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Community Development Agency, Administration and Finance Division, recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Approve appointments of Advisory Committee members to fill vacancies on zone of benefit advisory committees in County Service Area No. 9 as outlined on Exhibit A, Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Changes; and
2) Confirm the appointment of advisory committee members who will be continuing their participation on the zone of benefit advisory committees in County Services Areas No. 2 and No. 9 as outlined in Exhibit B, Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Continuing Participants.
FUNDING: Zone of benefit assessments and special taxes. (No Federal Funds)
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DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION
The Community Development Agency, Administration and Finance Division recommends the Board consider the following: 1) approve the appointees of Advisory Committee members to fill vacancies on zone of benefit advisory committees in County Service Area No. 9 as outlined on Exhibit A, Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Changes; and 2) confirm appointments of advisory committee members who will be continuing their participation on zone of benefit advisory committees in County Service Areas No. 2 and No. 9, as outlined in Exhibit B, Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Continuing Participants.
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The Policy and Procedure Guidelines for the Creation and Administration of Zones of Benefit within a County Service Area (Guidelines) provide that an advisory committee may be appointed to serve at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors. The purpose of the advisory committee is to meet periodically with property owners and residents within the zone to identify unmet service needs, evaluate the adequacy of the services provided, compile the annual budget for recommendation to the Board, and provide recommendations regarding other matters pertaining to the business of the zone of benefit. There are currently 33 advisory committees for zones of benefit within the County: two in County Service Area No. 2 and 31 in County Service Area No. 9. These zone of benefit advisory committees were not included with those discussed in the Board of Supervisors' Committees and Commissions Overview on March 24, 2015 (Legistar File 15-0100, Item 16).
Each advisory committee is required to meet at least four times per year. One of the four meetings is a general meeting of all property owners and residents. Since the inception of the zone of benefit program, the advisory committees have made recommendations to the Board regarding changes to the advisory committee membership based on consensus of the property owners and residents in attendance at the general meeting. The property owners and residents determine the number of participants to recommend to the Board for appointment, which may vary from zone to zone and from year to year.
All advisory committee meetings are subject to compliance with California's Open Meeting Laws and County ordinance code related to public meetings. Advisory committee participants are subject to the provisions of Government Code Section 53235 (AB 1234) which requires ethics training for local officials. Agency staff conducts periodic orientation and training workshops for zone advisory committee participants, including a presentation based on the Guidelines, as amended and approved by the Board February 10, 2015 (Legistar File 14-1292) and the El Dorado County Community Development Agency Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Manual (Manual), initially issued May 1, 2008 and most recently revised March 27, 2015. The Manual is published on the County's web page. A workshop is scheduled for May 13, 2015. An invitation has been sent to each advisory committee participant, both those recommended for appointment herein, and those who are continuing in their appointed roles.
With the submission of their recommended budgets and work plans, no changes were recommended from either of the two zones of benefit within County Service Area No. 2, and 11 of the 31 advisory committees for zones of benefit within County Service Area No. 9 recommended changes to the committee participants. Minutes from the general meetings for these zones reflect the recommended changes to the advisory committees as shown on Exhibit A, Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Changes. A list of the advisory committees and participants where no changes are recommended is included as Exhibit B, Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Continuing Participants. Dolly Varden No. 98126 and Emerald Meadows No. 98580 zone advisory committees included on Exhibit B have vacancies they would like to fill, but for which there are no recommended replacement members at this time. These vacancies are included in the Notice of Vacancy to alert interested parties of the open opportunities in those zones.
ALTERNATIVES
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
N/A
CAO RECOMMENDATION
CAO recommending the Board move staff's recommendations regarding membership on the referenced Zones of Benefits Advisory Committees.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact or change to Net County Cost associated with making appointments to the zone of benefit advisory committees.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
The Clerk of the Board will receive and file the roster of the current advisory committee participants.
NEXT STEPS:
The Community Development Agency, Administration and Finance Division will:
1) Prepare a roster of the current advisory committee participants and provide the roster to the Clerk of the Board for reference;
2) Notify the advisory committee participants regarding their appointments;
3) Conduct a training session on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 for all advisory committee participants regarding their roles and responsibilities, polices and regulations applicable to the zones of benefit; and
4) Provide each committee member access to the El Dorado County Community Development Agency Zone of Benefit Advisory Committee Manual and AB1234 Ethics Training for Local Officials.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Public Infrastructure
CONTACT
Kate Sampson, Assistant Director
Administration and Finance Division