Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget would save Sonoma County, Santa Rosa an estimated $26 million in fire cleanup

Sonoma County and Santa Rosa are unlikely to have to pay an estimated $13 million each to help fund the massive cleanup from the October wildfires because of a new provision in the revised state budget plan unveiled Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, the last in his 16th and final year as governor, now includes $29.1 million to waive a requirement that local governments affected by the Northern California wildfires share part of the bill for debris removal, a Herculean effort that is nearly finished.

Officials from Sonoma County and Santa Rosa, which suffered the most damage in the firestorm seven months ago, were joined by leaders from Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties, as well as the city of Clearlake, in lobbying the state to waive the local match requirement. Brown’s budget will do just that if approved by the state Legislature this summer.

“This is a huge sigh of relief for the four counties and two cities who were ravaged by the North Bay firestorm,” said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg. “Each ... made the local share of debris cleanup costs their top recovery priority for the state of California.”

Federal, state and local officials announced earlier this week that the public cleanup program in the four Northern California counties was 99 percent complete, having removed 2.2 million tons of debris at a cost of more than $1.3 billion.

The Sonoma County and Santa Rosa city governments, both confronting budgets diminished by fire-related costs, were eager to avoid paying their combined $26 million estimated share for debris removal.

“This is a big step forward,” said Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Coursey of the governor’s revised budget proposal. “This does not get us out of the woods. It helps, and every little bit helps.”

The budget plan also includes $21.8 million to cover property tax losses that fire-?affected Northern California jurisdictions are expected to see this fiscal year and next. Southern California jurisdictions would receive $11 million to help cover property tax losses from the wildfires and mudslides they experienced last year.

Additionally, Brown issued an executive order Thursday that seeks to bolster the state’s preparedness for future wildfires, partly by doubling the amount of land subject to preventative, controlled burns, vegetation thinning and reforestation. The new actions would be supported by $96 million from various sources included in the revised budget proposal, according to the governor’s office.

“Wildfire recovery and reducing fire risk must be top priorities in the state’s budget,” said state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, in a statement. “Governor Brown’s revised budget makes thoughtful improvements in these areas.”

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman David Rabbitt said he had feared the Southern California wildfires might threaten the state government’s ability to fully make up for the lost property tax revenue in Sonoma County. The fires destroyed nearly 5,300 homes in the county and scores of businesses.

“I’m glad to see they stuck to it and were able to give us that as well, because that’s huge,” Rabbitt said. “Financially, it’s still going to take some years, quite honestly, going forward. But if we can at least, through the interim period of time, get the property tax covered, it allows us to figure out how to adjust to future budgets going forward.”

Rabbitt said he has a list of financial questions heading into the county’s budget hearings next month for the coming fiscal year. The potential local match for debris cleanup and the state’s role in helping account for lost property taxes were two major items on that list.

“I think you can kind of cross them off and put a much lower impact number,” Rabbitt said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re in a strong place.”

Still, Rabbitt stressed the good news from the state doesn’t mean the county’s fiscal problems are solved. County officials three months ago estimated they’d face a $2.2 million shortfall at the end of the current fiscal year and a $14.2 million shortfall next fiscal year. Neither of those projections factored in a local match for debris cleanup, and they also assumed the state would fully fund lost property tax revenue.

You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com.