Amador County – Ione Interim City Manager Jeff Butzlaff said last week he is cautiously optimistic about the city’s chance of getting “basic aid” funding restored to Ione, Amador County and her cities, after attending Legislative hearings, and seeing a Senate committee planning to address the issue Monday (June 25).

Amador and Mono Counties lost property taxes and Vehicle License Fees (VLF) due to “basic aid” finance policy issues. Ione lost just under $400,000 the last two years because Amador Unified went basic aid, Butzlaff said. Ione lost $190,000 the first year and $163,000 this year, part of License Fees that would have been transferred as property tax, as done throughout state, but it can no longer occur because of basic aid status of the School District.

Alyson Huber’s Assembly Bill 1191, if passed, would correct this problem and the city will get another $160,000 a year. In addition, an amendment being considered would hopefully fund 2010-11 and 2011-12 revenues that we did not receive, Butzlaff said. AB1191 would take effect and set up a new process of accessing this money starting July 1.

He said there is some money in the governor’s budget for one of those years and also discussion of amending AB1191 to provide for restoration of 2010-11 and 2011-12 funds.

Butzlaff said the amendment looks favorable and right now we are very encouraged. He said: “We’re the poster child of this issue, because Ione is the most dependent on the VLF, because of the prison.” In 2004, Ione had a boon market in housing prices. It got to more than $800,000 five years ago, but that has dropped because housing prices have dropped.

Butzlaff said “it looks very promising that this will be resolved,” and the city “will recover one and possibly two of the years lost.” He said $350,000 “would be available to us that we would have otherwise received,” but it will not become a done deal until the legislative process works its way through. “We have reason to be at least cautiously optimistic.”

AB1191 passed the Senate Local Government Committee and other subcommittees unanimously. He said the question arose of whether this was an appropriation, but “the money would have come to us,” but was lost due to a breakdown in the basic aid process.

Butzlaff said: “We’re not asking for new funding. It’s simply funding that is already supposed to be happening.” The school district property tax went to us, but was not backfilled by the state to the schools.

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