TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Napa County Planning, Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Jesse Gutiérrez, Principal Planner, Sustainability
SUBJECT: Presentation and Discussion: Climate Action Committee Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026
RECOMMENDATION
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PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION: FISCAL IMPACT - CLIMATE ACTION COMMITTEE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026
STAFF REQUEST: Receive a presentation from staff and discuss the Climate Action Committee proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California
Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On January 24, 2025, the Climate Action Committee (CAC) discussed priorities for the upcoming fiscal year and directed staff to make completion of the Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP) the priority for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 (FY25/26). Priority activities already underway, namely Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure and building energy reach codes, are included as measures within the RCAAP and therefore no longer need to be called out as stand-alone priorities moving forward. The RCAAP is currently in development by Ascent Environmental. It is anticipated that a public draft of the RCAAP will be completed in Q2 or Q3 of 2025 for consideration and adoption by the member jurisdictions.
Based on this direction, County staff developed a draft budget for FY 25/26 which will support accomplishment of the CAC’s priority activity, the RCAAP. Staff request that the CAC review, discuss, and take the proposed FY 25-26 budget back to their respective jurisdictions for in-depth discussions with staff, agency leadership, and elected officials. An item will be added to the March 28, 2025, CAC meeting agenda for further discussion and possible action.
The total estimated budget amount for FY 2025-2026 is $697,278. This includes $195,878 in estimated County staff time, $400,000 estimated to prepare a Program-level Environmental Impact Report for the RCAAP and an additional $82,400 requested by Napa County counsel for outside counsel support to review CEQA documents, $10,000 for continued work on EV charging station prioritization tool, and $9,000 for the Napa Climate Challenge.
CAC ADMINISTRATION BY NAPA COUNTY STAFF
The proposed budget includes an estimate of staff resources needed to administer the CAC including agenda and staff report preparation, staffing of monthly CAC meetings, administration of any future grants or state/federal funds and related tasks, completion of the RCAAP and the CEQA Environmental Impact Report and development of options for a new organizational structure to support RCAAP implementation. Lastly, it will include County staff time related to the creation and coordination of a recommended municipal staff-level working group.
The role of Principal Planner, Sustainability has been added at the request of the CAC to dedicate a more substantial portion of their time to CAC, RCAAP development and implementation, and climate and sustainability-related projects, tasks, and activities. The quoted staff hourly rates are estimated weighted labor rates. Rates may change depending on contract negotiations.
Table 1: Napa County Staff Time & Cost
|
Position |
% Time |
# Hours |
Labor Rate |
Total |
|
Planner II - Sustainability |
20% |
416 |
$86.10 |
$35,818 |
|
Principal Planner - Sustainability |
50% |
1,040 |
$110.71 |
$115,138 |
|
Natural Resources Conservation Manager |
5% |
104 |
$134.13 |
$13,950 |
|
Director of Planning, Building & Environmental Services |
5% |
104 |
$209.81 |
$21,820 |
|
Deputy County Counsel IV |
2% |
42 |
$220.00 |
$9,152 |
|
|
|
|
|
$195,878 |
REGIONAL CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN (RCAAP)
The RCAAP is expected to be completed and considered for adoption by the CAC member jurisdictions during FY 25/26. The CEQA environmental review approach for the RCAAP will require additional funding (see item below) and could take between 6-18 months to complete depending on level of engagement and depth of analysis.
Implementation of the RCAAP will require the establishment of clear lines of communication between all participating jurisdictions at the staff level. The CAC and supporting County staff can bolster jurisdictional resources for tasks, but it will be imperative to have jurisdictional agency staff coordinating and communicating directly with their elected officials, executive staff, and jurisdictional departments. The RCAAP point(s) of contact within each jurisdiction will have a more direct understanding of their jurisdiction and community needs than County staff will.
For these reasons, staff recommend the formation of an RCAAP staff-level working group to collaborate on implementation. The working group will assist in prioritizing measures and actions for each jurisdiction, optimizing shared resources, and collaborating on funding strategies, etc.
CEQA APPROACH FOR THE RCAAP
The CAC and all jurisdictions in Napa County have explored the need for a CEQA-qualified RCAAP and GHG reduction plan. For this to take place the CAC must choose the best path forward and decide on the level of project scope and detail envisioned for the environmental review of the RCAAP. The environmental review will allow for CEQA streamlining of the GHG emissions reductions strategies of subsequent discretionary projects in member agency jurisdictions that demonstrate consistency with the RCAAP; as well as streamlining both GHG emissions reductions and other CEQA requirements related to the implementation of the measures directly within the RCAAP.
At the February 28, 2025, CAC meeting, Ascent will present several options highlighting the benefits and challenges of each approach. The recommended option is to prepare an RCAAP Program-Level Environmental Impact Report (PEIR), which will provide a complete and thorough analysis of potential impacts by the RCAAP. This approach can take up to 12 months to complete with an estimated anticipated cost of $300,000 - $400,000, depending on the level of outreach needed by partner jurisdictions in the JPA. Additionally, Napa County counsel has requested $46,400 - $82,400 for additional outside counsel to support the review of CEQA legal documents. For the purposes of this proposed budget, the higher estimate has been used. CAC member jurisdictions will only be charged for the actual cost of the CEQA approach, not to exceed the estimate provided here.
TOTAL DRAFT BUDGET
The total estimated budget amount for FY 2025-2026 is $697,278. This includes $195,878 in estimated County staff time, $400,000 to prepare a Program-level Environmental Impact Report for the RCAAP and an additional $82,400 requested by Napa County counsel for outside counsel support to review CEQA legal documents, $10,000 for continued work on EV charging station prioritization tool, and $9,000 for the Napa Climate Challenge.
The budget below assumes that the CAC moves forward with a Program-level Environmental Impact Report approach to completing the CEQA and environmental review portion of the RCAAP, implementation of the RCAAP, and the desire to continue work on the five ongoing priorities and tasks from the previous years. Any additional efforts directed by the CAC that are not a part of the approved budget may result in costs to the member jurisdictions that exceed the estimated amount in FY 25/26.
Table 2: Climate Action Committee Tasks & Costs
|
Task |
Cost |
Status |
|
Energy Reach Code |
Incl. in staff time |
Ongoing, potential completion date - |
|
EV Charging Tool |
$10,000 |
Final tool will be presented in Feb. 2025; Cost is for potential updates to the tool |
|
Napa Climate Challenge |
$9,000 |
Recurring annual cost |
|
CEQA Review of RCAAP |
$482,400 |
Based on recommended option and additional outside counsel review request |
|
County Staff time |
$195,878 |
|
|
Total |
$697,278 |
|
COST-SHARE
Under the Joint Powers Agreement, the County contributes 33.0% of the actual costs of the CAC Program Administration costs, from the PBES budget. The cities and town each reimburse the County for the remaining Program Administration, according to a formula that allocates costs based on fifty percent (50%) equal shares and fifty percent (50%) proportional share of population exclusive of the unincorporated area population, more specifically as follows:
American Canyon: 12.8%
Calistoga: 8.3%
Napa: 29.9%
St. Helena: 8.5%
Yountville: 7.5%
The allocation among the member jurisdictions would be as follows:
Table 3: Cost Share Breakdown by Jurisdiction
|
Jurisdiction |
Percentage |
Total |
|
Napa County |
33.0% |
$230,101.74 |
|
American Canyon |
12.8% |
$89,251.58 |
|
Calistoga |
8.3% |
$57,874.07 |
|
Napa |
29.9% |
$208,486.12 |
|
St. Helena |
8.5% |
$59,268.63 |
|
Yountville |
7.5% |
$52,295.85 |
|
Total |
100% |
$697,278.00 |
In accordance with Section 7(a) of the Joint Powers Agreement, the Administering Agency will provide the Estimated Amount (aka Draft Budget) for FY25/26 to all Parties at the February 2025 meeting.
As mentioned above, Staff request that the CAC members review, discuss, and take the proposed FY 25-26 budget back to their respective jurisdictions for in-depth discussions with staff, agency leadership, and elected officials. An item will be added to the March 28, 2025, CAC meeting agenda for further discussion and possible action.
County staff time for the implementation of actions in the RCAAP affecting only Napa County jurisdiction will not be billed to the member jurisdictions. If the CAC directs additional actions or efforts, this Estimated Amount may be supplemented with the approval of all Parties.