Attachment 2 - Draft Response Letter
OFFICE OF THE TOWN MANAGER
(408) 354-6832
Manager@LosGatosCA.gov
August 20, 2019
Mr. John Pedersen, Foreperson
Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury
Superior Court Building
191 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
RE: Response to the Santa Clara Civil Grand Jury Report on “Inquiry into the Governance of the
Valley Transportation Authority” Dated June 18, 2019
Dear Mr. Pedersen,
The Town would like to thank you and the other jurors for your work on this important topic. Attached,
please find the Town’s response to the Santa Clara Civil Grand Jury Report on “Inquiry into the
Governance of the Valley Transportation Authority.”
The response was reviewed and approved by the Los Gatos Town Council on September 3, 2019. The
Town is required to respond to one Finding and three Recommendations. The attached document
contains the Town’s responses to the Finding and Recommendations. In summary, the Town partially
agrees with Finding 1 and the Recommendations require further analysis as noted.
If you have any questions, please contact me at Manager@LosGatosCA.gov or (408) 354-6832.
Sincerely,
LAUREL PREVETTI
Town Manager
Attachment
LP/jj
cc: Robert Schultz, Town Attorney
Presiding Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court
Clerk of the Santa Clara County Superior Court
Clerk of the Valley Transportation Authority Board
ATTACHMENT 2
Town of Los Gatos Response to Grand Jury Report on VTA Governance
Finding 1
The VTA Board, currently made up exclusively of elected officials from Santa Clara County, Board of
Supervisors, the City of San Jose, and the other smaller cities in the County, suffers from :
• A lack of experience, continuity and leadership;
• Inadequate time for the directors to devote to their duties to the VTA Board due to their primary
focus on the demands of their elected positions;
• A lack of engagement on the part of some directors, fostered in part by the committee system,
resulting in VTA functioning largely as a staff-driven organization;
• Domination, in terms of numbers, seniority and influence, by representatives of the Santa Clara
County Board of Supervisors and the City of San Jose; and
• Frequent tension between the director’s (sic) fiduciary duties to VTA and its regional role, on the
one hand, and the political demands of their local elected positions, on the other.
Response: Partially Agree.
While the finding correctly identifies many of the factors influencing effective leadership of the VTA
Board, some of the broad generalizations are not applicable to every director. Specifically, some
directors do have transportation experience having served on other VTA committees and/or be ing
engaged in local transportation issues. In addition, some directors create the necessary time to prepare
for meetings.
Recommendation 1c
As constituent agencies of VTA, each of the cities in the County should prepare and deliver to the VTA
and the County Board of Supervisors a written report setting forth its views regarding VTA governance,
with specific reference to the elements listed in Recommendation 1a . These reports should be
completed and delivered prior to December 31, 2019.
Response: Requires further analysis.
Recommendation 1a requests that “VTA commission a study of governance structures of successful large
city transportation agencies.” The Town of Los Gatos respectfully requests that such a study explore
successful transportation agencies that serve a major metropolitan area consisting of multiple
municipalities, such as Portland, Oregon. Governance models of individual large cities may not be as
applicable to the unique and diverse communities within Santa Clara County.
The recommendation for individual constituent cities to perform a similar analysis and explain their
views on governance issues requires further analysis and resources to implement thoroughly. The Town
of Los Gatos appreciates the Grand Jury’s interest to engage the constituent cities in these important
governance questions; however, small jurisdictions cannot undertake such an analysis alone. As an
alternative, the analysis might be best performed by a representative body of the cities, such as the
Cities Association of Santa Clara County with financial support from VTA. This approach would enable
the more efficient use of available resources and an existing institutional framework for collaboration.
Once funding is committed, it is estimated that the analysis and compilation of the cities’ input would
require at least 120 days. After completion, a report would be submitted to the VTA Board and County
Board of Supervisors. The Town would participate in such a multi-agency approach.
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Town of Los Gatos Response to Grand Jury Report on VTA Governance
Recommendation 1d
Within six months following the completion of the studies and reports specified in Recommendations
1a, 1b and 1c, the County of Santa Clara and/or one or more of VTA’s other constituent agencies, should
propose enabling legislation, including appropriate amendments to Sections 100060 through 100063 of
the California Public Utilities Code, to improve the governance structure of VTA (which potentially could
include an increase in the directors’ term of service, the addition of term limitations and the inclusion
of appointed directors who are not currently serving elected officials).
Response: Requires further analysis.
Assuming that the analysis and engagement of the constituent agencies occurs pursuant to the response
to Recommendation 1c, the Town of Los Gatos is open to participating in the development of legislation
regarding VTA governance. Any legislation should address the root concerns regarding
underrepresentation of the smaller jurisdictions.
Recommendation 1e
In order to provide more continuity in the leadership of the VTA Board, within six months following the
completion of the studies and reports specified in Recommendations 1a, 1b and 1c, the County of Santa
Clara and/or one or more of VTA’s other constituent agencies, should propose enabling legislation
amending Section 100061 of the California Public Utilities code (sic) to provide that the Chairperson of
the VTA Board shall be elected for a term of two years rather than one.
Response: Requires further analysis.
It is premature to commit to a specific legislative action pending the outcome of the requested studies
and reports. Specifically, while continuity in leadership is typically effective for any governing body, the
continuity is only effective if it is fairly distributed among the constituent agencies. Otherwise, a longer
term of the Chairperson would exacerbate the issues identified in the Grand Jury Report.
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