San Mateo LAFCO reviews Broadmoor Police Protection District finances, hears public concerns over parcel tax accounting

San Mateo County Local Agency Formation Commission on July 16 accepted an information update on the Broadmoor Police Protection District (BPPD) that detailed improving revenue projections for FY 2025–26, outstanding audit work for FY 2023–24 and continuing disputes between the district and county offices over supplemental parcel-tax coding and collections.

The update, presented by LAFCO staff, said BPPD’s adopted budget projects a surplus of about $545,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. The district reported an estimated ending fund balance of about $1.2 million for FY 2023–24 and an estimated $2.3 million for FY 2024–25. Staff also reported projected revenue of roughly $3.8 million and projected expenses for FY 2025–26 of about $3.28 million. The staff memo said most revenue increases are tied to supplemental parcel-tax receipts and that the district projects $1.1 million from that source for FY 2025–26, up from roughly $780,000 the prior year. The budget also includes a projected $550,000 in Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds for FY 2025–26.

The district has contracted with NBS, a financial-consulting firm, to audit parcel data and assist in collecting the supplemental parcel tax after staff said there were multiple instances in which the tax was not billed at the correct approved amount. The district also reported hiring Stephen Chang to serve as a contracted chief financial officer; LAFCO staff recommended the district include the CFO contract costs in future budgets because the adopted FY 2025–26 budget does not clearly allocate funds for that contract. The district is completing an audit for the year ending 2024; a completion date was not provided.

Two comment letters submitted to LAFCO were included in the update and were discussed at the meeting. Andrea Hall, a member of the Broadmoor Police Commission, wrote that she opposed raising the supplemental parcel tax and said she followed the staff recommendation and community sentiment in voting not to increase the tax. The county tax collector’s office, through a letter from Sandy Arnott, said it had not received requests for the documents the district alleged were miscoded and clarified that the tax collector’s office handles billing and collection rather than coding decisions.

In public comment, Johnny Gere, chair of the Broadmoor Police Protection District Commission, described a desire to preserve goodwill with taxpayers and said he supported not increasing the rate at this time. Michael (identified on the record as outside counsel to the district) said the district had not previously managed the parcel-tax process with professional assistance and that revenues are improving as the district works with county offices and NBS. Michael also confirmed the district was in dialogue with its insurer and that the district expects to maintain coverage. Andrea Hall and other callers and speakers raised concerns about governance, transparency and access to financial documentation.

LAFCO commissioners asked staff to compile outstanding questions for the district and to return with additional details; commissioners emphasized that LAFCO’s municipal service reviews use the best available data from governmental agencies and that LAFCO itself does not perform parcel-coding or billing. The commission then voted to accept the informational update. The roll call vote was recorded as: Commissioner Rudolph, yes; Commissioner Draper, yes; Commissioner Rinaldi, aye; Commissioner Martin, aye; Vice Chair Chen Crowley, aye; Chair Mueller, yes.

The action was informational acceptance; staff noted follow-up items for the district including clarifying the status of the FY 2023–24 audit, ensuring future budgets capture the CFO contract cost and resolving outstanding requests for documentation between the district and county offices.