STAFF REPORT
City of Lancaster
CC 20
5/7/2024
JC
Date:May 7, 2024
To: Mayor Parris and City Council Members
From: George N. Harris II, Director of Finance/IT
Subject:Expenditure Appropriations for Certain 2023-2024 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) Projects eligible under Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.
Recommendation:
1. Appropriate $1,447,759.16 in SB 1 Gas Tax funds to Street Sweeping Maintenance project account number CP12ST057.CONST GL Code 21549900.8000.
2. Appropriate $5,345,421.86 in SB 1 Gas Tax funds to Streets and Roadway Maintenance and Repairs project account number CP12ST058.CONST GL Code 21549900.8000.
Fiscal Impact:
None
Background:
The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), was passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor in April 2017. The purpose of the bill is to address basic road maintenance, rehabilitation, and critical safety needs on both the state highway and local streets and road system. SB 1 increases per gallon fuel excise taxes, increases diesel fuel state taxes and vehicle registration fees and provides for inflationary adjustments to tax rates in future years.
SB 1 emphasizes the importance of accountability and transparency; therefore, in order to be eligible for RMRA funding, the statute requires cities to adopt a proposed project list at a regular public meeting. The list of proposed projects must include a description and location of each proposed project, a proposed schedule for the project’s completion, and the estimated useful life of the improvement. Cities must also adopt RMRA-funded projects into their operating or capital improvement budget. Cities must then submit the completed SB 1 Proposed Project List form to the California Transportation Commission (CATC) in order to receive its apportionment of RMRA funds from the State Controller.
1 6
3 0
On June 13, 2023, the Council adopted resolution 23-29, approving Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) Proposed Project List Form and allocating funds in the fiscal year 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Budget to clarify Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) funded projects.
Subsequent to the submittal of the approved 2023-2024 list to the California Transportation Commission, the need for additional eligible projects was identified.
As noted in the California Transportation Commission adopted “Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, Local Streets and Roads Funding Program, 2021 Reporting Guidelines” (dated March 2021): “Pursuant to SHC Section 2034(a)(1), the project list shall not limit the flexibility of an eligible city or county to fund projects in accordance with local needs and priorities, so long as the projects are consistent with SHC Section 2030(b). After the submittal of the project list to the Commission, in the event a city or county elects to make changes to the project list pursuant to the statutory provision noted above, formal notification of the Commission is not required. However, standard reporting forms will provide an opportunity for jurisdictions to annually communicate such changes to the Commission as part of the Annual Expenditure Reporting process.” Accordingly, the addition of these projects to the City of Lancaster’s list of 2023-2024 projects will be communicated to the Commission as part of the Annual Expenditure Reporting process.
Project savings and reduced scope of existing SB 1 funded projects within the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) have been returned to fund balance and are sufficient to offset the appropriations herein, resulting in a net zero fiscal impact.
Attachment:
Additional Project List