SU0013380 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Ms. Kitty Walker January 27, 1989 "Mountain House" New Town Proposal Page 2 Another example of a problem 1 can foresee would be in the delivery of police protection services. Although there are several types of special districts which could be used to deliver such services, it is normally the practice for such districts to contract with the Sheriff' s Department to provide police pro- tection. Unless this is followed, there is a basic question cf whether the Sheriff of the county involved will deputize officers which are not city police- men to exercise police authority in the unincorporated area. Most Sheriffs are very reluctant to extend their police authority to an area unless they are pro- viding the staffing. In this instance, it would be impossible for one county to contract to provide the service and extend it to the adjacent county without the express consent of the Sheriff in the neighboring county. The eventual size planned for this community argues for the creation of a City government. This again raises serious problems because of its bi-county loca- tion. Currently under California State law a city cannot extend its authority across county lines. Although changes in county boundaries can be negotiated between counties, I am unaware of any such change which has been successfully negotiated in recent history. Essentially, the proposal is to build what amounts to a city in a geographic location which legally prevents it from becoming a city. Financing Plan There is insufficient information in this initial planned community proposal to formulate a financial plan for the provision of public services. Since the creation of a city is impossible, we have to assume that services would be pro- vided by special districts or the counties. To the extent the two counties were required to extend services such as police protection, it would be impossible for the community to be guaranteed the level of police protection suggested in the preliminary report. San Joaquin County for example dispatches its Sheriffs patrol from a location at French Camp and would have no way of guaranteeing immediate response to calls for police assistance. Likewise the Tracy Rural Fire District, using a small full-time staff plus volunteers, would need new resources to service such a community. A new multi-county district could be created, but they would not have access to any of the base property tax. Transfers to districts under our County' s poli- cies occur only when a district takes over a similar service previously provided by an existing district. Consequently, the alternative is the establishment of substantial special taxes or benefit assessments against the properties to sup- port the service. We are unaware of any significant source of revenue which would be redirected to support basic municipal-type services for this community if it remains unincorporated. If a new city were contemplated, an in-depth study of the various sources of potential revenue would have to be developed. A transfer of property tax to a newly formed city by statute is based upon the cost of services previously pro- vided by the county. We would argue strenuously against the provision from General Funds of services to this community during a development period prior to potential incorporation. This would essentially eliminate any property tax