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Consent-General Government # 15.
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| Board of Supervisors |
County Counsel |
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| Subject |
| Authorize the County Counsel to execute legal services agreements relating to County participation in a validation proceeding filed by the California Department of Water Resources for the State Water Project Contract Extension Amendments. (General fund impact $75,000) (Pogledich) |
| Recommended Action |
| Authorize the County Counsel to execute legal services agreements relating to County participation in a validation proceeding filed by the California Department of Water Resources for the State Water Project Contract Extension Amendments. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Sustainable Environment
Flourishing Agriculture |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The attached contracts provide for joint representation of Yolo County and several other public entities in a validation proceeding initiated by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in connection with the so-called State Water Project Contract Extension Amendments. The other public entities include: Butte County, Contra Costa County and the Contra Costa County Water Agency, Plumas County and the Plumas County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, San Joaquin County, Solano County, and the Central Delta Water Agency. Yolo County will pay a 1/7 share of costs incurred under each contract and will have the same ability to direct and control the litigation as each of the other participants.
The contracts do not include expiration dates or caps on overall compensation, as the duration and cost of the validation proceeding cannot be predicted. That said, the Office of the County Counsel expects the action to take 12-18 months to conclude and that the County's total financial share of costs will not exceed (and may be considerably less than) $75,000. The authorization requested in this Board letter is intended to allow for very minor edits if necessary, in the judgment of the County Counsel's office, to address concerns or suggestions made by the other signatories.
The Board approved County participation in the proceeding in closed session on February 26, 2019, as was reported out at the time. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| None. |
| Competitive Bid Process |
The contracts were not competitively bid. Each firm is currently representing the parties in related litigation involving the California WaterFix, and the firms thus have substantial relevant expertise as well as close familiarity with the legal and policy concerns of each participating public agency.
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
| Services provided under the attached agreements will be paid out of the County Counsel's existing allocation for outside counsel services. No budget amendment is expected to be necessary during the current fiscal year, as the amounts expended should be within the existing allocation. As indicated in the Board letter, the $75,000 fiscal impact is a best estimate of the maximum County obligation for services under the contracts based on existing information. Actual expenses could be higher or, more likely, substantially lower than this estimate. |
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