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: Proposed Revised Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget for Program Administration of the Climate Action Committee and support for related projects.
RECOMMENDATION
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Receive a presentation on the proposed revised budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 (FY26/27) of $180,955 for program administration of the Climate Action Committee (CAC), outreach, engagement, and related projects support with an additional cost estimate for a regional implementation plan for the RCAAP.
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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 23, 2026, the CAC discussed priorities for FY26/27 and supported staff’s recommendations to complete and adopt the RCAAP, develop a regional implementation approach, begin strategizing for implementation, and consider options for updates to the CAC Joint Powers Agreement.
On February 27, 2026, staff presented a Draft Budget of $144,455 and received direction to:
1. Include budget for Napa Resource Conservation District (Napa RCD) to support outreach on the RCAAP on behalf of CAC members.
2. Work with BrightAction Communities to provide minimal support to maintain the Napa Climate Challenge webpage operational for an additional year while municipal staff consider a long term regional approach to local outreach once the RCAAP has been adopted and is under implementation.
3. Explore the development of a regionally focused implementation plan for the RCAAP.
Napa County Staff Time and Resources
The proposed FY26/27 budget includes an estimate of staff time needed to:
• Support and administer the completion of the RCAAP,
• Support and administer the completion of the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND),
• Facilitate and support the adoption of the RCAAP and the IS/MND by individual municipalities,
• Continue coordination of the All Staff Working Group,
• Develop and coordinate a regional implementation strategy,
• Support municipalities with implementation,
• Lead with the development of model actions, programs, and policies,
• Monitor the status of RCAAP strategies and measures,
• Provide administrative support to the CAC by preparing agendas, developing staff reports and sharing information, preparing an annual budget, and providing staff support for associated tasks and requests.
The estimated staff time total for FY26/27 is $134,455, which is an 18% decrease from FY25/26. This decrease is due to work on the RCAAP and IS/MND documents winding down. FY25/26 called for intensive reviews of the administrative, public, and final drafts of the RCAAP, coordination of staff reviews of these drafts, public engagement for the public draft RCAAP, the review of public comments, the development of staff and consultant responses to comments, coordination of staff reviews of the administrative draft of the IS/MND, AB 52 tribal consultations, and the expected release of the IS/MND, final RCAAP, and public comment responses.
Staff time for FY26/27 will shift the workload to developing an approach for implementation once the RCAAP has been adopted. This will include collaboration and coordination amongst municipalities and relying on the All Staff Working Group to facilitate the prioritization of RCAAP measures, cost and funding analysis, and community engagement and outreach.
County staff time has been broken down by task and subtask in the attachment document, Napa County Staff Time - Hours Breakdown. The quoted staff hourly rates are weighted labor rates provided by the County Auditor for FY26/27. Rates may change depending on contract negotiations.
Table 1: Napa County Staff Time and Cost
*total costs have been rounded to whole numbers
RCAAP and IS/MND
The final RCAAP will be released concurrently with the public draft of the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND). The IS/MND will be circulated for public review and comment on the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, CEQAnet web portal - <https://ceqanet.lci.ca.gov/>
Following this process, the Climate Action Committee will consider and possibly recommend adoption of the RCAAP and IS/MND, which will be forwarded to the member jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction will independently consider adoption of the RCAAP and the associated CEQA document as a lead agency (Napa County) or responsible agency (all other member jurisdictions).
Proposed FY26/27 Budget
The proposed CAC budget for FY26/27 is $180,955 and includes $134,455 in County staff costs, $35,000 placeholder for outreach and engagement support by Napa Resource Conservation District, $10,000 for continued support by Ari Ball-Burack for the EV Charging Equity Tool, and $1,500 for the continued presence of Napa Climate Challenge on the BrightAction Communities platform.
Table 2: Climate Action Committee FY26/27 Proposed Budget
Cost-Share
Under the Joint Powers Agreement, the Unincorporated 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 cost sharing allocation among the member jurisdictions for FY26/27 would be as follows:
Table 3: Climate Action Committee FY26/27 Proposed Budget Breakdown by Jurisdiction
*total costs have been rounded to whole numbers
Implementation Plans
On February 27, the CAC directed staff to explore the development of a regionally focused implementation plan for the RCAAP. Previously presented options for individualized implementation plans were met with concern by a significant portion of CAC members, who felt such an approach was inconsistent with the CAC's mission and the overarching intent of a regional climate action plan.
In response, staff reached out to Ascent to request a scope of work and cost estimate for a regionally focused implementation plan for the RCAAP - one that emphasizes a collaborative, region-wide approach while allowing for flexibility in implementation approaches on a jurisdictional basis. The City of Napa has indicated the need for an individualized implementation plan and is working directly with Ascent to develop one. The regional implementation plan will align and coordinate with the City’s individualized plan.
The RCAAP Implementation Plan will define how implementation efforts will proceed and be coordinated across the jurisdictions following RCAAP adoption, through inter-jurisdictional coordination and collaboration. It should clarify the roles and responsibilities of individual incorporated jurisdictions in implementing measures applicable across all jurisdictions, while also identifying County-specific measures, actions, and the County's programmatic responsibilities as the JPA administrator. The RCAAP Implementation Plan should also ensure consistency with the RCAAP’s assumptions to maintain consistency with CEQA Guidelines 15183.5. Staff estimates the cost of the RCAAP Implementation Plan to not exceed $181,985.
Table 4: Implementation Plan Shared Costs Breakdown by Jurisdiction (without City of Napa)
Table 5: Shared Administrative Costs plus Implementation Plan Breakdown by Jurisdiction
Staff request CAC members:
• Review the revised proposed draft budget,
• Facilitate approval of the revised proposed budget by municipal city management and/or council,
• Vote to adopt a final revised budget at the April 24, 2026, CAC meeting.
County staff time for the implementation of actions in the RCAAP affecting only unincorporated Napa County will not be billed to the member jurisdictions. If the CAC directs additional actions or efforts beyond the scope of the proposed budget, the budget may be amended with the approval of all Parties.