Woodland's Measure R is expected to raise roughly $4.3 million this fiscal year providing funds for general city services, programs and facilities.
The Woodland City Council approved the spending plan for the ¼ cent sales tax measure that was approved by voters in 2020 and has an 8-year life span ending Sept. 30, 2030. The measure was approved with over 60% approval alongside several advisory measures – S, T, U and V – that guide the council in the allocation of revenues, according to the city staff report.
Revenues for the measure's 8-year life span are estimated to total $34.6 million with an anticipated $4.34 million expected for fiscal year 2024/25.
The report noted that revenues throughout the entire lifespan of the tax measure are expected to total $34.6 million. The city's spending plan allocates revenues to four major categories: youth programming, library programming, crime prevention and utility assistance.
According to the report, the allocation for library programming allows for the continuation of increased hours of operation from 44 to 51 hours a week at the Woodland Public Library.
"[Measure R] funds children's and teen collections including current print and electronic material and also expands the collection in both print and electronic form," the report noted. "[Measure R] also provides funding for operations and programming of the Square One workspace."
Funding for library programming totals $920,325 for this fiscal year and will continue the same level of staffing and programming from the previous year, according to the report.
Additionally, the tax measure provides funding for after-school programs at Lee and Douglass Middle Schools, clubs and leagues for middle school youth during the summer, aquatics programming, assists with the waiver of per-player fees for youth sports and continues funding activities for youth diversion programs.
Roughly $2.2 million will go towards funding youth programs and will continue the same level of staffing and programming from last year including an estimated $350,000 that will be available for a partial year of operations of the southeast area pool complex, which is anticipated to be built in the next year.
Furthermore, the measure will allocate $665,938 for crime prevention funding programs like neighborhood watch, the expansion of the Volunteers in Policing program and continuing funding activities for violence prevention programs.
This funding will also include $200,000 to continue Advance Peace Woodland – a gun violence prevention program that has received positive reports from the Woodland Police Department – and $60,000 in additional one-time funds to purchase and install automated license plate recognition cameras and technology.
"The addition of these cameras on a four-year agreement provides the city with a cost-effective force multiplier that helps direct officers to where crimes are occurring and provides invaluable investigative leads following a crime," the report highlighted. "Fixed ALPR technology is being widely used by many local police agencies to locate stolen vehicles and to solve crimes where a vehicle has been used."
Lastly, the city will allocate $250,000 from Measure R funds to provide funding subsidies to assist low-income families with payment of their utility bills. The program provides a $40 per month subsidy for up to 12 months in a fiscal year, according to the report.
The report argued that the allocation "will continue to provide the assistance program at the existing subsidy level and qualifying criteria" noting that "depending upon the timing of application for the program, this allocation will provide assistance to a minimum of 520 qualifying residential accounts."
Based on proposed expenditures, city staff believes the city will distribute the tax measure revenues through its 8-year life as listed below.
- Library programming - 24.4% ($8.1 million)
- Youth programming - 56.1% (18.7 million)
- Crime prevention - 13.3% ($4.5 million)
- Utility assistance - 6.2% ($2.1 million)
Administrative Services Director Kim McKinney attended the council's Tuesday meeting to present this information. She noted that the proposed expenditures are in line with distribution percentages voters approved in 2020, which are 55% for Youth, 25% for library, 15% for crime prevention and 5% for utility assistance.
The measure's spending plan will be updated each year and adjustments will be required to reflect updated revenue numbers and modified programming expenditures to ensure the spending plan is balanced and in alignment with its advisory measures.
Following the presentation, Mayor Tania Garcia-Cadena asked City Manager Ken Hiatt about a recent situation concerning the city's utility assistance program. The program requires residents to qualify for the PG&E CARE or FERA program, be the legal property owner living at their home and have their name on the utility bill and the PG&E bill.
However, Garcia-Cadena explained a recent situation involving an older adult who "turned over the ownership of her home" to a relative. This made her ineligible for the assistance program even though her living situation had not changed.
"We have an older community that is looking at turning [their homes] over to a trust or putting them under a family member's name, so we need to take that into consideration," she expressed.
Hiatt acknowledged the individual's situation and highlighted the importance of finding ways to address similar situations.
"It creates a situation where you have a unique arrangement where maybe you transfer the ownership of the property to your trust and you don't show up on the title," Hiatt said. "How do you then qualify for the ratepayer assistance if you're still residing there? I believe we found a way to resolve that, but we could follow up."
On the contrary, Councilman Tom Stallard cautioned any move to change the current requirements arguing that people could use any loophole to cheat the system.
"This could be a way for people who are not supposed to get that benefit to get that benefit simply by having the older American live with them in the house," Stallard warned. "I think we need to be really careful with how we proceed."
Councilwoman Victoria Fernandez then asked how helpful the $40 assistance program is considering today's high utility costs. Mckinney addressed this question noting that the city bills a combination of water, sewer and storm drain services in its utilities bills.
"It primarily comes off of the water because that's the largest component of the bill," she said. "From our base rate, if you don't use any water, your monthly bill is around $120. So $40 off that gets you to around $80."
Hiatt also addressed a public comment regarding the allocation of funds to purchase five additional license plate scanners.
"These would be legally compliant devices used not for red light cameras but for license plate reading, primarily for identifying stolen vehicles," Hiatt explained. "They've been extremely effective in helping us isolate and identify stolen vehicles in town, reduce resources for tracking down stolen vehicles and actually following through with prosecution."
He added that this is a one-time purchase allocation for the next five cameras noting that several are already in use in the city.
The council voted unanimously to approve the spending plan.
To learn more about Measure R and its advisory measures, visit cityofwoodland.gov/1247/City-of-Woodland-Measure-R.
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