Special Tax Election
Background:
The Monroeville Water District is a water district that was formed on June 20, 2017 to provide leadership and organized involvement in the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) for the landowners within the District's boundaries.
The District has received a Board seat on the Glenn Groundwater Authority (GGA). The GGA is a joint powers authority (JPA) that was formed to provide SGMA compliance in the Colusa Subbasin portion of Glenn County. In conjunction with the Colusa Groundwater Authority (CGA) which covers the portion of the Colusa Subbasin located in Colusa County, the GGA is developing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Plan) for the subbasin. The Plan will establish a method for achieving groundwater sustainability in the Colusa Subbasin by January 2042.
Compliance with SGMA is achieved through the preparation and implementation of one or more Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP or Plan). Plan development is underway in the Basin and the Plan(s) must be adopted by January 31, 2022. If the local GSAs do not comply with SGMA including the development of the Plan(s) and the necessary activities required to implement the Plans, the State Water Resources Control Board may take over groundwater management responsibilities.
Long-Term Funding
In order to ensure District representation and advocacy on the GGA Board, the formation and current operations of the District have heretofore been funded through landowner contributions and loans. However, a special tax is needed to fund long-term operations.
To fund its activities, the MWD developed a budget for annual operations expenses for a five-year period spanning fiscal years 2019/20 to 2023/24. This budget includes projected costs for legal and technical services, administrative operations, facilitation, and formation costs.
The MWD retained Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group to prepare a fee study to review the best options to fund MWD operations over the next five years. An operations cost and fee analysis is included in the study. Each parcel of land within the MWD’s boundary is receiving SGMA representation services from the MWD and the tax was developed by allocating the MWD budget in proportion to the cost of providing services to each acre of land in its service area. By collecting the special tax, MWD will provide landowners with local groundwater representation for a tailored, more affordable approach for managing the Basin.
Approval of Special Tax:
An election was held October 28, 2020 and the landowners approved the Special tax at a rate of $5.29 per acre. The Special tax will be used to fund MWD operations.