Supes extend hold on million dollar program
EL CENTRO — As the Imperial County continues to discuss how to improve and expedite the disbursement of funds under the Public Benefit Program, the Board of Supervisors voted Monday to extend a moratorium on the program.
The board’s vote took place during a special meeting with the moratorium as the lone action item on the agenda.
The major concern that prompted the board to place a hold on accepting new applicants was the delay in disbursing monies already approved. With Monday’s vote, the moratorium was extended until Jan. 10.
The Public Benefit Program is made of two different programs, the Agricultural Benefit and Community Benefit programs which are funded from voluntary fees collected from solar projects developed throughout the county that don’t pay property taxes.
The program started in 2012 when the county started collecting those voluntary fees. The idea was to allocate funds each year starting 2016 to various programs and organizations in the community through an application process.
Last year, the board approved a total of $1.2 million to fund 24 applications during the first round of disbursement under the Community Benefits Program. However, there have been major delays in the disbursements of those funds which ultimately led to the idea of expediting the process.
The moratorium was first brought to the table by District 2 Supervisor Luis Plancarte on July 11. One week later, the board voted to implement the moratorium, preventing the county from accepting any new applications until new guidelines are put in place.
Since then, an ad hoc committee composed of Plancarte, District 5 Supervisor Ray Castillo and members of advisory committees for both programs, have been discussing possible solutions to the backlog of applications yet to be funded.
Before putting the moratorium in place, the county had received 19 applications amounting to about $2 million. Leading up to the summer, the county had collected about $5 million under the program and began allocating funds in 2016.
Plancarte said Monday although a lot of ideas have been shared through the process, the committee needs additional time to iron out the details. Since the holidays are rapidly approaching, there will be fewer opportunities for the members to meet.
He also said the ad hoc committee meetings have been “true working sessions.”
The recommendations for the program are expected to be brought back to the board during the second Supervisors meeting in 2018. Once those new guidelines are set, the county is expected to allow the advisory committee to resume recommendations for funding, for applications.
One of the concerns moving forward yet to be addressed is the funding for future years. Documentation for the July 18 meeting stated that at the time the account had just over $600,000 available.
The program is expected to continue to generate more funds as solar development continues and loan payments start coming in.
“During these meeting, there were a lot of good ideas thrown around, and hopefully we’re going to see most of those recommendations come back to the board,” Castillo said. “I’m hopeful that the changes will be for the benefit of everyone.”
To date, Supervisors have allocated $4.7 million — including $1.2 million in 2016 and $500,000 in discretionary funds for each Supervisor ($100,000) to allocate.
Additionally, the board approved a $2 million loan to Pacificland International Development for the next phase of development in the Imperial Center in Heber, and a $1 million loan to ARC of Imperial Valley to acquire and reopen the bowling alley now named Strikezone, in El Centro.
Under the terms of the loans, Pacificland was to pay back $500,000 on Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 and then a final payment of $1 million plus accrued interest on Dec. 1. While no payments have been made, Pacificland had previously asked for an extension in September and the county is currently working on the terms of that request.
For ARC, the loan is to be paid in monthly installments of $2,777.78, plus interest, starting Nov. 30 and continuing for 10 years at which time the remainder of the balance is due.