BREA

The City Council this week passed 58 platform statements on issues ranging from the environment to city finances--most in the spirit of maintaining or enhancing local control.

Assistant City Manager Tim O’Donnell said city staff uses the platform to determine council endorsement to fight or support state and federal bills that might affect the city. The council agreed to support measures that would give the city more financial independence from the state, but it rejected one to tax online purchases.

The platform is approved each year by the City Council, although the vast majority of it doesn’t change from year to year. Council members voted Tuesday to reject a new statement that would have the city support efforts to get sales tax from online purchases because they didn’t want to tax the Internet. They also opposed any attempt to put city employees on the Social Security and Medicare system. Right now, city employees are part of the California Public Employees Retirement System.

Brea Personnel Director Scott Malkemus said the federal government has attempted to include CalPERS in the Social Security system as a way to search for more money to support Social Security. “I can tell you that changing the Social Security system would cost the city a lot of money,” he said.