April 15, 2008

Santa Clara County news

County proclaims April Child Abuse Prevention Month, opposes San Martin incorporation

The County of Santa Clara Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) receives an average of 18,000 suspected child abuse reports per year or approximately 50 calls per day.

The department is reaching out to parents with “Keep Your Cool” educational awareness materials during April. This week the Board of Supervisors proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Santa Clara County.

“Proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month is one more way to bring attention to the importance of protecting the children in our community,” said Supervisor Pete McHugh, chair of the board of supervisors.

The “Keep Your Cool” public awareness materials will help promote positive parenting techniques that busy/stressed parents can use when facing everyday parenting challenges. These resource materials are available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and are free of charge.

“Protecting our children, and whenever possible maintaining the child safely in their home or with a relative, is not only a department goal; it is what is best for the child. In addition, we also work closely with our community partners to develop programs and services parents can rely on,” said Norma Doctor Sparks, director of the Department of Family and Children’s Services.

Friends, relatives or neighbors may not get involved when they suspect a child is being abused. Perhaps due to embarrassment, or a feeling of helplessness, or not knowing how to approach the situation; many also fear confrontation with the adult and simply may decide not to get involved. Addressing these critical needs, the “Keep Your Cool” educational materials will provide valuable resource information to help parents and others succeed.

Overwhelming financial problems, trouble at work, substance abuse, domestic violence and mental illness, are all often involved in cases of child abuse. Financial income, religions affiliations and cultural backgrounds are no guarantee that a parent will not abuse or neglect their child.

“Combating child abuse is a complex undertaking that cannot be addressed without understanding some of the contributing factors,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, chair of the board’s Children, Seniors and Families Committee. “Awareness is the first step toward creating a community that believes that the safety and well-being of our children is everybody’s business.”

To ensure that parents receive timely and accurate information, the Department of Family and Children’s Services works closely with many community based partners highlighted below: Santa Clara County’s 211 or http://www.211scc.org, Family and Children Services (408) 292-9353 or http://www.fcservices.org/, Community Child Care Council (408) 487-0749 or http://www.4c.org/ and Gardner Family Care Corp. (408) 287-6200 or http://gardnerfamilyhealth.com/

You can also call the child abuse hot lines. In the San Jose area that number is (408) 299-2071.

In other county news, the supervisors voted 4-1 to oppose incorporation of San Martin with the independent decision-making body, the Local Agency Formation Commission, unless the proposed town of San Martin can make the county’s General Fund whole by mitigating lost revenue over a 25-year repayment period. LAFCO will meet on April 16, to receive comments on its draft Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis and Initial Study, the two studies required by California law before an area can incorporate to become a town or city.

“The notion of becoming a self-governing town has a lot of appeal,” said McHugh. “However, it carries with it a pretty steep price tag. Not only does the town have to be able to cover the cost of service delivery and adequate reserves, its incorporation cannot do damage to surrounding areas by draining the much needed resources for delivery countywide.”

The county had been in negotiations between December and March with proponents of incorporation to hammer out a “revenue neutrality” agreement - the term used to describe this issue – and one of the many factors that must be weighed before a decision is rendered by LAFCO. The 90-day window for negotiating revenue neutrality expired on March 12, 2008, without an agreement being reached.

District 1 Supervisor Don Gage proposed postponing the decision for two weeks to allow more time for negotiation. “I don’t believe we have exhausted every opportunity to reach agreement, delaying the vote could help us to reach compromise.”

LAFCO must make a determination that the proposed town is expected to receive revenues sufficient to provide public services and facilities and to ensure adequate reserves. Also, the revenues that the new town would receive from the county and other affected agencies must be substantially equal to the savings the county would attain from no longer providing services to the incorporated area – the state standard for revenue neutrality.

If the incorporation is not revenue neutral, the town must make mitigation payments to ensure the county can continue to provide important countywide services like the criminal justice system.

The draft Comprehensive Financial Analysis indicates that the incorporation of San Martin would result in a net annual loss of $872,000 to the county’s General Fund and the proposed town’s annual budget surplus amounts would only range between $9,700 and $172,000, well below the amount needed to offset the loss.

“I was initially very excited about the residents’ desire to incorporate,” said District 2 Supervisor Blanca Alvarado. “But this is not a simple matter. Cities all over California are experiencing deficits. My concern is how would San Martin be able to pay for the cost of providing services to its residents?”

District 5 Supervisor Liz Kniss expressed a similar concern. “I have not heard anything persuasive that demonstrates that San Martin would be able to support itself,” said Kniss. “The proponents’ goal is to maintain agricultural identity but the analysis shows that their current configuration will not provide a sufficient tax base.”

The county attempted to limit the financial impact on San Martin by proposing a 10-year limit on the mitigation period and creating a 25-year repayment schedule. However, even with those conditions, San Martin would not be able to complete repayment for 77 years.

“San Martin proponents have proposed that savings from the Road Fund also be used to offset the annual deficit,” said County Executive Pete Kutras. “However, gas taxes and other restricted revenues finance the Road Fund and legally must be used for roads related expenses, not General Fund expenses.”

The board also authorized staff to file a “Request for Reconsideration” should LAFCO vote to approve the incorporation without having resolved the issue of revenue neutrality and clarified its policy that election costs would have to be borne by the town.

Today’s action makes the county’s position on San Martin incorporation known to LAFCO. The independent commission will hear other public testimony on April 16. The Executive Officer Report and Recommendations will be issued the following week. A public hearing to approve or disapprove the incorporation is scheduled on May 7.