|
Back to Calendar
Return
|
| |
Consent-General Government # 11.
|
| Board of Supervisors |
County Counsel |
|
|
|
| Subject |
| Approve Property Tax Settlement with Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency (WDCWA) to resolve tax dispute and authorize the Chair to execute Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated WDCWA Joint Powers Agreement, adding the County as a WDCWA member. (No general fund impact) (Pogledich) |
| Recommended Action |
- Approve the Settlement with Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency (WDCWA) to resolve tax dispute; and
- Authorize the Chair to execute Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated WDCWA Joint Powers Agreement, adding the County as a WDCWA member.
|
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
 |
In Support of All Goals
- Provision of organizational supports and services
|
|
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The purpose of this item is to resolve property tax proceedings related to the water rights owned by the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency (WDCWA). WDCWA's water rights are "located" outside the jurisdictional territory of WDCWA's members, and are therefore subject to property taxation. Because WDCWA disagreed with the Assessor's valuation of the water rights, it initiated proceedings before the Board of Equalization (BOE). Those proceedings have been stayed pending settlement negotiations among the parties.
Pursuant to the proposed Settlement Agreement negotiated by staff and approved by the WDCWA Board on February 12, 2020 (Att. A), the County would join WDCWA, and WDCWA's water rights, now within a WDCWA's member's territory, would become exempt from property taxes. The County's membership in WDCWA would save WDCWA -- and thus WDCWA's rate-payers -- about $180,000 per year. The County's share of this sum is 18.2% (between general fund, ACO fund, roads, and library), or approximately $32,000 per year.
In order to become a member of WDCWA, the County would execute Amendment No. 1 to the WDCWA Joint Powers Agreement (Att. B). Amendment No. 1 also makes technical changes to the JPA Agreement (Att. C) to accommodate the changed structure of the agency as it moves from solely two city members to also including one county member. Under the proposed arrangement, the County will appoint one non-voting Board member. If approved by the Board, Amendment No. 1 will be presented to the City Councils of Woodland and Davis for approval. Once the City Councils have also approved Amendment No. 1, the parties would move forward with resolving the BOE proceedings and process the property tax refund for WDCWA. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| The Assessor's Office and Department of Financial Services have collaborated on this Settlement. |
|
| Fiscal Impact |
|
|
| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|