HomeMy WebLinkAboutUpdate on Secure Rural Schools Funding 01.07.09 T TF
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INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
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Butte County Administration
Phone: 538-7631
Fax: 538-7120
TO: Members, Board of Supervisors
FROM: Shari McCracken, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: Update on Secure Rural Schools Funding
DATE: January 7, 2009
On November 4, 2008 the Board of Supervisors approved allocating the County's share of
Secure Rural Schools funding as follows:
• Receive the County share of the State payment;
• Establish a Resources Advisory Committee (RAC); and
• Reserve 20% of the payments for activities under Titles II and III of the Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 with 13% allocated for Title 1I
and 7% allocated for Title 111.
On December 5, 2008, Supervisor Yamaguchi and I met with a US Forest Service representative,
Lee Anne Schramel Taylor, to discuss the process for establishing a RAC in Butte County. As
previously discussed with the Board, a RAC is a federal advisory committee that provides advice
and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture, or his/her designee (the Forest Supervisor)
related to Title II funding applications.
The Committee members must be representative of the following three categories:
Category A—five (5) persons who:
• represent organized labor, developed outdoor recreation, off-highway vehicle users, or
commercial recreational activities;
• represent the commercial timber industry; or
• hold Federal grazing permits or other land use permits within the area for which the
committee is organized.
Category B—five(5)persons who represent:
• nationally recognized environmental organizations;
• regionally or locally recognized environmental organizations;
• dispersed recreational activities;
• archaeological and historical interests; or
• nationally or regionally recognized wild horse and burro interest groups.
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Category C —five (5) persons who:
• hold State elected office or their designee:
• hold county or local elected office-,
• represent American Indian tribes within or adjacent to the area for which the committee is
organized;
• are school officials or teachers, or
• represent the affected public-at-large.
RAC Recruitment
Recruitment for RAC members is anticipated to begin in January 2009 with the US Forest
Service publishing notices in local newspapers. The US Forest Service is in charge of
recruitment and staffing the RAC because the RAC is a federally designated committee that
provides advice to a Federal official, though it will do so in consultation with the County.
County staff and elected officials may assist in recruitment by passing out applications to
interested persons and attending public information meetings. The US Forest Service plans on
holding informational meetings in January or February, most likely in Oroville and Paradise, and
will advertise the meetings in the local media. The specific areas chosen for the informational
meetings are the areas bordering the Plumas and Lassen National Forests.
In order to become a member of a RAC, interested parties must submit a US Forest Service
application. The applications will be reviewed by the US Forest Service and then by the Board
of Supervisors' appointed liaison or subcommittee, for recommendation to the Secretary of
Agriculture. As discussed above, there are three (3) categories of membership with five (5) slots
each, for a total of 15 members. The US Forest Service is required to submit two (2) names for
each potential slot, for a total of thirty (3)0) names, as well as additional names to fill
-replacement" seats, should members choose not to serve their full four-year term. All applicants
that are forwarded to the Secretary of Agriculture for consideration will be submitted for a full
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FBI background check and then appointments will be made by the Secretary of Agriculture.
RAC Implementation
Support for the RAC will be provided by the US Forest Service, either by Forest Service staff or
through a contract between an individual and the US Forest Service.
Once a RAC is established, it is charged with reviewing project applications and making
recommendations to the Forest Supervisor for project funding. The RAC has no authority to
approve applications; it can only make recommendations to the granting authority, which is the
Secretary of Agriculture or his/her designee (the Forest Supervisor).
The legislation governing RACs requires that a majority of members in each of the three
categories vote in favor of recommending applications to the granting authority. This means that
at least three members in each category must vote to move applications forward in the
process. The implications of this requirement are wide-reaching when interested parties who
choose to apply as RAC members are also representative of any entity that may later apply to the
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RAC for Title 11 funding. If three or more individuals in one category have a conflict of interest
related to any application they will have to remove themselves from deliberations, resulting in an
insufficient number of votes in that category, which in turn would eliminate the application from
further consideration or recommendation to the Secretary of Agriculture for funding.
County Participation
Though the US Forest Service and its staff are responsible for administration of and support to
the RAC, they will do so through coordination with County staff and a Board-appointed liaison
or subcommittee. The US Forest Service has requested that the Board of Supervisors appoint a
liaison or a subcommittee to fill this role. Future updates will be provided to the Board of
Supervisors through memos, reports from the liaison or subcommittee members, and
presentations,
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