By Sarah Lombardo
The county may come to Saratoga's rescue when tax funds attached to the collection of the utility users tax run out. But the deal has some conditions, and Saratoga council members say they want to be cautious about accepting the money.
The proposal by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, would phase out the city's tax equity allocation (TEA) funds over two years, beginning either in June 1997 or June 1998. TEA funds are matching funds from the county collected from property taxes.
The city lost its right to the money, about $729,000 a year, when residents voted to repeal the utility users tax last November. Under Simitian's proposal, the county would give the city two-thirds of one year's worth of the TEA money, about $486,000, in the first year after Saratoga loses the TEA money and would give the other third, about $243,000, the following year. The third year will be the end of the funds altogether.
Simitian said he thinks the plan could help "cushion the blow" for Saratoga.
"What I have proposed is that whenever the TEA funds run out, that in order to help Saratoga transition through a difficult time, we allocate these funds that will phase out over the next two or three years," he said. "These are funds which would otherwise simply flow to the county."
But in exchange for the agreement, Saratoga must agree that it will maintain its level of law enforcement with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department during the phase-out period.
Councilman Paul Jacobs said he was concerned about such a condition tying the city's hands.
"I have no problem with agreeing that during this period we keep the sheriff's office; it's the question of whether or not we have any flexibility at all to reduce our commitment by any amount," he said.
Mayor Gillian Moran said she felt it would be vital to make sure any agreement involving the city's contract with the sheriff's department be flexible.
"I think that would be important to me in order to go along with this," Moran said. "I just don't think it's prudent for us to spin off or deem to the county our ability to contract or negotiate, or perhaps end or transfer if necessary, a contract that represents one of our key responsibilities as a city council and a very important part of our general fund budget. I certainly would welcome the TEA restitution to the extent that the county would give it to us, but I think we should think twice before we voluntarily give up our role to monitor such an important contract."
Interim City Manager Larry Perlin said that he thought the city would have plenty of "wiggle room" in the agreement with the county.
"We don't necessarily have to agree to maintain what we have been doing up to this point. We, I believe, would have the ability to set a new law-enforcement level of effort for next year, and then if we would continue that for a couple of years, the county would go for it," he said. "Really, what the supervisor is looking for is sort of a wink from the sheriff's department that, 'Yes, Saratoga is staying on board with us,' and we're going to be providing substantially the same level of law enforcement to the community, and this is really what he needs to pitch [the proposal] to the board."
City Finance Director Thomas Fil said he thought the council should at least direct staff to proceed with the idea and see if some agreement can be made in which the City Council would not feel its hands were tied.
"I would suggest that we approach this in that this does appear to be a very genuine and substantial offer that the county is making and that our priority clearly is to our sheriff's contract versus this TEA proposal; that we proceed in that manner and take actions that are consistent with the direction you [on the council] want the sheriff's contract to go," Fil said. "Then you look at the TEA agreement and determine whether or not it's worthwhile to take those conditions.
Simitian said he needed the agreement from the city to maintain the level of law enforcement because the city voluntarily gave up the TEA funds when residents voted down the utility tax. And the money, he said, could be used elsewhere in the county.
"The county's primary mission is to serve the neediest members of the county, and I believe that I may encounter the suggestion that the money could be used toward needier causes in the county and that to lose the TEA money was a decision Saratoga made," Simitian said. "I'm going to making this appeal to my colleagues based on the premise that this money would be used for public safety."
Simitian said he will present the proposal to the Board of Supervisors and expects a decision by July.
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This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 30, 1997.
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