San Martin
– Cityhood proponents learned Thursday they won’t be allowed to
pick their own consultants for a crucial fiscal study.
San Martin – Cityhood proponents learned Thursday they won’t be allowed to pick their own consultants for a crucial fiscal study.
In some counties, such as Riverside, incorporation proponents select their own outside experts for mandated fiscal reports, but Santa Clara County’s Local Agency Formation Commission wants to avoid any hint of impropriety by disallowing such leeway.
“It’s not that we don’t trust them,” said LAFCO Analyst Dunia Noel. “Our concern is that the analysis has credibility for LAFCO and other agencies in the county involved in the process.”
San Martin residents who want to incorporate were discouraged by LAFCO’s position, which was announced in a private meeting with applicants. The proponents feel the decision will slow the incorporation bid by as much as two months and make it more costly, too.
As for expenses, Stu Carson, a member of the neighborhood alliance, said LAFCO will ask to be compensated for its time involved with issuing a request for proposals and interviewing respondents, which could boost the cost of the incorporation bid from an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 or more.
Of those fees, Carson said roughly half would pay for required fiscal and environmental studies and the remainder would pay for public agencies’ staff time.
Tax dollars don’t support incorporation efforts.
A bidding process could take LAFCO two months, delaying the study’s completion.
The comprehensive fiscal analysis will measure San Martin’s ability to support police and fire protection and other vital services.
