Council to consider prohibited parking zones

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council will hold a discussion this week on prohibited parking zones within the city.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

On the council’s short Tuesday agenda, City Engineer Scott Harter will take to the council a resolution that rescinds Resolution 2357, passed in 2009, and revises the prohibited parking zones.

In other business, the council will recognize Robert “Bob” Marks for his volunteer service to the Lakeport Police Department.

The council also will hold a closed session to discuss a case of anticipated litigated, a consultation with Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and conference with labor negotiators regarding unrepresented employees.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 03 September 2012

Supervisors approve $179 million budget

County of Lake - Final Recommended Budget Overview 2012-13

LAKEPORT, Calif. – At the end of a four-hour budget hearing on Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county’s 2012-13 recommended budget.

The final budget totaled $179,870,780. That number included minor changes the board made during the hearing, including the approval of equipment for the Public Works Department’s road division.

The board’s final action on the budget puts it well ahead of the statutory requirement to have a final budget in place by Oct. 1.

The county budget includes $66.1 million in salaries, nearly $58 million in services and supplies, $6.1 million in fixed assets and $20.1 million in construction in progress.

“It went pretty smooth,” County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said after the hearing.

Perry, a longtime County Administrative Office staffer, took the reins in June, succeeding his mentor, Kelly Cox. This was Perry’s first time presenting the budget to the board in his new capacity.

He credited county department heads for their work in putting the budget together. “Everybody works together.”

The county’s budget profile

Perry, following Cox’s longtime example, gave a brief presentation on the budget to the county staff who filled the gallery at the beginning of the meeting.

He explained plans to continue to build strong reserves – the county has maintained about a 15-percent reserve despite the recession – and the attempt to maintain good service levels despite the reduction in staff over the past few years.

Perry said the county receives the largest part of its revenue – 34 percent – from the state. Fund balances and reserves count for 17 percent; followed by taxes, 15 percent; and federal sources, 13 percent.

Twenty-four percent of the county’s appropriations are spent on the Social Services Department, which has a $42 million budget and is 98.5 percent self-funded, receiving only $600,000 from the general fund, according to Perry.

The criminal justice system receives 20 percent of the county’s appropriations, followed by Public Works, airport, flood and lakebed management, at 15 percent, and health services, 1 percent, Perry reported.

He said the property tax roll and sales tax revenues for the county have been hit hard by the recession.

The property tax roll was $5.9 billion in 2006-07 and showed a rapid escalation. Then it began to drop in 2010-11, and continued to drop this year, coming in at just over $6.6 billion, according to Perry’s presentation.

“We’re hoping it's leveling off,” he said, pointing out that it is continuing to show a downward trend in 2012-13.

“We don’t know if we’ve hit bottom yet,” Perry said.

Sales tax also showed a dramatic downturn since its peak in 2007-08. Perry’s report showed that it peaked at about $2.2 million in 2007-08 and bottomed out in 2009-10, coming in at around $1.6 million. It has since rebounded, with it estimated to total about $2 million in this new fiscal year, he said.

The number of county positions also has declined over the past several years. Perry said positions totaled 968 in 2008-09, with 913 budgeted for 2012-13. Community Development was hardest hit, going from a high of 36 positions down to 19, while the sheriff’s office went from 178 to 171.

Parks gained one staffer to total 10 – Perry said the department has seen its responsibilities increase in recent years – and the assessor went from 16.6 positions to 15.6 positions.

Supervisor Denise Rushing asked Perry what would happen if sales tax revenues don’t improve for the county. He said the county has healthy contingencies – which have been raised from $2 million to $3 million – if the outlook doesn’t turn around.

The board quickly moved through final discussions on each of the departments and their specific budget units.

By the time the budgets have reached the final hearing, they’ve been thoroughly vetted over the course of the several months it takes to construct the final budget document.

“We really do have absolute confidence in our staff,” Board Chair Rob Brown said during the hearing.

Looking at creative solutions to shortfalls

Among the departments facing particular challenges this year is the Lake County Library.

County Deputy Administrative Officer Jeff Rein reported that the library has suffered from an “enormous cut” in state funding, which has resulted in the book budget being slashed, cut from $100,000 to about $30,000.

County administration proposed giving the library a one-time $100,000 allocation and canceling more of its reserves, Rein said.

Those solutions are offering sufficient funding to keep all of the county’s libraries open, Rein said.

He also credited Lake County Library Director Susan Clayton with “making it work.”

Rushing said she supported riding out the storm and helping the library system. “We need to have our libraries,” she said, noting that the county’s unemployed need them as a resource.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington said they needed a better plan for the future. “I personally don’t see it getting better.”

Rushing agreed. “We’ll have to get creative.”

Over at Lake County Probation, Chief Probation Officer Rob Howe’s budget has seen an increase in state funding due to correctional realignment, which is resulting in more people serving time in county jail rather than state prison and more parolees being put under the supervision of Howe’s department.

Rein said this year the agency has received almost $1 million in state appropriations, with the budget reflecting three new positions and numerous services and professional contracts to support public safety.

While Community Development Director Rick Coel’s department has seen reductions due to building revenues, Supervisor Jeff Smith indicated an interest in seeing code enforcement ramped up once again.

Rushing agreed, pointing out that some communities are going after properties in an attempt to get back bailout money given to banks, which are letting foreclosed properties deteriorate. “I think we can get our money back,” she said.

Coel said his staff is drafting proposed revisions that would further streamline the nuisance abatement process, with normal abatements running around 75 days. “I just don’t think that’s acceptable,” he said.

Tax Collector Sandra Shaul told the board that she wanted to try to recover a full-time position she lost in 2010. Since the job was cut, her department has had a $28,000 decline in cost recovery.

“You end up leveraging that position not only to raise revenue but to recapture those costs,” she said, adding that her staff works very hard.

Assessor-Recorder Doug Wacker told the board he’s seeing a small upsurge in property recordings, which is raising revenues.

“Foreclosures are down at this point,’ he said, noting that from Jan. 1 through Wednesday foreclosures were down by 30 percent compared to the same time period in 2011.

Over at Animal Care and Control, Rein said there were $37,000 in budget transfers for the new spay/neuter clinic. He credited Director Bill Davidson with bringing about a “slow and steady” increase in revenues.

Rein said this will be the first year that the clinic is self-sufficient financially.

Sheriff Frank Rivero and his administrative staff presented the board with a list of requested budget changes and additions that totaled more than $4.4 million. That list included $300,000 to purchase a substation property in Clearlake Oaks and another $250,000 to renovate it.

In the board’s budget, Perry said he is planning to restore a second clerk to the board position. He will be able to fund the position’s restoration as of Jan. 1, 2013.

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Lake County Recommended Budget FY 2012-13

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 30 August 2012

Board asks county counsel to research cable access pass-through fee

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors did not take action on Tuesday on a proposal to place a pass-through fee on cable users’ bills to support the county’s cable access television show, instead directing county counsel to research possible conflicts with state law.

PEG TV8, which is based in Clearlake, is asking for a 1-percent pass-through fee to be placed on Mediacom users’ bills to help fund the station.

It’s estimated that the pass-through fee will generate up to $55,000 a year for the station.

So far, the city councils of Lakeport and Clearlake have both passed resolutions to approve the pass-through fee, although neither council has asked for – or been provided – financial reports to show the station’s current income or expenditures. The current board budget also does not include up-to-date financials for the station.

During the brief discussion on the item Tuesday morning, Board Chair Rob Brown said some issues had come up with regard to Proposition 26, and whether or not the pass-through amounted to an actual tax rather than just a fee.

Passed in November 2010 as a constitutional amendment, Proposition 26 is meant to stop “hidden taxes” and prevent government from placing more levies and fees on voters.

As such, it requires a two-thirds – or “super majority” – vote of the Legislature for certain state fees. Local fee increases also would require a two-thirds vote.

County Counsel Anita Grant told the board that Proposition 26 has created a lot of confusion.

If the pass-through fee were ruled a tax, it would need to be put on the ballot by cable users – not the Board of Supervisors or another local government – in order to follow the law, Grant explained.

“There are some red flags,” Grant said of the pass-through proposal.

If it’s determined to be a special tax, the pass-through fee would be impacted by Proposition 26, she said.

Grant added that if the supervisors proceeded without certainty of whether the pass-through was a tax or fee, the board could run the risk of being in defiance of Proposition 26.

Supervisor Denise Rushing asked Grant if she believed the pass-through amounted to a tax.

Grant said in her initial review she’d only looked at the proposal’s red flags. She recommended the board have her review it further, saying she needed a few weeks to complete the analysis.

Rushing said she believed further analysis was important. She said she has received calls from constituents – both for and against the fee – with some suggesting that it is a tax.

The board agreed to delay the matter. Brown suggested rescheduling the discussion for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 28 August 2012

Board approves local emergency declaration for Wye and Walker fires

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors last week officially declared a countywide emergency in response to the Wye and Walker fires, and the county’s state senator asked the governor for a similar declaration although the county may not qualify based on final damage estimates.

Supervisor Denise Rushing took the proposed emergency resolution to the board at its meeting last Tuesday. The resolution was approved 5-0.

The fires – the causes of which still haven’t been released by Cal Fire – began Sunday, Aug. 12, along Highway 20.

Managed as one incident, the fires burned 7,934 acres over a one-week period, destroying three structures and damaging two others before being fully contained on Saturday, Aug. 18.

Spring Valley and the Wilbur Hot Springs areas were evacuated, and Highway 20 was temporarily closed because of the incident.

The total cost to fight the fires was above $7.3 million, with more than 1,200 firefighters on scene at one point, according to Cal Fire.

The day after the board passed the resolution, State Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown in which she joined the board in asking for a disaster declaration for Lake County because of the fires.

However, the county may not qualify for assistance.

Rushing told the board that the county’s damage may not reach the statewide threshold for getting increased assistance from the state, an issue that Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta – who also works in the county’s Office of Emergency Services – brought up at a community meeting last week on the Wye Fire.

“I knew that we weren’t near the threshold for that,” Sapeta told Lake County News on Monday.

Sapeta said that he’s still tallying the county’s damages, and doesn’t yet have values from Pacific Gas & Electric and other utilities, or Caltrans.

“There’s still a lot of data that I haven’t received yet,” he said.

He said the disaster assistance for which the county would be eligible is determined by an equation, not a dollar amount, and without all of the needed information that equation hasn’t been fully calculated.

However, he said Lake County was fortunate in not losing a lot of farming operations or homes, and only had a brief 24- to 36-hour interruption of infrastructure, primarily the Highway 20 closure east of Highway 53.

Because there have been several big fires around Northern California – including the North Pass Fires in Mendocino County and the Ponderosa in Tehama and Shasta counties, which has destroyed more than 60 homes – Sapeta said Gov. Brown could make a regional declaration naming eligible counties, including Lake.

If, however, the county has a wet winter and suffers erosion and slides in the fire area, Sapeta said that could be added to the fire damage totals, and could qualify the county for state assistance.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 28 August 2012