TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Jaime Boscarino, Finance Director
DATE:January 14, 2025
SUBJECT: Thousand Oaks Plan to Assist School Sites Annual Project List RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve Thousand Oaks Plan to Assist School Sites (TOPASS) Annual Project List for Fiscal Year 2024-25 totaling $670,629 submitted by Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD).
2. Find that this action is not a project as defined under section 15378(b)(5) of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. Minimal staff time to prepare staff report is included in the Adopted FY 2024-25 General Fund Budget. Projects are funded by the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund (RPTTF), with pass-through agreements.
BACKGROUND:
The City, the Thousand Oaks Redevelopment Agency (Agency), and CVUSD entered into the TOPASS Agreement in 1984. The TOPASS Agreement provides that five percent of the local property tax increment revenue generated by redevelopment will be made available to assist CVUSD with capital projects at schools.
The terms of the TOPASS Agreement require CVUSD to submit to its Board of Trustees (Board) for approval an Annual Compliance Report of prior fiscal year income and expenditures spent on approved projects and a Project List of proposed capital projects for the current fiscal year. After approval by its Board, the reports are submitted to the City. The City is then required to submit the reports to City Council for approval that the TOPASS funds are being utilized as required by the TOPASS Agreement.
TOPASS Annual Project List
January 14, 2025
Prior to Agency dissolution, the City was in direct receipt of the property tax increment generated per the TOPASS Agreement and would remit the funds directly to CVUSD after City Council approval of the reports. As of February 1, 2012, redevelopment agencies were dissolved due to the passage of Assembly Bill X1 26. With the dissolution, the County Auditor-Controller now remits the local property tax increment generated per the TOPASS agreement directly to CVUSD.
On November 20, 2012, City Council approved the distribution of City-held TOPASS funds to CVUSD for proposed capital projects to wind down the affairs of the former Agency. Per the TOPASS agreement, the funds are placed in a separate, interest-bearing account.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Per the terms of the TOPASS Agreement, CVUSD continues to provide the City with an annual list of capital projects. The CVUSD Board approved the FY 2024- 25 TOPASS Project List (Attachment #1) at its October 23, 2024, Board meeting. The FY 2024-25 TOPASS Project List includes a district-wide Tesla renewable energy project, roofing improvements, track repairs, modular buildings leases, asphalt, and annual contributions to the track and field trusts at each of the three high schools for future track and field projects. The TOPASS Project List also includes salaries and benefits for capital project administration allowable per the terms of the Agreement that administration costs are not to exceed 2 percent of construction contract. Staff recommends that City Council approve the FY 2024- 25 TOPASS Project List as the funds are being spent on capital projects at school sites.
The Board also certified its Annual Compliance Report (Attachment #1) at the October 23, 2024, Board meeting. The Annual Compliance Report summarizes the income and expenditures of TOPASS funds spent on projects CVUSD previously approved. The Board certified that the funds were expended in compliance with the requirements of the TOPASS Agreement and expended on projects approved by the Board and City Council. The Board also certified that the required maintenance of effort was met per the terms of the TOPASS Agreement. The required maintenance of effort is a minimum of 7.85 percent based on CVUSD’s 1979-80 through 1983-84 expenditures. CVUSD’s FY 2023- 24 maintenance of effort was 11.47 percent, exceeding the required maintenance of effort.
TOPASS Annual Project List
January 14, 2025
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goal:
H. Participate in public-private and multi-jurisdictional opportunities to ensure residents have access to high levels of parks, recreation, education and leisure programs and services.
PREPARED BY: Elisa Quezada-Magaña, Accounting Manager
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – FY 2024-25 TOPASS Project List & Annual Compliance FIN:515-70\em\H:\COMMON\Council\2025\Accounting\011425 TOPASS Staff Report.docx