Category: SCCounty Economic Development

2017-2018 Santa Cruz County Budget

6/7/2017

Santa Cruz County’s projected 2017-2018 budget is expected to exceed its generated revenue, with expenditure currently estimated at $717 million, with only $662 million in expected revenue.
Of this $717 million proposed expenditure, 42% is allotted for County spending on Salaries and Benefits, 33% for Services and Supplies and 20% for other charges, whereas 39% of expected revenue will come from state and federal funding, 24% from taxes, 27% from social services charges, and 2% from licenses and permits.
This expected county expenditure of $717 million is $40 million less than the 2016-2017 county budget proposal as grant funded capital projects have been completed, yet nevertheless, the County has received a financial break from a key area; Governor Brown has decided not to follow through on a proposal to halt the funding of In Home Support Services, with the State budget to offer $400 million for In Home Support Services in the year of 2017-2018.
Santa Cruz County administrative officer, Susan Mauriello anticipate additional amendments to the budget proposal in order to respond to the potential loss of Medicaid funding and the repealing of the Affordable Care Act, which occur under the Trump administration. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which would potentially remove healthcare access for up to 13% of Santa Cruz County, would present a major budget obstacle that the County must be address. Additional budgetary challenges outside of health care include; overdue infrastructure maintenance, rising pensions costs, pressure to increase wages and salaries, and storing county funding in preparation for economic recession. Budget hearings will begin on June 19th.

Some information in this post is based in a Santa Cruz Sentinel publication on May 25th. For details and more information please see the following links:

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Santa Cruz Nissan Project

5/31/2017

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The owner of Santa Cruz Nissan, a car dealership located on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz, is requesting approval from Santa Cruz County to move his dealership to a new site in Soquel on 41st Avenue next to the Redwood Square shopping center, Best Buy and Ocean Honda. This new dealership site would be located on the corner of 3820 Soquel Drive and 2755 41st Avenue, and has an estimated construction cost of $10 million.
While the owner expects both staff and sales to increase at the new Soquel site, citing expected potential sales of over $20 million; this move is facing opposition from economic interests in Santa Cruz, as well as from Soquel residents who fear the increased traffic congestion that this move would bring.
The City of Santa Cruz’s Economic Development Director has shown disappointment at this requested move, and has failed to convince Santa Cruz Nissan to stay, despite offering alternative locations within the Santa Cruz City limits.
While Santa Cruz City may mourn this loss of economic revenue, Santa Cruz County’s Economic Development Manager Andy Constable hopes that this move to Soquel will boost job growth and tax revenue. Members who routinely commute through this area of 41st Avenue are not as hopeful, opposition from members of the Soquel Neighbors Alliance has been actively expressed, with members claiming that this move would result in an estimated 600 additional vehicle trips to this area of 41st/Soquel Drive that is already heavily congested with traffic.
This application has recently been taken off the May Planning Commission Agenda, due to proposed modifications to the project that the owner of Santa Cruz Nissan has requested.
In light of community concern and opposition, Supervisor John Leopold, the representative for the 1st District, has assured his residents in his newsletter, that he will keep his residents updated and included as this Nissan project develops.

This post is based in Santa Cruz Sentinel publications on May 1st and May 9th. For details and more information please see the following links:

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The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017

5/8/2017

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On April 6th 2017, the California legislature passed the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (Senate Bill 1), the largest gas tax in state history. This bill was just signed into law by Governor Brown on April 28th.
This bill will raise the base gasoline excise tax by 12 cents per gallon, will increase the diesel and biodiesel tax by 20 cents, and will impose annual vehicle licensing fees. The combination of these taxes and fees will provide the state roughly $5 billion a year in transportation funding, and $52 billion over the next 10 years.
While the passing of Senate Bill 1 is considered a huge win for the Democrats in Sacramento, it did not come easily, as highly controversial last minute deals with hesitant Democrats and Republicans resulted in roughly $1 billion being set aside for projects in areas of Riverside and Modesto.
With Santa Cruz County having already approved Measure D in December of 2016, which authorized a half cent sales tax that will raise an estimated $17 million per year for local transportation funding, Senate Bill 1 will offer Santa Cruz County an additional $6 million per year, making available an additional $23 million in annual funding for road repair and transportation projects in Santa Cruz County.
In addition, in response to concerns that the new funds will not be spent solely upon transportation as intended, Senate Bill 1 contains a proposed 2018 constitutional amendment that will guarantee that all of the $5 billion a year, will be used only for transportation repair and projects.
From Senate Bill 1, which will begin in November of 2017, the City of Santa Cruz can expect to receive $1.48 million annually, whereas Watsonville will receive $1.21 million, Scots Valley $278,000 and Capitola $232,000.

Relevance: This bill is of great relevance to California’s infrastructure and economy as a whole, and addresses recent concerns in Santa Cruz County regarding the need for greater funding for roads and transportation. While this tax increase can be criticized as an increased financial burden for Santa Cruz residents who have already approved a gas tax in November and are struggling with the extremely expensive nature of California living, one can also argue that increased funding for transportation infrastructure and projects will not only put many people to work, but will also strengthen Santa Cruz’s local economy, as safe and efficient travel is a core aspect of economic growth. Furthermore, this additional funding may also play a role in supporting the City’s energy efficiency goals, as this bill allocates funding for sustainable and energy efficient transportation, setting aside an annual $100 million to promote increased travel by walking or bicycling, as well as $25 million for sustainable communities grant applications. Furthermore, this bill will also heavily invest in strengthening public transit, an essential aspect of sustainable travel. Many also see this increase in transportation funding as highly timely, in light of one of California’s wettest winters, which caused an estimated $20 million in road damage in Santa Cruz County, forcing both the City and County to declare a state of emergency.

To read more about the relevance of this bill please see our Chamber Newsletter for more details:
http://web.santacruzchamber.org/news/newsarticledisplay.aspx?ArticleID=1528
To see the specific details on the allocation of the projected funding please visit the following link:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article147437054.html
For more information please see the following links:

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Monterey Bay Community Power Project

5/8/2017

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In early March, the Monterey Board of Supervisors finalized their vote to join Monterey Bay Community Power, joining Santa Cruz and San Benito counties to form a tri-county community choice energy project that will place control over energy supplies in local hands. This vote was of great significance as it secured the support of all three counties and pushed the Monterey Bay Community Power Project past one of many obstacles to come for this revolutionary tri-county energy initiative.
The project, recently joined by San Juan Bautista, still has more progress to be made, as of the twenty-one cities within the three counties of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito, two cities, Del Rey Oaks and King City, have still refused to join this tri county agency, with Del Rey Oaks City Council voting against the Project on March 28th.
Supporters of this community choice energy project intend to move forward with door to door canvassing in Del Rey Oaks with the hope of garnering enough community support to sway the City Council to vote on the issue again in May.
Monterey Bay Community Power, an initiative driven by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce McPherson, would not only emphasize local control over energy but would stimulate local economic development by keeping both energy and money local and creating local energy jobs. Furthermore this community choice energy project is projected to offer cleaner energy at similar rates to PG&E, and would emphasize investment in local renewable energy projects, which would play an important role in achieving California’s recent ambitious goal to reduce state emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.
Monterey Bay Community Power will open for enrollment this summer and will automatically register residents from its counties, who will be given the option to remain with PG&E.
Roughly half of Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito’s green house gases are estimated to come from the projection of energy. As California is arguably the United States’ leader and pioneer in energy sustainability and environmental policy, if this tri county initiative is successful in promoting clean local energy at comparable PG&E rates, then this could set an innovative example of sustainable energy reliance for other counties and states to follow. For details and more information please visit the Monterey Bay Community Power Project at: http://montereybaycca.org

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Storm Damage UPDATE: Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors Declare Storm Induced Damage to Still be an Issue of Local Emergency

3/10/2017

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In response to severe storm induced infrastructure damage to roads and water supply lines throughout January and February of 2017, The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors initially declared a local state of emergency on February 7th, 2017.
Due to continuous rainfall and resulting rain damage late into February, the County has responded by adopting a resolution proposing that this local state of emergency be continued.
This is an essential procedural step necessary to recovering from the serious damage inflicted by local storms, as the approval of this resolution will enable additional State and Federal funding to be given to the county, as Santa Cruz County suffered some of the most extensive storm damage in all of California.

The information in this write up is based in a Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Council Agenda Item set forth on February 28th, 2017. For details and more information please see the following Board of Supervisors Agenda Item.

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Chamber blog

2017-2018 Santa Cruz County Budget

Santa Cruz Nissan Project

The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017

Monterey Bay Community Power Project

Storm Damage UPDATE: Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors Declare Storm Induced Damage to Still be an Issue of Local Emergency

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