Sec. 12-68. - Oversight and administration.

A.

The implementation of this article will be the responsibility of the oversight committee who reports directly to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. The county is charged with a fiduciary duty in administering the tax proceeds in accordance with applicable laws and this Measure. Receipt of tax proceeds may be subject to appropriate terms and conditions, including, but not limited to, the right to require recipients to execute funding agreements and the right to audit recipient's use of the tax proceeds. Environmental reporting, review and approval procedures as provided for under the National Environmental Policy Act, and/or California Environmental Quality Act, or other applicable laws will be adhered to as a prerequisite to the implementation of any project. Actual tax proceeds may be higher or lower than estimated over the duration of this measure. Funding agreements shall be required before any tax proceeds are distributed. Each funding agreement shall establish existing revenues used to fund existing personnel in order to establish the baseline for measuring compliance with the requirement that sales tax proceeds shall only be used to pay for additional personnel. The funding agreements will acknowledge that the measure provides funding to achieve effective and efficient regional fire response services throughout Sonoma County.

B.

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration costs payment for the costs of contracting with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for administration of the tax shall be the responsibility of the county. If the election is successful, the county shall be reimbursed for any fee charged by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration from the proceeds of the tax, and any amounts in excess of the allocation to the county set forth in Section 12-66(D) shall be deducted from the annual proceeds from the tax before quarterly distribution to the agencies and entities enumerated in Section 12-66(D).

C.

The annual administrative cost borne by the county's auditor and county executive staff, the oversight committee administrative costs and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, to the extent such costs are in excess of the allocation provided to the county in Section 12-66(D), will be deducted from the annual proceeds from the tax before quarterly distribution to the agencies and entities enumerated in Section 12-66(D).

(Measure H, § 3, 3-5-2024)