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Findings and Recommendations 4 findings
F1
The process for WSAFCA to secure state and federal funding for flood control projects is complicated and is an actively evolving process making it essential to have the appropriate specialists, lobbyists and consultants involved. WSAFCA agrees with Finding F1.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By October 1, 2019, WSAFCA (and by extension, the City of West Sacramento) should reinforce clear, open lines of communication with its local, state, and federal flood control partners. WSAFCA has taken steps to establish clear, open lines of communication with its local, state and federal flood control partners. See WSAFCA's response to Findings 2 above. Additionally, WSAFCA meets regularly with our state partner to coordinate implementation of both local-led flood projects as well as the federal flood project. WSAFCA also leads an active stakeholder flood protection committee in Yolo County, the planning team for the Lower Sacramento River/ Delta North Region, funded by DWR. Yolo County is a member of that group, along with Solano County and SAFCA.
F2
The potential for partnerships among agencies is readily available but communication and leadership between multiple levels of government is significantly lacking. There was a lack of effective coordination between regional, state, and federal agencies when navigating the process to secure state and federal grant funding. WSAFCA disagrees with Finding F2. Agency staff meets regularly with the USACE, DWR, CVFCB and SAFCA as part of the Oversight Management Group to coordinate flood control project implementation in the Sacramento Region. This monthly coordination meeting is unprecedented with regard to federal flood control projects and has been in place for over two years. Based in part through this coordination, WSAFCA effectively: executed a Credit MOU with the USACE for work on the Southport Levee Project (up to $130 million federal investment value); secured $400,000 in FY2019 federal appropriations; and secured a recommendation of $400,000 in the FY 2020 President's Budget. WSAFCA has also secured approximately $161 million in state funding for flood projects in advance of federal funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
By October 1, 2019, WSAFCA (and by extension, the City of West Sacramento) should build additional relationships with consultants and lobbyists with expertise in current practices who specialize in flood protection funding. Since 2006, WSAFCA utilized the City of West Sacramento Lobbyist for a coordinated lobbying effort on federal priorities, including flood protection. Starting in Aug 2019, WSAFCA retained Federal Water Consulting as an additional, and separate, lobbyist specializing and focused solely on federal flood control funding and federal project implementation. Sincerely, Kenric Jameson WSAFCA General Manager Enclosure cc: Yolo County Grand Jury Foreperson RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY REPORT The governance of responses to the Grand Jury Final Report is contained in Penal Code §933 and §933.05. Responses must be submitted within 60 or 90 days. Elected officials must respond within sixty (60) days, governing bodies (for example, the Board of Supervisors) must respond within ninety (90) days. Please submit all responses in writing and digital format to the Presiding Judge and the Grand Jury Foreperson. Report Title: "Missed Funding Opportunities: West Sacramento Flood Control Projects" Response by: WSAFCA Board
F3
WSAFCA failed to secure federal funding for two appropriation cycles because of the recalculated BCR and a lack of expertise in the nuances of flood funding procurement. WSAFCA partially disagrees with Finding F3. The West Sacramento Project BCR was in fact recalculated from 1.2 to 2.2 and was approved in May 2018. That resulted in the West Sacramento Project receiving $400,000 in federal funding in the FY2019 USACE Work Plan and recommended in the FY 2020 Presidents' Budget for an additional $400,000 of federal funding. Regarding a lack of expertise in the nuances of flood procurement, the Agency retained additional expertise in this area. See response to recommendation R2 below.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Because the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) obtained full funding to improve levees on the east side of the Sacramento River whereas WSAFCA did not, there will be an increased flood risk on the unimproved Yolo County side. WSAFCA disagrees with Finding F4. There is no increased flood risk on the Yolo County side of the Sacramento River. In fact, the flood risk will be reduced because a portion of SAFCA's project currently in design widens the Sacramento Bypass thereby reducing flood stages on the Sacramento River.
No recommendations for this finding
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.