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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01051993 - IO.10 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS I .O.-10 ,.E.•—E .o„ Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE s Costa =A•�..::..:_-... � County 9: y'y DATE: January 4, 1993 rs7 SUBJECT: REPORT ON POSSIBLE FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE SENIOR TAX WORK-OFF PROGRAM IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . Express the Board of Supervisors ' appreciation to Sondra Rothwell from the County Administrator' s Office; Bob Sessler, from the Office on Aging in the Social Services Department; and the members of the Senior Tax Work-off Program Committee for their hard work, dedication and willingness to be innovative in seeking ways to fund and administer the Senior Tax Work-off Program in Contra Costa County. 2 . Authorize the Senior Tax Work-off Program Committee, under the direction of the County Administrator' s Office, to prepare a concept paper which can be presented to the Koret Foundation in an effort to seek funds to administer the Senior Tax Work- off Program. Direct the County Administrator to return this concept paper to the 1993 Internal Operations Committee by February 15, 1993, along- with a status report on any of the other recommendations contained in this report which are ready for action by. the Board of Supervisors . 3 . Direct the Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, Director of Personnel and County Counsel, under the direction of the County Administrator' s Office, to respond to all of the questions included in the Board Order dated January 14, 1992, which approved the report from this Committee dated January 6, 1992 . A status report on the response to all of these questions should be reported to the 1993 Internal Operations Committee by February 15, 1993, even if additional time is required to completely answer all of the questions . CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY I R RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE T SIGNATURE(S): RO ER SUNNE WRIGHT McPEAK ACTION OF BOARD ON ffal idary 5, i995' APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. G ATTESTED Contact: PHIL BATCHIgOR.CLERK O THE BOARD OF cc: See Page 2 . SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY DEPUTY I .O.-10 4 . Direct the Senior Tax Work-off Program Committee, under the direction of the County Administrator' s Office, and in consultation with Contra Costa County Employees Union, Local 1, and other interested employee organizations, to determine the feasibility of conducting short-term and long-term economic impact evaluations which address the amount of property tax revenue which might be lost through the implementation of this program and identify other concerns which the employee organizations may have and make at least a status report on this matter to the 1993 Internal Operations Committee by February 15, 1993 . 5 . Remove this item as a referral to the 1992 Internal Operations Committee and refer it instead to the 1993 Internal Operations Committee to provide continuing oversight to the Senior Tax Work-off Program. BACKGROUND: Our Committee has been pursuing throughout this year the feasibility of implementing a program which has worked in Riverside County. Under this program, senior citizens are able to volunteer their time to a County program in exchange for a reduction in or elimination of their property taxes . A number of issues have come up and a number of questions remain unresolved, the primary one being how to pay for the necessary staff to operate the program. Our Committee met with Sondra Rothwell from the County Administrator' s Office, Bob Sessler from the Office on Aging in the Social Services Department, and Paul Katz from Local 1 on January 4 , 1993 . We reviewed the attached report with Ms . Rothwell, Mr. Sessler and Mr. Katz .p., Preliminary discussions with the Koret Foundation indicate that they may be interested in this program. The Koret Foundation has asked for a brief concept paper. If they decide they are seriously interested in funding the program, a more complete proposal will be required. Mr. Katz raised a number of concerns which Local 1 has, some of which may be shared by other employee organizations . We are asking staff to review those concerns and provide the 1993 Internal Operations Committee with a status report which begins to respond to those concerns . In view of the greater likelihood that we will be able to locate funding for the Senior Tax Work-off Program, it now appears appropriate to finish responding to all of the questions which were raised a year ago, as is reflected in the attached January 14 , 1992 memo to Ms . Rothwell . cc: County Administrator Social Services Director Bob Sessler, Executive Director, Area Agency on Aging, SSD Treasurer-Tax Collector Auditor-Controller County Counsel Director of Personnel Sondra Rothwell, CAO' s Office -2- 1 Contra Costa County OFFICE ,OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR 651 Pine Street, 10th Floor Martinez, CA 94553 510-646-2764 Date: January 4, 1993 To: Internal Operations Committee Fm: Senior Tax Work-Off Committee Re: REPORT ON THE SENIOR TAX WORK-OFF PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS: Accept report from the Senior Tax Work-Of f Committee and direct' the Committee to continue efforts in seeking a funding source and/or Volunteers for the implementation of a Senior Tax Work-Off Program in Contra Costa County. Direct the Senior Tax Work-Off Program Committee to prepare a concept paper for endorsement by the full Board of Supervisors to be sent to the Koret Foundation for review. Accept report from the Director, Office on Aging, on the availability of discretionary Title V, Older Americans Act funding for implementation of a Senior Tax Work-Off Program. BACKGROUND: On October 20, 1992, the Board of Supervisors accepted the Senior Tax Work-Off Committee report and directed the Director, Office on Aging determine whether there are any discretionary Title V, Older Americans Act funds available for Senior Employment Programs which might be made available to fund a Coordinator position for the Senior Tax Work-Off Program. The Director of the Office on Aging was unsuccessful in locating a potential funding source to fund our proposed program under Title V. Page 2 The Director, Office on Aging contacted the U.S. Depai:tment of Labor, Employment and Training Administration regarding pursuit of a research and demonstration proposal under the Job Training Partnership Act. A set of guidelines were received and reviewed. It does not appear that our Senior Tax Work-Off Program falls within the guidelines for a research and demonstration proposal. Thus, the Committee cannot recommend pursuing this avenue of potential funding. The Director, Office on Aging spoke to staff of the Koret Foundation regarding funding and was encouraged to submit a brief concept paper which would be forwarded to the Foundation's board for review. If Koret Foundation is interested in our concept, they will request a detailed proposal for more intensive review. Staff of the Foundation stated that formal Board of Supervisors endorsement of the proposal would possibly enhance the chances of foundation funding. Therefore, the Senior Tax Work-Off Committee is recommending that full Board endorse a concept paper. The Koret Foundation requires a County commitment to provide long- range funding for the administrative costs beyond a pilot phase to be funded by the foundation. The County Administrator's Office will convene the staff Committee to clarify the specific elements of the proposal, i.e. , size of pilot program; organizational structure; target population of seniors; and plan for long-term financial support. The Tax-Collector addressed the Internal Operations Committee' s concerns relative to senior citizens providing volunteer service to the County in exchange for a credit on the taxes they would otherwise owe the County as follows : "Medium of payment of taxes is fixed by law and in our opinion a tax credit cannot be substituted for payment. (Revenue & Taxation Code 2501 et seq) " . Some effort was made to locate volunteers for the implementation of the Senior Tax Work-Off program. The Committee contacted the Volunteer Center of Contra Costa regarding the use of volunteers . It is recommended that the Committee work with the Center to locate volunteers for the Program. The Director, Office on Aging, was unsuccessful in locating volunteers through local senior citizen organizations at this time. It is requested that efforts relative to locating volunteers be continued. Page 3 The County Administrator's Budget Coordinator has been advised to notify the Senior Tax Work-Off Committee of any new revenue source that can be reviewed to determine whether the County can use new sources of revenue to support this program for low-income citizens and senior citizens . cc: Victor J. Westman, County Counsel Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller Alfred P. Lomeli, Treasurer-Tax Collector Sue Beadle, Personnel Department Robert Sessler, Executive Director Area Agency on Aging, Social Services Department Tony Enea, CCCIBudget Coordinator Sondra Rothwell, Coordinator Senior Tax Work-Off Program Committee OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR C 0 N T R A C 0 S T A C 0 U N T Y Administration Building 651 Pine Street, 11th Floor Martinez, California DATE: January 14, 1992 TO: Sondra Rothwell, M a KAnalyst FROM: Claude L. Van Marteant County Administrator SUBJECT: FOLLOW-UP REPORT ON S. AX WORK-OFF PROGRAM AND REPORT TO THE INTER L OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Attached is a copy of the report from the Internal Operations Committee on this subject which the Board of Supervisors approved on January 14, 1992 . Please note that the recommendations will require some substantial work on your part over the next few months, as follows : 1 . Request the County Administrator to convene staff from the following departments (and any additional staff he believes are needed) to serve in a staff capacity to prepare responses to a number of questions which are presented below and to review and comment on the feasibility of implementing various options for a Senior Tax Work-Off Program: County Administrator' s Office Auditor-Controller' s Department Treasurer-Tax Collector' s Department County Counsel ' s Office Personnel Department Social Services Department 2 . Request the staff committee named above to obtain a detailed proposal from the County of Riverside on the Senior Tax Work-Off Program they are designing and evaluate it to determine whether it would be feasible to consider such a program for implementation in this County. 3. Request the staff committee to review in detail the Colorado proposal, evaluate it in terms of similarities and differences with California' s current ;situation and provide our Committee with a report and recommendations regarding the feasibility of implementing a similar program in this County. 4 . Request the staff committee to review and provide answersIto the following questions/issues which have been raised: Sondra Rothwell January 14, 1992 Page 2 A. What types of jobs in the County would be appropriate for a Senior Tax Work-Off Program? B. What is an appropriate wage to pay for these jobs where they are performed as a part of a Senior Tax Work-Off Program? C. Should some type of means test be included to eliminate thuse- --senior citizens who are better able financially to pay their property taxes? D. Should such a program provide a credit which is provided directly to the Treasurer-Tax Collection as a credit against property taxes or should it provide a direct wage to the senior citizen, who is then still responsible for , paying his or her property taxes? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternatives? E. If provided as a credit against property taxes, should there be a cap on the amount that can be credited or should the senior citizen be able to "work-off" all of his or her! property tax. Likewise, if the program is designed as a wage payment, should there be a maximum amount the individual should be allowed to earn? F. Should the program be available only to senior citizens or should it be available to any; individual or family which is experiencing difficulty in paying property taxes or which is considered low income? G. Howcan such a program protect against the possible resentment on the part of existing volunteers who are providing similar types of services totally free of any remuneration and who; may refuse to continue to volunteer if they see others being paid or having their property taxes credited for providing the same or similar types of work. H. Can. such a program be designed in such a way that other taxing jurisdictions which receive a portion of the property tax are protected legally in terms of receiving the cash to which they are entitled? i Sondra Rothwell January 14 , 1992 Page 3 I . Under a property tax credit program, would the senior citizen be required to be treated as an employee and have taxes and other deductions withheld from his or her pay before it is credited against property taxes? Is the tax situation different than if the senior citizen received a cash payment which is not connected with or credited against the property tax directly. J. Should a distinction be made between seniors who still own "pre-Prop 13" homes as opposed to those who have bought a home more recently and 'thus have had their home reappraised to current value? K. How can the legitimate concerns of the employee organizations regarding the possible loss; of jobs for full-time County employees in exchange for helping senior citizens be addressed? L. What; additional liability exposure does the County incur with the use of senior citizens in -jobs such as those which have been suggested where the County may be sued because of the actions of the senior citizen? M. If a reasonable set of assumptions are made about the size and scope of such a program, what is staff ' s best estimate of the cost of providing the credit to the Treasurer-Tax Collector to offset the loss of a cash property tax payment and how would this loss be covered by the departments which are receiving the services from the senior citizens? N. Can a program be designed which avoids the problems raised by County Counsel and thus avoids the need for State statutory and/or Constitutional amendments? What options are available for such a program? 0. Given a reasonable set of assumptions about the ; size, scope and complexity of such a Senior Tax Work-Off Program, what is staff' s best estimate of the administrative cost of operating such a program and how are those estimates arrived at? Sondra Rothwell January 14, 1992 Page 4 6 . Request the County Administrator to report back to our Committee on the results of the work of the above staff committee, along with the committee's and County Administrator's recommendations, by July 1, 1992 . In order to comply with the Board' s timetable, we have scheduled time on the agenda of the Internal Operations Committee as follows : Monday, July 27, 1992 10 : 30 A.M. Room 105, County Administration Building Please forward a copy of your report to this office by Wednesday, July 22 , 1992 so we can include it in the Committee's packet. Please let me know if I can be of any additional assistance to you on this referral. CLVM:amb van-45 Attachment cc: Supervisor Robert I . Schroder Supervisor Sunne Wright McPeak Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller Alfred P. Lomeli, Treasurer-Tax Collector Victor J. Westman, County Counsel Harry D. Cisterman, Director of Personnel James A. Rydingsword, Social Services Director Bob Sessler, Director, Area Agency on Aging Tony Enea, Senior Deputy County Administrator