HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11061984 - 2.3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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FROM: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Costa
DATE: November 1 , 1984 County
SUBJECT: PROPOSITIONS 36 AND 41
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1 . The adjourned meeting of the Board scheduled for November 8, 1984 should be
canceled if Proposition 36 passes.
2. If Proposition 36 passes, freeze all funds allocated on a preliminary basis
October 9 resulting from the legislation providing for local government funding,
and DIRECT the Auditor-Controller to retain in or return those funds to the
General Fund Reserve for Contingencies, with the exception of those funds
previously identified by the Board that have already been committed to
expenditure by the Board' s actions October 9, 1984.
3. , AUTHORIZE the County Administrator to assemble the necessary resources and
otherwise take actions necessary between November 7, 1984 and December 18, 1984
to assess the impact of Proposition 36; determine the steps necessary to
implement its provisions , and begin the implementation of Proposition 36
consistent with the actions of any court of competent jurisdiction, the orders
of appropriate State officials, and the language of Proposition 36 itself.
4. If Proposition 36 fails passage, adjourn the November 6, 1984 Board meeting
to meet as the Finance Committee on Thursday, November 8, 1984 at 9:00 A.M. for
the purpose of considering final allocation of the funds freed up in the
General Fund by the passage of legislation relating to local government
financing, and consider other related actions recommended by the County
Administrator.
BACKGROUND:
This report advises the Board of actions the County Administrator intends to take
in regard to Propositions 36 and 41 , and makes recommendations regarding actions
needed by the Board.
While Proposition 41 will have severe long-term impacts on the County, its primary
impact will be in the 1986-1987 fiscal year and fiscal years thereafter. In addition,
it is impossible for the County to respond meaningfully to the passage of
Proposition 41 until a number of actions are taken by the Legislature. Therefore,
for the sake of short-term contingencies, we are ignoring the possible passage of
Proposition 41 at this time. This is not intended, however, to in any way minimize
the severe dislocations which will occur if Proposition 41 passes in terms of
Medi-Cal funding, welfare funding, and funding for County staff determining
eligibility for Medi-Cal and welfare programs. A�'���n9 Af
�nJ/���,�p/._CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: &�.(i4hi �'�{,(s�L4Y .
X RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
X APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S) t c)G IL
ACTION OF BOARD ON November 6- 1984 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
G33213
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT z ) 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
A
OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: County Administrator ATTESTED November 6 , ,1984
Phi! F0,'!or, Clerk of the Roard of
County Admmistrator
M3e2/7.89 BY I" ����T DEPUTY
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The passage of Proposition 36 will , however, have severe and almost immediate
impact on the County and on the 1984-1985 and 1985-1986 County budgets.
Proposition 36 would reverse several California Supreme Court decisions concerning
the date for application of the inflation adjustment factor (2%.) to property value
and certain voter-approved property tax rates. In addition, Proposition 36 makes
significant changes to property assessment procedures, benefit assessments, and
user fees which will adversely affect many homeowners and substantially reduce the
ability of local government to provide public services.
As your Board will recall from our October 9th report on Proposition 36, there will
be a one-time impact of $11 .2 million in property tax refunds for the County
General Fund plus $3.7 million one-time refund from the fire districts. In addition,
there will be an annual loss of property tax revenue thereafter in the amount of
$645,000 to the County General Fund and $200,000 to the fire districts. There are,
of course, additional property tax refunds by other special districts, cities,
schools, and redevelopment agencies. In addition, you will recall that we have
estimated that of existing fees imposed by the County as a direct charge for
services provided, an estimated $8 million on an annual basis will be lost because
of the limitation in Proposition 36 that fees be increased only by the Consumer
Price Index. This provision is also retroactive to August 15, 1983 and will
probably require refunds of fees already collected retroactive:to that date.
In our recommendations, we have suggested that if Proposition 36 fails, the Finance
Committee, augmented by additional members of the Board, meet November 8th to
consider finalizing the allocation of funds allocated on a preliminary basis
October 9, and consider any other related actions which may be appropriate.
However, since it will not be possible to have any additional information on the
implementation of Proposition 36 by November 8 than we have at this point, there
is little purpose served by having the Board hold a special meeting, and we are,
therefore, recommending cancellation of the November 8, 1984 Finance Committee
meeting if Proposition 36 passes.
A great deal of data will need to be gathered regarding existing property tax
assessment, property tax overrides, fees, definitions of "direct" and "indirect"
costs, and similar matters which are affected by Proposition 36. My office will
need at least six weeks to gather and analyze this data before making even a
preliminary report to the Board. I am planning to make a status report to the Board
if Proposition 36 passes on December 18, 1984 and, in addition, will make a
comprehensive mid-year budget report to the Board in January, 1985. For the
information of the Board, I intend to take the following actions if Proposition 36
passes:
1 . I have scheduled a Department Heads' meeting for 9:00 A.M. Wednesday,
November 7, in order to describe what information our office needs so
we can plan an orderly assessment of the impact of Proposition 36 and
the actions needed to implement its provisions.
2. A comprehensive freeze on filling vacant positions will be re-imposed except
for those positions considered essential to the continued operation of the County.
A freeze will be also placed on the purchase of equipment except for equipment
judged essential for the continued operation of the County or for the
protection of the public health and safety.
3. A coordinated effort on the part of the County Assessor, Auditor-Controller,
and Treasurer--Tax Collector will be undertaken in order to take all actions
necessary to comply with the provisions of Proposition 36 as interpreted by
the County Counsel , State Board of Equalization, the Attorney General , or
any court of competent jurisdiction.
4. An Informational Bulletin will be sent to all County employees if Proposition 36
passes outlining the actions being taken by the County in order that each
employee will be informed regarding our plans for an orderly implementation
of the provisions of Proposition 36.
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