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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06111985 - 1.28 TO!' BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Costa DATE: June 6 1985 Cou� SUBJECT: I Legislation: AB 807 (Campbell) SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION• Adopt a position of "support if amended" for AB 807 by Assemblyman Robert Campbell and authorize the Chairwoman to send a letter to Assemblyman Campbell detailing the amendments sought by the Board. BACKGROUND: . AB 807 is Assemblyman Campbell's proposal to secure a stable funding base for the Association of Bay Area Governments and other Councils of Government (COG's) . The decline of federal (e.g. 11701" planning grants) , and State financial support combined with the inability of local governments to pay substantial membership fees following Proposition 13 , has left COG's with substantially diminished revenues. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) has been subsisting on grants and State funds for special purpose projects while basic work, such as maintaining the regional plan, has been neglected. Recent proposals by ABAG to secure stable funding through regional taxes or fees have not attracted much support. The County has previously opposed the direct funding of Councils of Government by the State because of previous experiences with state and federal agencies imposing single-purpose and arbitrary requirements on the Bay Area when they provided the greater share of ABAG's finances in the 19701s. However, local governments can no longer provide adequate funding for COG's. Furthermore, it would be equitable for the State to provide a share of the stable funding base that the COG's are seeking because there is a statewide interest in COG' s providing regional forums and maintaining regional plans, and there is justification for dependable State support for specific COG programs (i.e. , population/housing data and regional clearinghouse functions) which are performed for the State. Under the circumstances, the Board of Supervisors may now wish to support the concept of direct State funding provided that it is "pass-through" funding for general programs and leaves de facto control of the COG' s in the hands of the member local governments. The bill contains an appropriation of $5 million for the 1985-86 fiscal year. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: X RECOMMENDATION';OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE _X APPROVE OTHER r i SIG NATURES) 14& ACTION OF BOARD ON June 1 1 1985 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I 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 OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. County Administrator CC: Community Dev. Director ATTESTED Assemblyman Robt. Campbell Assemblyman John Vasconcellos PH)LiZATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Chairman, Ways & Means SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Assemblymen William Baker, Phil 'Isenberg M382/7.88 BY i ��.� , DEPUTY Page 2 AB 807 (Campbell) However, the bill should clarify its rationale for distinguishing between COG' s which would be eligible for State support and those which would not be eligible. Reliance on Government Code Section 65040.4, pertaining to State-identified "regional planning districts" , does not appear to be wholly adequate because these districts seem to be seldom used for any purpose. Under other criteria, a multi-county joint powers agency, such as the Delta Advisory Planning Council, might be eligible for funds to update its Delta Action Plan, and planning for the Delta area is certainly a subject of statewide interest. Since the matter of eligibility is unclear, it is also unclear how much money any COG would receive. Obviously, no one wants to discover later that any COG received a "windfall". The bill should enable a reader to determine the general amounts that any eligible COG would receive. The Community Development Director recommends that the Board of Supervisors support AB 807, but request that the following changes to the bill be considered by Assemblyman Campbell: a. That the bill clarify the matters of eligibility and extent of financial support discussed above. b. That the bill specify that its intent is to provide pass-through monies to metropolitan area Councils of Governments to at least the extent of 85% of its annual appropriation, (as provided for in the bill, although we would prefer 100%) , to provide a component of stable funding for COG' s. C. That the bill identify the maintenance of comprehensive regional plans as the primary justification for State financial assistance (Note: since the demise of federal 11701" financial assistance, regional plans have not been kept up) . This would essentially result in local dues being used for general support of the organizations and for the support of their forum and coordination activities. d. That the bill identify ( 1) the support of population and related economic information, and ( 2) the support of regional clearinghouse activities, as two State-mandated programs warranting State financial support. e. That the bill eliminate the list of specific reporting subjects now contained in Section 65606 because these would tend to promote special-purpose planning by virtue of their mention, and priorities will vary from time-to-time and from place-to-place. The list, for example, does not include transportation congestion which is currently a prominent issue in Contra Costa County. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee on June 12.