Measure R oversight panel approves 2024–25 annual report, directs standard forms and discusses jail gap funding

Del Norte County’s Measure R Oversight Committee on Thursday approved the Measure R 2024–25 annual report, voted to have staff develop standardized funding-request and annual-report forms, and discussed contingency funding for a planned jail remodel that could require local “gap” funds while state and federal funding is pursued.

The committee’s actions matter because Measure R is the county’s dedicated transactions-and-use tax for public safety and capital improvements, and the committee and Board of Supervisors have identified the jail remodel as a priority capital project that may need local matching or gap funding to secure external grants and awards.

Committee members present approved the annual report without changes after staff said the report, prepared by “Debbie,” was extensive and covered Measure R expenditures and projects. The committee then voted to direct staff to create a standardized, fillable funding-request form and a standardized annual Measure R report form to make year-over-year comparisons clearer and to ensure required fields and backup documentation accompany future requests.

On the jail project, staff and committee members discussed the county’s approach to gap funding. Committee members said they were surprised that some Sheriff’s Office expenses — including one purchase of inmate clothing and a property vacuum sealer described in committee discussion as about $12,000 — had been approved by the Board of Supervisors before being brought to the committee. Staff explained that the board took action two days earlier to authorize availability of Measure R capital and unallocated funds for gap funding if needed and that, in practice, emergency or board-forwarded items sometimes bypass the committee when brought by the sheriff as urgent.

Committee members repeatedly said they want a clear contingency preserved in the Measure R fund so the account is not exhausted by a single project. Staff said the fund receives roughly $1.6 million to $2.0 million annually and that the Measure R capital-improvement reserve already had a balance the staff described as “in excess of $10,000,000” relative to projected needs; staff added that the jail remodel timeline is likely 18–24 months and that the majority of planned external funding for the project is federal.

Staff also said the board’s recent action simply authorizes the use of capital-improvement and unallocated Measure R funds for gap financing and does not itself set a fixed dollar amount. The sheriff had requested authority to cover up to 75% of project costs if needed; staff said the actual gap could be smaller and depends on awarded state or federal grants. Committee members asked staff to record the committee’s recommendation that the recommended budget include an annual contingency provision to avoid exhausting Measure R on any one project; staff agreed to include that recommendation in the forthcoming recommended budget report to the Board of Supervisors.

Votes at a glance

- Measure R 2024–25 annual report: motion to approve carried (motion made and seconded; recorded voice vote: all in favor). The committee did not record a roll-call vote; three committee members were present and voted yes.

- Direction to staff to develop standardized Measure R funding-request and annual-report forms: motion carried (motion made and seconded; recorded voice vote: all in favor). Three committee members present voted yes.

The meeting included discussion of administrative improvements to reporting: staff said they are piloting fillable, database-backed forms (referred to in discussion as Cognito Forms) so departments’ submissions are standardized and stored electronically. Committee members said standardized forms will help make numbers easier to find in future annual reports.

Committee members also raised a separate concern about a publicly circulated list naming counties as “sanctuary” jurisdictions and whether the county’s eligibility for federal funding could be affected. Staff responded that the county has an assigned award or agreement for the jail project and that legal and court actions to date have prevented unilateral rescinding of legislatively awarded funds; staff characterized overall federal funding risk as uncertain but noted existing legal challenges to federal attempts to withhold awarded funds.

The committee closed after a short meeting; staff said they will include the committee’s contingency request language in the recommended budget report presented to the Board of Supervisors.