Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the SAFER Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chair will bring SAFER funding concerns to next meeting
Summary
The Chair said the commission will schedule a presentation, discussion and possible action on SAFER funding at the next meeting, citing administrative difficulties and a reported reallocation of cap-and-trade dollars that Chair said left an estimated $70 million shortfall.
The Chair said the commission will place a presentation, discussion and possible action on SAFER funding on the next meeting agenda, targeting the commission’s meeting on the 13th. "We're mostly worried about SAFER," the Chair said, asking staff to prepare slides and talking points so the commission can consider taking a formal position.
The Chair told attendees the commission relies on SAFER for administrative and operations support and that recent budget shifts have strained the program. According to the Chair, part of cap-and-trade funding that had been intended for SAFER was redirected to the high-speed rail project, creating what the Chair described as an approximately $70,000,000 shortfall for related programs. "They took part of that and sent it to the high speed rail ... to address that $70,000,000 shortfall," the Chair said, using approximate wording recorded at the meeting.
Members agreed to include SAFER as a presentation followed by discussion and action so the commission can vote on whether to take a position. The Chair said staff would add the item under presentation/discussion/action on the agenda and coordinate materials; participants discussed producing a few PowerPoint slides or talking points in advance.
The Chair also described operational pain points tied to SAFER, including administrative complexity and negotiation time, and noted the group will consider whether SAFER can continue to support O&M (operations and maintenance) needs for local projects. The Chair emphasized these were discussion items to inform a future decision, not a resolution adopted at this meeting.
The commission plans to address SAFER at the next scheduled meeting, with staff preparing a brief presentation and recommended next steps for commissioners to consider.
