San Martin’s incorporation fiscal analysis will have more
credibility if conducted by LAFCO
Santa Clara County LAFCO’s decision to appoint a financial consultant, rather than allow San Martin incorporation proponents to choose one, sounds like a wise decision to err on the side of caution.
While we share the concerns of San Martin incorporation proponents – that the decision could make the incorporation process more expensive and more time consuming – it’s part of the risk taken by being the first city in Santa Clara County to attempt to incorporate under LAFCO.
San Martin incorporation proponents are required by state law to provide a comprehensive fiscal analysis that would demonstrate if it is able to support municipal services like police, fire, and road maintenance.
Rather than allowing San Martin incorporation proponents to choose a consultant to prepare the report, LAFCO officials have decided that they will make that decision.
This is well within LAFCO’s rights, although other county LAFCO agencies have handled it differently. Every county in California has a local agency formation commission, or LAFCO, that is charged with ensuring orderly growth and preventing sprawl.
“It’s not that we don’t trust them,” Santa Clara County LAFCO analyst Dunia Noel told reporter Tony Burchyns. “Our concern is that the analysis has credibility for LAFCO and other agencies in the county.”
That’s a reasonable concern, especially given, as Noel pointed out, this is Santa Clara County LAFCO’s first incorporation.
However, we urge LAFCO officials, as they learn through San Martin’s incorporation process and at an upcoming incorporation workshop, to remain open to easing the process for would-be cities.
Perhaps the agency could provide a list of qualified fiscal consultants and let would-be cities choose any consultant on that list. It’s a compromise that would give would-be cities some control over cost and time issues while addressing LAFCO’s concerns about quality and credibility.
In the meantime, however, it’s in everyone’s best interest that county officials and voters have a reliable fiscal analysis to study before deciding on the future of San Martin: incorporated city or unincorporated hamlet.
