To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Auditor-Controller Treasurer-Tax Collector
Staff Name and Phone Number: Levi Ehrlich 565-3289
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): 4th & 5th
Title:
Title
Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District Fund Transfer
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approval of the Resolution of the Board of Supervisors, County of Sonoma, State of California, authorizing the Auditor-Controller Treasurer-Tax Collector to establish a temporary fund transfer for Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District in an amount up to $600,000. (Fourth and Fifth District)
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Executive Summary:
The Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (“the District”), in conjunction with the Auditor-Controller Treasurer-Tax Collector, is requesting the Board to approve a temporary fund transfer in an amount not to exceed $600,000 in order to provide the District with sufficient cash to meet their cash flow needs and repay the current note held by the County Treasury.
Discussion:
The District was established in 1941 as one of the original resource conservation districts, and the first in Sonoma County. The District was established to ensure strong, productive, and viable agricultural endeavors in Western Sonoma County can continue by improving soil and water quality. Providing an economically and ecologically viable and healthy agricultural community.
To that end, the District has applied for and received several awards from federal, state and local sources for various projects. The following is a brief summary of the major awards and amounts remaining to be billed:
|
Funding Agency |
Grant/Contract Amount |
|
California Department of Fish & Wildlife |
$ 1,156,395.96 |
|
California Department of Food & Agriculture |
$ 100,244.15 |
|
California Department of Water Resources |
$ 103,425.86 |
|
California State Coastal Conservancy |
$ 18,669.40 |
|
California Water Resources Control Board |
$ 165,991.42 |
|
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation |
$ 59,923.83 |
|
National Resource Conservation Science |
$ 410,395.70 |
|
Natural Resources Conservation Service |
$ 47,208.03 |
|
Resource Legacy Fund |
$ 50,000.00 |
|
Santa Rosa Plan Groundwater Sustainability Agency |
$ 32,727.24 |
|
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District |
$ 53,229.32 |
|
Sonoma County Water Agency |
$ 24,223.42 |
|
Trout Unlimited, Inc. |
$ 91,260.38 |
|
Grand Total |
$ 2,313,694.71 |
The District must spend the funds prior to reimbursement from awarding agencies and does not have adequate cash to cover these upfront expenditures. By resolution, the District has requested a temporary fund transfer under Article XVI, Section 6 of the State Constitution. This fund transfer takes the form of a line of credit with a limit of $600,000 requested for FY 2019-20. The line of credit will be repaid by the last Monday in April of the current fiscal year. This line of credit is necessary to allow the District to maintain operations prior to reimbursements being received and represents a low risk to the County as the grants/contracts have already been awarded to the District.
The District currently has a note with the County Treasury in the amount of $500,000 that serves as bridge financing between April 2019 and September 2019. This note is due and payable on October 14, 2019. The District’s cash balance in the County Treasury as of July 31, 2019 is $360,290. In addition, the District has a nominal amount in their Exchange Bank checking account. Accordingly, the District will need to use approximately $144,210 of the temporary fund transfer to pay off the balance of the current note held by the Treasury, including interest.
Your Board delegated authority to the Auditor-Controller Treasurer-Tax Collector to approve temporary fund transfers to agencies that can secure transfers wholly by revenue collected through the secured property tax system. The District does not receive sufficient property tax support to meet the current temporary fund transfer request. In FY 2018-19, the District received less than $31,000 in property tax revenues; therefore, Board of Supervisors approval is required for a temporary fund transfer secured by revenue from outside sources.
In FY14-15, the District agreed to work with the Auditor-Controller Treasurer-Tax Collector to develop a plan that addressed their structural deficit with the aim of eliminating their annual deficit in FY14-15 and working down their accumulated deficit. This goal has been met, and the District anticipates FY19-20 revenues to exceed expenditures by approximately $11,145.
Prior Board Actions:
Last year the board approved a similar transfer of $600,000 on August 14, 2018, Resolution No. 18-0321
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The recommended temporary fund transfer has no significant financial impact. Rather than a physical transfer of cash to the District, this action provides authority for the District to operate with a deficit cash position up to the approved amount.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
1) Resolution establishing temporary fund transfer.
2) Gold Ridge RCD Resolution.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None