Amador County – Assemblywoman Alyson Huber’s AB-1191 to restore funding to Amador County made it through the Senate Governance and Finance Committee Wednesday, and next will go before the full Senate for a vote.

Jackson City Manager Mike Daly attended the hearing at the state capital in Sacramento and was encouraged by the unanimous vote. He said he believes the next step is a full Senate vote, and “given the unanimous vote of the committee, I expect that that should go well.”

Daly said the funding was the most significant variable still unknown for the city’s budget, and AB 1191 is a “potential fix to the unanticipated loss in the General Fund due to a quirk in the ‘triple flip,’ vehicle license fee (VLF) swap and Education Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF), a process established to satisfy the state deficit bonds issued in 2005 and meet funding requirements of Proposition 98.”

Daly, in a report to the Jackson City Council Monday, said that “due to the decline in property tax and the recently determined ‘basic aid’ status of the Amador County Unified School District, a portion of the VLF swap amount due to the cities and county was redirected to ACUSD. This resulted in a loss of approximately $100,000 in property tax revenue the past two years.”

He said “two potential fixes in the form of a State budget supplement and Assembly Bill 1191 introduced by Alyson Huber could remedy this problem. The budget amendment has cleared the early hurdles and AB1191” had a critical hearing in the Senate committee Wednesday, June 13, passing unanimously.

Daly said the budget language would reimburse the county and cities for losses in fiscal year 2010-2011, and AB 1191 moves forward with the start of fiscal year 2013. He said 1191 would require legislative reauthorization to reimburse the losses, and it provides a mechanism for that to occur.

Daly said it goes about as far as it needs to fix the losses. Jackson would get about $100,000, Ione about $200,000, and Amador County about $1.1 million. Sutter Creek and Plymouth would also get funds.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.