NAPA VALLEY

Even as the county moved forward with its rescue effort of a financially beleaguered farmworker housing system Tuesday, some supervisors voiced trepidation about the county shouldering this new financial burden.

“I do not want us to be carrying the whole ball,” said Supervisor Diane Dillon, referring to who will have the burden of financing shortfalls in the farmworker camps budget.

Earlier this month the county took over responsibility for operating the farmworker centers from the Napa Valley Housing Authority, reactivating the Napa County Housing Authority for this purpose.

The transfer of power to the county occurs in the wake of a financial debacle created when former housing authority director Peter Dreier used $1.4 million of the city of Napa’s housing reserves, without authorization, to cover cost overruns for two Upvalley camp renovations.

After months of closed-door discussions, the county, NVHA, and the city of Napa have not yet settled on how the city of Napa will be repaid the million-plus debt.

On Tuesday the new charge of the farmworker camps — the Napa County Housing Authority, comprised of the Napa County Board of Supervisors — held the public hearing required to adopt a 2007-08 budget to operate the three centers. The hearing will continue on May 1.

Dillon emphasized she does not want to see the county have the responsibility of funding the farmworker centers alone. She added that she is not trying to create controversy with the other cities that have historically helped fund the farmworker centers as part of the Napa Valley Housing Authority.

“We have shouldered this burden and the assumption is that we are not shouldering it alone,” said Dillon, adding that she doesn’t believe this is what the taxpayers thought would take place under previous arrangements that the farmworker centers would essentially be paid for with the growers’ self-tax and farmworker rents.

Supervisor Bill Dodd expressed frustration that most of the conversations and decisions about the county assuming responsibility of the three farmworker centers from the Napa Valley Housing Authority have been “done behind closed doors.”

“The community conversations about how we do this and where the money should be coming from needs to be done in a more public forum,” Dodd said.

County Counsel Robert Westmeyer explained that the fast clip of decisions and power transfers occurred because the county “took this over on such an expedited basis.”

To meet a June deadline for a grapegrower election, in which growers will vote whether to continue taxing themselves to fund farmworker housing, any changes in oversight of the farmworker centers had to take place in time for a budget to be passed — a prerequisite for holding the election.

Napa County Auditor-Controller Pam Kindig told the board that the proposed $971,000 budget for the farmworker housing system for 2007-08 is built around two assumptions:

• That the grapegrowers approve increasing their CSA-4 self-tax, which funds the farmworker centers, from $9.50 to $9.75 an acre

• That starting Jan. 1, 2008, the nightly rent to stay at a farmworker center rises from $11.50 to $11.75

Kindig indicated three sources of funding for hiring the full-time housing specialist and the part-time clerk that the county would need to start operating the farmworker housing centers:

• $21,000 from the farmworker center operations fund

• $198,000 from the county

• $40,000 from Napa Valley Housing Authority

Kindig added that the contribution from NVHA “is still up for discussion.”

Regarding the large sum the county would pitch in toward the farmworker centers in the proposed budget Dodd said:

“I think we are taking it on the chin because of the gross financial incompetence of staff,” he said.