1. Since October 1, 1985, the City of Berkeley has been unable to secure insurance above the self-insured retention of two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

2. Cities in California and throughout the nation are currently having difficulty securing liability insurance and are finding it is prohibitively expensive to secure such insurance.

3. The council finds it is necessary to create a catastrophic loss trust fund to protect the City of Berkeley from claims larger than two hundred fifty thousand dollars in order to protect the City and its programs from sudden unforeseen expenses which would have the potential of destroying vital City services and programs.

4. The council finds it necessary to cooperate with other cities and share risk in the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority. (Ord. 5757-NS § 2, 1986)