Hollister
– Local officials are worried that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
plans to eliminate a major farm-protection program could end up
costing San Benito County hundreds of thousands of dollars
annually.
Hollister – Local officials are worried that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plans to eliminate a major farm-protection program could end up costing San Benito County hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
Earlier this month, Schwarzenegger released a revision of his proposed budget for fiscal year 2007-2008 that completely cuts the state’s $40 million in Williamson Act spending.
Since 1965, the Williamson Act has allowed farmers to pay lower property taxes if they pledge to preserve their land for agricultural use. However, the state has compensated local governments for those lost taxes – and in San Benito County, that compensation adds up to around $767,000 per year. That money contributes to spending from San Benito’s general fund. The county budgeted for $43.4 million of general fund spending in fiscal year 2006-2007.
“It would be a devastating loss to our already severely limited revenue,” County Supervisor Don Marcus said.
County Assessor Tom Slavich said the act benefits plenty of county property owners. The Williamson Act applies to around 584,600 acres of county land, Slavich said, which amounts to around 76 percent of San Benito’s privately owned property.
“It’s a pretty good chunk of land,” he said.
Greg Renz, owner of the Agco Hay Company, said that although he doesn’t own any Williamson Act land, eliminating the act could still end up hurting him.
“Boy, it would be a tragedy if that happened,” he said.
Without the state’s financial support, Renz said local farmers will feel more and more pressure to sell their land. It hurts his own business if more and more agricultural land is swallowed by development, Renz said.
“That’s already happening, and this is just going to exacerbate the problem,” he said.
According to Schwarzenegger’s staff, the revised budget won’t stop the county from signing up local landowners for the Williamson Act; it just cuts the financial compensation for local governments. When asked about the cuts at a press conference on May 14, Schwarzenegger said he was trying to reduce the state’s structural deficit.
“We looked at various different areas, and that was one of the areas that we took out, because it was $40 million, and we thought we can use that money for better use,” Schwarzenegger said.
Slavich noted that then-Gov. Gray Davis tried to enact similar cuts in 2003, but backed down after counties across the state objected.
Before the cuts can become a reality, they must be approved by the state Senate and Assembly. The County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to send a letter to Senator Jeff Denham and Assemblywoman Anna Caballero asking that the funding be restored; Caballero released a statement earlier this month in opposition to the funding cuts.
“Eliminating the Williamson Act program saves the general fund $40 million, but will encourage sprawl and generate more traffic and more pollution,” she said. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been a top priority for the governor. But these cuts will undermine that goal.”
San Benito County Farm Bureau President George Bonacich said that if the Williamson Act is eliminated, it could lead to higher food prices and more sales of imported food.
“It’s a vicious circle,” Bonacich said.
