NEVADA CITY, Calif. March 19, 2010 - During their Thursday meeting LAFCo commissioners adopted the 2010-2011 budget proposal and staffing levels.
What is LAFCo?
According to the California Association of LAFCos: "LAFCos are responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental boundaries, conducting special studies that review ways to reorganize, simplify, and streamline governmental structure and preparing a sphere of influence for each city and special district within each county. LAFCos review proposals for the formation of new local governmental agencies and for changes in the organization of existing agencies. Municipal Service Reviews (MSR) were added to LAFCo's mandate with the passage of the CKH Act in 2000. A service review is a comprehensive study designed to better inform LAFCo, local agencies, and the community about the provision of municipal services. Service reviews attempt to capture and analyze information about the governance structures and efficiencies of service providers, and to identify opportunities for greater coordination and cooperation between providers. The service review is a prerequisite to a sphere of influence determination and may also lead a LAFCo to take other actions under its authority."
LAFCo acts as a clearinghouse for local agencies wishing to expand their sphere of influence, provide additional services or annex lands within their city limits. If special districts (i.e. fire, water, recreation or sewer districts) want to consolidate, LAFCo will review the proposed merger.
Nevada County LAFCo 2010-2011 Budget
An in-depth presentation by Budget Subcommittee Chair Paul Norsell noted deep cuts in expenditures and revenues. In 2009, LAFCo had a budget of $379,397. The 2010 budget decreased to $338,404. For the coming year, the balance sheet shows a total liabilities and net assets of $265,000.
The more than 17% reduction in expenditures is mainly achieved by reducing personnel and legal costs. Furloughs, suspension of merit pay increases and a voluntary waiver by the Executive Officer of the automatic cost-of-living increase were implemented in 2009.
Revenue projections are 10% lower than in the 2009-2010 budget. Since local agencies are expected to bring fewer projects to LAFCo, the subcommittee also decreased the funding requirements from local agencies by $27,000.
Who Pays for LAFCo?
LAFCo's budget is equally divided between the county, the three cities and special districts. Each of these agencies must approve their share of funding. The County of Nevada's share for 2010-2011 will be $77,233, down from $86,217. Other large contributors to the budget include the Town of Truckee ($48,659), NID ($29,942), Truckee-Donner PUD ($23,096), the City of Grass Valley ($21,840).
The commission voted to forward the budget proposal to all agencies for approval.
Staffing Study Presented
At the request of Grass Valley, the budget subcommittee requested a proposal from the County of Nevada to provide staff services. The committee also reviewed a proposal by Robert Braitman, the current Executive Officer of the Santa Barbara LAFCo.
The current LAFCo staff is comprised of an Executive Officer at .85 of full time (FTE), one Clerk-Analyst at .55 FTE and one Office Assistant at .45 FTE. This staffing provides for full-time staffing and commission meeting attendance.
The county proposal provide for a .10 FTE Executive Officer, one Associate Planner at .50 FTE and one Office Assistant II at .50 FTE. This provides for part-time office hours and commission meeting attendance.
The Braitman proposal provides an Executive Officer at >.40 FTE, one Clerk-Analyst at .55 FTE and one Assistant Clerk at .45 FTE.
The comparison chart provided by the committee shows the following total costs:
In-house option: $306,399
County option: $388,530
Braitman option: $340,920
Committee Chair Norsell stated that the in-house proposal also allows for further furlough time for the current staff, providing for even more flexibility.
Several members of the public commented on the depth of the study, thanking the budget committee for their work and supported keeping the LAFCo staffing in-house.
All commissioners agreed with the committee's recommendation to decline both the county's and Mr. Braitman's proposals.
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