San Benito supervisors back Sunnyslope tax‑sharing agreement to speed water consolidations

San Benito County supervisors voted unanimously Nov. 6 to advise the county auditor they concur with a 0% property‑tax exchange to allow annexations to the Sunnyslope County Water District, a step officials said is needed to move multi‑million‑dollar state drought‑resiliency grants into construction.

Public Works Administrator Steve Luke told the board the California Department of Water Resources provided roughly $16 million in drought‑resiliency funding through two local grant awards, including about $13 million the county will use to consolidate small, failing potable systems into Sunnyslope. "The intent is to consolidate local existing water systems that are failing in various ways into Sunnyslope County Water District," Luke said, adding that the systems’ costs are recovered through rates and the county expects no fiscal impact from the tax‑exchange action.

Residents and local water‑system leaders described chronic problems they said consolidation would solve. "We have arsenic in our wells. Our wells were failing," said Julian, president of the Best Road Mutual Water Company, who said his system serves 48 homes and that the change will preserve existing service, not expand it. Ed Schmidt, president of Tres Pinos Water District, told the board his system’s well is more than 60 years old and said economies of scale are necessary to meet rising regulatory requirements.

Jennifer Stevenson, executive officer of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), urged the board to approve the tax‑sharing agreement so LAFCO can complete its environmental and feasibility review. "LAFCO cannot complete this review until the county and the district have a tax‑sharing agreement in place," Stevenson said, adding that approving the agreement "does not predetermine the outcome of any annexation; it simply allows the state‑mandated review process to function."

A representative of the State Water Resources Control Board also urged approval, saying the resolution is urgent to permit timely construction under the Department of Water Resources grant timelines. Several supervisors pressed staff and Sunnyslope representatives to clarify that the current action applies only to existing water connections and does not authorize new sewer service or future development. Sunnyslope General Manager Drew Landers agreed: "The intent of the annexations we are bringing to LAFCO will be for water only," he said, adding he has "neither the capacity really nor the funding plan to extend any sewer services" into the areas at this time.

Supervisor Curl described the project as an "$18,000,000 project" that will improve drinking water for about 288 residents named in the staff report and said approving the tax‑sharing agreement will allow the annexation process to proceed to LAFCO. The board adopted the resolution and authorized the chair to sign by roll call vote, 4‑0.

The next procedural step is for Sunnyslope and the county to file the annexation applications with LAFCO and for LAFCO to complete environmental and feasibility reviews required under state law.