Ad valorem taxes are based on the assessed value of real estate or personal property. Property ad valorem taxes are the major source of revenue for state and municipal governments.
According to Dennis Dooley, District 4 CCWD Board member (Copperopolis is in CCWD District 4), “a certain percentage of all property taxes collected by the county goes to CCWD…regardless of who serves the water or the waste water or if there is no waste water or water demands such as properties that are on wells and/or septic tanks or unimproved properties.”
The amount the county has budgeted for CCWD for the year ending in June 30, 2011 is $3,000,000.00.
Mr. Dooley has provided this breakdown of allocation of funds:
$2,400,000 to operating funds
$1,776,000 to water
$624,000 to sewer
$600,000 to reserve funds to be used for studies for issues not specific to existing systems
$444,000 for water
$156,000 for sewer
Currently Mr. Dooley states there is $1,654,000 in study reserves, “much of this money is used for legal and consultants for water rights, county water issues, ag water studies, etc.”
CCWD has 12,500 water customers, 4500 sewer customers, 287.5 miles of water pipe, 125 miles of sewer lines, and operates two hydroelectric power plants.
The question was raised at a Spellman forum in Copperopolis in March as to the total amount of collected taxes within District 5 being equitable to the services and goods received in District 5. Mr. Dooley states that “CCWD would have to raise its rates and/or cut other essential services…(if monies were broken down to %)…pointing out that other publicly owned utility systems also receive property tax dollars based on their service size.” He also stated that the budget revenues from water and sewer monthly fees were $11,800,000 yet operation expenses were $14,160,000; the shortfall is made up by property taxes and other revenue.
CCWD has 12,500 water customers, 4500 sewer customers, 287.5 miles of water pipe, 125 miles of sewer lines, and operates two hydroelectric power plants.
The question was raised at a Spellman forum in Copperopolis in March as to the total amount of collected taxes within District 5 being equitable to the services and goods received in District 5. Mr. Dooley states that “CCWD would have to raise its rates and/or cut other essential services…(if monies were broken down to %)…pointing out that other publicly owned utility systems also receive property tax dollars based on their service size.” He also stated that the budget revenues from water and sewer monthly fees were $11,800,000 yet operation expenses were $14,160,000; the shortfall is made up by property taxes and other revenue.
To view the CCWD budget click HERE.
Upcoming CCWD meetings:
As Director Dooley, who I highly respect both as a person and CCWD Board Member, indicated Calaveras County has budgeted $3,000,000 in its 2010-11 to go to CCWD from its "Ad Valorem Taxes". CCWD has budgeted $2,400,000 of this sum to go towards the operations of its water & sewer districts and the remainder of $600,000 to a reserve fund for water & sewer studies supposedly unrelated to CCWD's existing water & sewer districts. This inference here is that this reserve fund, which per Mr. Dooley states currently totals $1,654,000, is intended to benefit everyone in Calaveras County. He also stated much of this reserve has, is or will be used for consultants and legal fees related to county water rights, issues, domestic & agricultural water use & needs studies and so on. CCWD has spent millions of dollars over the years with such consultants & attorneys (All after the North Fork Hydro-electric project was completed & in operation!) for these well intended & necessary purposes. However, many of the monies expended in the past (And again since the North Fork Hydro Project became operative.) have been duplicated at considerable cost to the people of Calaveras County with little or no actual county wide benefit other then the continual preservation of the county's water rights, which is a huge benefit but one that could likely be taken away if CCWD is unable to actually justify the needs for its water rights allotment and begin development and use of these rights. We certainly do not need any more studies and waste the funds in this reserve fund for more consultant fees. Calaveras County has expended money for these purposes as well, thus more duplication and expenditure of tax payers monies.
ReplyDeleteI believe Mr. Dooley may have inadvertently erred in stating other water & sewer districts within Calaveras County, which are not under CCWD's jurisdiction, also receive a portion of Calaveras County's "Ad Valorem Taxes". Some of these other special water and sewer districts do receive taxes from Calaveras County that are imposed only on the taxable properties within their respective districts for the purposes of servicing their debts or other special direct benefit taxes. However, I do not believe any of these other special water & sewer districts receive any money from Calaveras County's "Ad Valorem Taxes". However, CCWD should have been and should be allocating a percentage of its annual revenues received from these "Ad Valorem Taxes" as well as a percentage of the annual revenues derived from hydro-electric and any water sales from the North Fork Project and New Hogan Dam, less applicable expenses. The distribution to these other special water & sewer districts not under CCWD's jurisdiction should be predicated on a percentage of their respective assessed taxable values (On which the "Ad Valorem Taxes' are calculated - not on the number of customers within each of these other special districts.) times the annual "Ad Valorem Taxes" received by CCWD. CCWD as a county wide public agency and should benefit every property owner/tax payer on as equitable a basis as possible and the "AD Valorem Tax" & hydro-electric & water sales revenues CCWD received from the North Fork Project and Hogan Dam should be distributed equally to all public water & sewer agencies & their customers. It should be noted that CCWD has granted & loaned funds to these other special water & sewer districts just as it has those water & sewer districts within its jurisdiction. However, if one were to check CCWD's financial records in this regard I believe one would find that CCWD's water & sewer districts have benefited for more then those special districts independent of CCWD.
Respectfully submitted,
Harleigh Winkler
San Andreas