Lincoln approves Village 1 tax-sharing agreement amendment

Lincoln City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the Village 1 tax-sharing agreement between the city and Placer County. The agreement, originally approved in March 2015, was for a split of the 1-percent property tax revenue with 50 percent to the county and 50 percent to the city for the first three fiscal years following the area annexation in 2016. According to the city's Community Development director Steve Prosser, it was anticipated that both parties would negotiate to "create a more equitable and realistic tax-sharing agreement dependent on active development. "The three years passed and based on a triggering of the Village 1 tax-sharing agreement, our tax-sharing agreement with the county reverted to a 60-percent tax share to the county and a 40 percent to the city," Prosser said. "During the period of time of no development, that really did not affect the city in any measurable manner. As we've begun construction and reassessing evaluation of property in Village 1, that reduction in property tax is becoming vitally important to the city's needs in funding opportunities." Prosser said the agreement now calls for a 55/45 split, with 55 percent going to the county and 45 percent going to the city of Lincoln. Prosser said the agreement allows for the county to recoup the cost of providing services to the area, such as the jail system, court system and Health and Human Services. Prosser also said that the tax-sharing amendment would reduce the deficit by approximately $80 per year for the Public Services Community Facilities District (CFD). Lincoln Vice Mayor Holly Andreatta said the agreement was "unacceptable" as the county should be willing to make Lincoln "as whole as possible." "I just think that the attitudes need to change and it should be 50/50," Andreatta said. "We wouldn't have to do CFDs and charge people more taxes, and we could take care of what we need to take care of and our city would be a lot more whole." Lincoln Mayor Alyssa Silhi agreed with Andreatta but noted that the agreement is an improvement in comparison to the prior split. Councilman Dan Karleskint suggested holding a future workshop to discuss the agreement's aspects. In other news City Council also approved the new positions of finance manager and chief innovation and technology officer within the city's staff. "As you all know, our organization is growing," Interim City Manager Mark Scott said. "The staff part of the organization hasn't grown as fast as the community has grown but we are continuing to grow, we continue to have a more complex organization, more complex tasks to meet the city's needs." With the community growth and a labor market that makes it difficult to hire and retain good talent, Scott said, promoting two current city staff would assist in meeting future city needs. According to Scott, the finance manager will serve as the number two in the city's Finance Department and cover functions, such as accounting, accounts payable and payroll. Scott recommended the appointment of accounting manager Sandra Cooke to the position at a salary of $11,107 per month. The chief innovation and technology officer will meet the need to adapt and integrate internal and external technology solutions for the city, according to Scott. Information technology manager Jennifer Brown was recommended to be appointed to the position at a salary of $14,448 per month. According to the staff report, the descriptions and salary ranges of the positions will be brought back to City Council on Dec. 14.