It is being called the “July True-Up Process” and the County of San Bernardino Auditor-Controllers office has until Monday, July 9th, 2012 to issue some YOM’s (You Owe Me) notices to the Successor Agencies. Our Successor Agency consists of our current city council of Cole, Klink, Corbin, Mintz and Harris.
On June 27, 2012 the Governor signed a follow up bill for the dissolution of the RDA’s. It is AB 1484 and is also know as the “Clean-Up Bill”.
Part of AB 1484 establishes that tax increments that were disbursed to the RDA’s in December 2011 or January 2012 should have had money removed from the disbursement for distribution back to the taxing entities such as the Morongo Unified School District and Copper Mountain College. The State is pretty certain that almost all County Auditor-Controller offices DID NOT remove those proceeds from the disbursements.
Come Monday. July 9, 2012 the County Auditor-Controller must notify each Successor Agency that they may owe some money. Any Successor Agency that owes money or “residual” payment must remit that dollar amount to the County Auditor-Controller by Wednesday, July 12, 2012.
Failure of the Successor Agency to act of course carries some very bad things and they are not taking IOU’s, and I quote:
“There are significant penalties that can be applied if county auditor-controllers fail to perform or successor agencies fail to pay required amounts under HSC section 34183.5. The deadlines provided in the law are not discretionary and are needed to remedy the state and local government cash situations.”
We will try to find out on Monday from the County if 29 owes any money. As of today the County was still crunching numbers in order to meet the Monday, July 9, 2012 deadline.
In any event this 31 million in Bonds that our city floated in order to build a questionable 13 million dollar project that consisted of 40 units of low income housing and a Community Center/Theater Complex that we did not need is starting to get very, very, shall we say “ticklish”.
I wonder what will be said of all this come October and November when there are city council elections getting ready to happen and people start questioning the judgement of any council member that voted to proceed with putting our city into 31 million dollars of debt and to date we have nothing to show for it other than perhaps owing even more money than we even thought.
Could 29 Owe Some Money?,
![[UNSET]](http://www.vote29.com/newmyblog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/UNSET-75x75.jpg "Local Smoke Shops Shut Down By Sheriff’s Department")
I would like to see MUSD receive money for books or if so lucky, reduce the pupil to teacher ratio. However, it is starting to look like the city may need to tighten its belt and forgo most if not all of the dream list.
Well if this turns into a bill for the city to pay on top of the Bond interest payments and with no plans in sight to fund the Fire Department or to even provide fire protection for the city how can the city be considering a dream list of nice to have things.
I understand them wanting to build roads, sidewalks, curb and gutters, etc. But anything else that falls outside of the three things that government should provide first: Police, Fire, and roads is certainly an out of touch approach to local government.
we shall see.
the state mandated fire protection, you know we pay for it. it is funded through property taxes that now go to the water district. That can change and the tax go to a different entity but we will have fire protection, it would be dam goofy to make it a campaign issue. I understand it worked in the past, but not the last election the voter is now wiser. the last time the sky was falling the voter said no its not, we are not falling for that crap.
It would behoove you guys to campaign smart
Mark can you ever stay on point. The issue and question I presented was – has the city budgeted the money to pay for Fire Services? No sky is falling at all – jeesh!
Mark,
The fire department isn’t a campaign issue, the budget could be, as far as choices on how and where to spend money.
There is no value in being a city if we think all a city is about is police fire and roads, these tasks are a better value through county services. The factor during the city’s formation was to relieve us of the burden of draconian county codes, give us local access to streamline permitting. Unfortunately a drive through town shows how that worked out, talk about draconian codes just go to city planning, city hood has not worked. Most understood there would be better coverage of the basics by county services, and experience tells us we would be better off under the county saving the citizens value by eliminating an unneeded over paid city administration, and their followers. It s not the city budget it is the citizens value I look to you too for safe keeping.
Mark,
I think you make a valid point. I can’t speak to the county value, as I don’t know, but I am willing to find out. City government is about the people and valuing their (our) rights. Also, a budget is an important part of any business, to include the city. And people first is also an important part of any business or relationship for that matter.
Hi Cora,
County Fire has already been explored as to cost. It is much more expensive than our current Fire Department. Mark has been told this over and over and he just will not listen.
If one thinks that dis-incorporation will save money on Police well they better be prepared to balance the cost against public safety.
Right now the City has two officers on patrol in the city limits 24 hours, 7 days a week. This also includes a traffic officer and a school resource officer. So on some days there are as many as 4 officers in our city.
Should we revert to a county entity we will be lucky to see even one officer on patrol. What Mark does not realize is that the county area for the Morongo Patrol Station stretches from Pony road on SR 247 to Cadiz on SR 66. In other words it is a HUGE area. County patrol units are just that county patrol not 29 Palms patrol units.
Dis-incorporate and public safety could becomes a real issue.
As for the roads that is one of the reasons we incorporated. We were not seeing our tax dollars returned to us in terms of better roads as well as other services.
Does local government cost money to run it – yes, but being masters of our own rules and regulations is a benefit.
As to those rules and regulations being over burdensome and complex and all that other stuff they sure are.
That is why we need to elect council members that are well read, informed and are willing to tell city staff that staff does what the council says and not the other way around.
Steve,
Thanks for the info. I was sure the information had been looked at before, I just haven’t looked. I plan to attend the July 12th meeting between the city, county, water, and fire. I think it will be a very interesting meeting!
“…. being masters of our own rules and regulations is a benefit.”
To the defense of Mark, that being masters of our own rules and regulations has not worked out well at all in our case. Being a Military town many of our leaders are used to a highly regulated and structured society…. Unfortunately that does not bowed well for small business and the free enterprise system.
We have made it so difficult to do business in this town, most just go west to Joshua Tree in the County Area or Yucca Valley where they are markedly more business friendly.
Hi Dan,
I did not disagree that is why I said that we do have rather onerous regulations and why we need to elect the “right” council members.
We can change our own ways much easier than we can at the County level.
Steve I found never believe a government administrator or bureaucrat when it comes to their operating cost/ budget, you being in the military know that. How many times have you heard spend it or lose it. Come on Steve it is time for some wisdom,
Time to break our cost out in line items, then take them to the county and ask for pricing line by line. Only then can you honestly say whether or not it’s cost prohibitive.
Dan hit a point about JT they seem to do fine with county policing, fire and notice that the small commercial buildings are full, wonder why they are not full of massage parlors and 29s are.
It is not just our current council member’s failure to ease the draconian codes passed by previous councils, but those previous councils that believed that total control over local commerce would create Shangri-La or may be Sedona.
As of Friday, July 6, 2012 the County Auditor Controller was still reviewing the books for all the former RDA’s in the County of San Bernardino. No easy task I would imagine.
So, the matter of 29 Palms perhaps owing a payback to the taxing entities is still being worked on.
The County has until Monday, July 9, 2012 to issue the repayment notices if a Successor Agency does owe money. That could be until the close of business on Monday at worst case.
We will check again with the County on Monday and Tuesday to see if the city was issued a bill.