FISCAL IMPACT:
The proposed actions will not have an impact on the County’s General Fund. Mitigation Fee revenue is used to cover the costs incurred by the County and City for any activities (Strategies) authorized to be funded under the applicable North Richmond Waste and Recovery Mitigation Fee Expenditure Plan approved by the County and City of Richmond. Each annual Expenditure Plan includes a Contingency line item in the budget to serve as a cushion for potential revenue shortfalls, and staff anticipates that there will be sufficient funding in the Contingency fund for this purpose.
BACKGROUND:
New Expenditure Plans and/or modifications to existing Expenditure Plans (Amended Expenditure Plan) must be approved by both the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council to officially authorize use of North Richmond Waste and Recovery Mitigation Fee funding. The purpose of this North Richmond Mitigation Fee (NRMF) is to mitigate designated impacts resulting from the County and City approved land use permits for the expanded Bulk Material Processing Center (BMPC) located in North Richmond.
Summary of Changes to the 2021/2022 NRMF Expenditure Plan
The 2021/2022 North Richmond Mitigation Fee Expenditure Plan was approved by the County Board of Supervisors in June 2021 and Richmond City Council in July 2021. After the close of the 2021/2022 Expenditure Plan (EP) cycle, County staff identified unanticipated FY 2021/2022 costs that were incurred for Strategy 4. On October 21, 2022, the North Richmond Waste and Recovery Mitigation Fee Joint Expenditure Planning Committee (NRMFC) voted to recommend that the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council approve an Amended 2021/2022 NRMF Expenditure Plan that allocates an additional $8,442.91 of roll-over funding from prior EP cycles to increase funding for Strategy 4. The proposed changes are shown in the Expenditure Plan Budget Table (page 3) of Exhibit A.
Summary of Changes to the 2022/2023 NRMF Expenditure Plan
At the NRMFC meeting on May 20, 2022, the Committee voted to recommend that the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council approve a 2022/2023 Expenditure Plan that allocates funding from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
On June 21, 2022 the Committee recommended 2022/2023 Expenditure Plan was brought before the Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council. The Board approved the recommended Plan with the modification that the implementing entity to remove illegal dumping in areas that are not served by the Hot Spot Crew or City be changed from County Public Works to Republic Services (Strategy 4.B). The modification was not presented to the Richmond City Council resulting in two different plans being approved.
On October 21, 2022, the NRMFC voted to recommend an Amended 2022/2023 NRMF Expenditure Plan be brought before the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council for approval. The Amended 2022/2023 Expenditure Plan attached (Exhibit B) incorporates the modification to the implementing entity for Strategy 4.B previously approved by the Board of Supervisors, as well as the following changes:
• Increasing Strategy 4.A budget from $30,000 to $40,000
• Increasing Strategy 10 budget from $75,750 to $86,550
• Minor language and formatting changes
Additional funding will be covered by available roll-over funding from prior Expenditure Plan cycles. The proposed changes are shown in Exhibit B. The next NRMFC meeting is planned to be scheduled for May 2023, where they will discuss the projected revenue and planned use of funds for the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Each new Expenditure Plan must receive final approval from the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council. Expenditure Plans and any associated amendments recommended or approved by the NRMFC only take effect if/when approved by the Board of Supervisors and the Richmond City Council. Therefore, if the Amended 2022/2023 Expenditure Plan is not approved by the Board, modified activities would not be eligible to receive funding without interruption. Furthermore, if the Amended 2021/2022 Expenditure Plan is not approved by the Board, the City would not receive reimbursement for additional costs incurred for the annual period that ended on June 30, 2022.