanced small business outreach pilot program will be reviewed by the Local Government and Small Business Assistance Committee and one or more will be selected:

   Option A - Clean Air Ambassadors: This pilot program would be built around a direct communication approach with AQMD “Clean Air Ambassadors” meeting individually with small business owners at their convenience and in their community to talk about air quality regulatory issues. An area of the Basin would be selected and a ten-member team of AQMD Clean Air Ambassadors would contact one hundred regulated businesses in the designated area. These meetings would be completely non-enforcement-related and would NOT involve any type of inspection or issuance of a Notice of Violation or even a Notice to Comply (essentially a “fix-it” notice). The Clean Air Ambassador would look at equipment if the owner requests, but the only purpose of the meeting would be to discuss how AQMD can help the small business owner ensure that the business has no compliance problems and what actions the business owner could take to help improve air quality. The meetings would serve as a forum for AQMD to explain how these businesses can best influence the development of control measures that will affect them in the future. The Clean Air Ambassadors would be chosen for their understanding of small business operating principles and practices as well as their technical knowledge of pollution prevention techniques. A majority of the ambassadors would have bilingual skills and an awareness of local community concerns.

   Option B - Focus Groups: This pilot program would use small discussion groups to help small business owners focus their concerns and develop recommendations. This approach is commonly used by large corporations to test customer reactions to new products, services or marketing strategies. A bilingual contractor with expertise in focus groups would be hired to train ten AQMD service representatives in operating focus groups. At least ten focus group meetings would be held. a community or group of communities in which a large number of small regulated businesses re located would be selected. At each of the ten focus group meetings, ten local business owners would be invited to sit down and talk with the AQMD Service Representative. The purpose would be to let AQMD know how best it can reach out to assist and educate small business owners how and why his or her business operation can impact air quality. AQMD would include into its permanent outreach program the local business owners’ ideas that could help other local business owners.

   Option C - Community Fair: This pilot program would be designed to bring small business assistance and regulatory relief to a targeted community area. AQMD would hold a series of public workshops to seek input from small businesses of the advantages of instituting internal environmental audits to detect and correct violations. Workshops would extend into the evening hours to enable business owners to attend without taking time away from their businesses. The workshops also would seek opinions from small business owners/operators regarding their needs for technical information on pollution prevention techniques. The workshops would further explain that qualifying for an exemption from permits and rules through institution of pollution prevention practices is often the easiest way to comply. (The Sonoma Green program would be featured as an example of successful outreach efforts resulting in emission reductions and cooperative compliance.) At the workshops, a team of from ten to twenty AQMD Service Representatives would be set up at individual tables to meet with small business owners to respond to their concerns, inform them of financial assistance available to help with the purpose of pollution control equipment, and provide any assistance they might need in working with the AQMD. Each of the AQMD’s Small Business Assistance programs would be graphically displayed. Business owners could obtain, on the spot, the new streamlined facility registration to replace prior equipment permits. For a company with more than one piece of equipment, this would eliminate permit fees on individual pieces of equipment and substitute one low fee for the facility. The result is reduced costs for the small business owner.

   The Local Government and Small Business Assistance Committee will review the proposed activities. The Committee would help design the details of the selected pilot program, participate in its implementation, and evaluate the results. A complete report would be presented to the Governing Board and included in the AQMD’s Annual Report to the Legislature.
   

4. Establish a policy regarding performance objectives.

   a) Near the beginning of each year the AQMD Governing Board will adopt performance objectives for the agency. These objectives would be quantifiable and include programs that reach out, educate and successfully involve small business owners, legislators, ethnic communities, local governments and the public, in the development and implementation of AQMD policies, rules and regulations, and programs that result in the implementation of emission reduction strategies to comply with State and Federal legislative mandates for the coming year and fulfill clean air commitments outlined in the AQMP. The objectives also would identify programs that achieve other management purposes such as meeting Affirmative Action goals, enhancing community outreach, developing new, consumer-friendly ways to clean up the air as required by law and seeking cost reductions for small business owners by a variety of means, including improving efficiency.

   b) Near the beginning of each year, the Executive Officer will report to the Governing Board on the progress in meeting the Board’s performance objectives and the Board will take public comment.

   c) The Governing Board will hold an executive, closed session with the Executive Officer to review progress in meeting the agency’s objectives and any public comments and to evaluate the Executive Officer’s performance in meeting the agency’s objectives.

   d) The Governing Board retains the right to remove the Executive Officer without cause from his/her position.

Resource Impacts

The salary and benefit cost associated with adding a designated deputy/deputy executive officer is approximately $125,000, depending on salary. By previous Board action, the salary band for such positions is $63,778 to $119,200. The Local Government & Small Business Assistance Committee will require staff support estimated to be approximately $40,000 annually - comparable to that of other advisory committees. It is estimated that $20,000 in addition to that currently budgeted for outreach efforts will be required to cover the additional costs associated with the Legislative Summit and the Small Business Outreach Pilot Program. The total cost for this proposal are estimated at $185,000. Funds will be sought within the AQMD’s present budget. Staff assignments both within the Public Affairs office and outside of it will have to be modified to accomplish the enhanced outreach programs while operating within the AQMD’s present budget constraints.