Merced County supervisors waiting to pursue mediator for revenue sharing

The Merced County Board of Supervisors will decide whether to pursue mediation on a revenue-sharing agreement with the city of Merced after it hears from County Counsel James Fincher at the June 7 meeting.

The city of Merced formally requested that the two parties pursue the mediation process in a letter to the Board of Supervisors in early May.

But board members agreed to wait to make a decision because Fincher was not present at Tuesday’s regular board meeting.

Jim Brown, the county’s CEO, said there are some potential legal issues that need to be discussed before agreeing on a mediator.

Without an agreement, the city cannot annex new land parcels into the city limits, which stunts development, specifically near UC Merced.

The dispute over the agreement lies in how each governing board wants to split property tax revenue, including money for fire service.

The county currently is studying an alternative concept to revenue sharing that the city of Merced suggested, but did not formally propose. Kern County adopted the concept, though that county still is working on the details to implement the deal.

“It’s different than the traditional method in that the distribution of the property tax apportionment may pose a risk to the county and will require additional work and resources by the auditor,” Brown said in an interview with the Sun-Star.

Brown added that the county is open to pursuing the alternative concept without mediation.

Supervisors also expressed interest in dispelling any rumors that the county hasn’t been responsive in reaching a deal.

County staff prepared a timeline showing proposals made by each side in the cities of Livingston, Los Banos and Merced.

“I think everybody owns responsibility that we don’t have a deal,” said Hub Walsh, the board chairman. “We need to continue to work on getting the deals. I think that’s what it takes – to come back to the table and have some discussion. … Let’s find something that works for all of us.”

Brown added: “Our goal through this is to have an agreement that shares the overall revenue 50/50, which is in line with other counties.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Merced County supervisors waiting to pursue mediator for revenue sharing."