That the City Council:
A. Receive this report; and

B. APPROVE AND ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. ______ ENTITLED:  A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA, CALIFORNIA, REAFFIRMING RESOLUTION NO. 5934 WHICH RATIFIED THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES DECLARATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY.

On January 31, 2020, the United States federal government declared a nationwide emergency in response to growing concern for public health related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  For this same reason, on February 26, 2020, the County of Orange declared a local health emergency, and on March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in California. On March 16, 2020, in response to these actions, and pursuant to Government Code Section 8550 et seq., including Section 8558(c), City Manager Sadro, acting in his lawful capacity as Director of Emergency Services for the City of La Habra, proclaimed the existence of a local emergency in La Habra.  On that same day, the City Council ratified the proclamation through its approval of Resolution No. 5934.

Pursuant to Government Code Section 8630, the City Council is required to review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until the governing body (i.e., the City Council) terminates the local emergency.  Given continuing actions by the federal government, the State of California, and the County of Orange to control the spread of COVID-19, the City Council first reaffirmed the 60-day emergency declaration by approving Resolution No. 5943 on May 4, 2020, and has done so again periodically, most recently on October 4, 2021, through Resolution No. 6025.  

Some provisions of the state's and county's emergency declaration and related executive orders currently have been relaxed, though others remain in effect.  For example, the requirement regarding the use of face masks indoors that had been removed earlier this year has since been reinstituted in some jurisdictions where COVID-19 transmission remains high, such as in neighboring Los Angeles County, and applies to everyone, both the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. In addition, and consistent with guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Public Health Agency, the City recently reinstituted its face mask requirement for staff and visitors to City facilities. While more than 70% of California's population is now fully vaccinated, many individuals have either chosen not to receive the vaccine or are ineligible to receive the vaccine, such as some younger school-aged children.  As a result, the rate of COVID-19 transmission, particularly of the more transmittable "Delta variant," continues to be a cause for concern for public health officials.
 
While the reaffirmation of the local emergency declaration is a policy decision of the City Council, staff believes it prudent to reaffirm the local public health emergency declaration for an additional 60-day period (Attachment 1).  Staff will continue to monitor County, State, and Federal actions regarding the pandemic and advise City Council at a future date whether the local emergency declaration should once again be extended, or if it can be terminated.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on City finances in 2020, most notably reduced revenues from fee based services and increased costs associated with the City's COVID-19 response efforts.  Although the City has relaxed some temporary restrictions that had been implemented during the height of the pandemic, such as the City's temporary suspension of overnight parking and street sweeping violations, these restrictions have since been reinstated and are now being enforced.  However, other temporary actions taken by the City as part of its pandemic response remain in force and are subject to the State's mandates and executive orders, such as the prohibition to suspend water service to utility customer accounts for nonpayment, continue to potentially impact City finances.