"Spending Public Money to Preserve Marin's Agricultural Heritage:*

R1

The Board of Supervisors should require that all future grant applications for $25,000 or more of Measure A funds include the following: a) copies of all minutes, recordings and other documents of the grant application process which relate in any way to the selection of the property that is the subject of the grant application; b) the identities of all parties who participated in the discussions, or decision making in the process leading to the grant application; a specific and detailed report on the property's agricultural economic viability, including but not limited to, the Initial Agriculture Management Plan specified in the deed of the Agricultural Conservation Easement between the easement holder and landowner; d) a mandate that an annual report be submitted to Marin County Parks and the Measure A Community Oversight Committee outlining the property's continued agricultural economic viability, including at a minimum, copies of all easement monitoring and reporting plans submitted to the easement holder and any revision made to a copy of the initial agricultural management plan; and e) a disclosure of any family relationship between the property owner and the grant applicant's governing body, any member of the Board of Directors of Marin Resource Conservation District or any member of the Measure A Community Oversight Committee. This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable. This recommendation cannot be implemented because it would appear, in part as written by the Grand Jury, to include Measure A programs that provide funding to municipalities, community groups, and nonprofits within the county. These grantees use funds to create access to park lands and to acquire open space for public or conservation uses. These uses of Measure A expenditures are unrelated to agriculture production or real property. County of Marin Response to Grand Jury Report Findings and Recommendations “Spending Public Money to Preserve Marin’s Agricultural Heritage: Is anyone Watching?” June 10, 2024 Regarding items R1-a and R1-b, the County does not have access to the meeting minutes, rosters of meeting attendees, or other internal records kept by private nonprofit entities. It would be atypical for a government agency to request these items. Individual applicants for Measure A funding are best suited to opine on their respective project selection processes. Regarding item R1-c, all Measure A grant applications are evaluated on the merits of the proposed project, the project's ability to achieve the goals of the grant program, and the project's adherence to the requirements of the grant. The Farmland Preservation Grant Program currently requires that easements purchased with grant funds contain a provision requiring continued productive agricultural uses on the easement property. This is not the same as assuring that the property in question is "economically viable". Preservation of existing farmland, rather than economic impact, is the primary factor in evaluation. Additionally, any property potentially subject to an easement grant is visited in-person by County staff to evaluate agricultural production. The FPP grant currently requires that each easement include an Agricultural Management Plan. Regarding item R1-d, Measure A grant recipients are currently required to submit annual reports to County staff, summarizing monitoring of the subject easement property in the prior year. This monitoring ensures the terms of the easement, including the continuation of commercially productive agriculture, have been upheld. Regarding Item R1-e, staff will include a section in the Farm Preservation Program application checklist that addresses conflict of interest in the next revision of the Measure A grant application.

R2

The Board of Supervisors should authorize, and require that the Measure A Community Oversight Committee undertake the following for all future Farmland Preservation Program grant applications and grants: a) review all grant applications for conflicts of interest; b) review all grant applications to ensure the economic viability of the proposed management plan;

R3

The Board of Supervisors should require the Measure A Community Oversight Committee to report its findings regarding any grant application to the Board of Supervisors prior to the Board of Supervisors' decision on funding said application. This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable. Reviewing grant proposals prior to Board of Supervisors' consideration falls outside of the scope of the Measure A Oversight Committee as expressed by its bylaws. According to Article III of these bylaws, "The purpose of the Committee is to review, on an annual basis, the expenditure of tax revenue generated by Marin County (Measure A)...for parks, open space, and farmlands preservation." The oversight committee does this by reviewing annual expenditures to ensure they conform with the Expenditure Plan, overseeing an annual audit, and preparing an annual report to the Board of Supervisors describing how funds were spent. The Measure A Oversight Committee does not review applications prior to Board approval, per committee bylaws. Initial review of grant applications is completed by County staff, who then make recommendations for consideration by the Board of Supervisors agenda during open session.

R4

The Board of Supervisors should deny any grant application where Farmland Preservation Program funds will be awarded to any person, or their family, who is serving as a member of the board of directors of the Marin Resource Conservation District or MALT, or a member of the Measure A Community Oversight Committee: This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable. It is important to note that Farmland Preservation Program grants are not awarded to individuals or families. Grants are made solely to qualifying nonprofit organizations, for the express purpose of purchasing easements that protect working agricultural lands. As noted in the responses to

R5

The Board of Supervisors should develop and implement an expanded outreach program aimed at increasing public awareness of the existence of openings on the Measure A Community Oversight Committee, and how to apply for these openings. This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable. As one of numerous committees charged with advisory and oversight roles in the County of Marin, Measure A Oversight Committee recruitment and outreach activities are administered by the Office of the County Executive's Clerk of the Board division. The County continuously seeks to increase diversity and representation in all Boards and Commissions, including the Measure A Oversight Committee. In this regard, the County has initiated a Boards and Commissions Equity Project that is currently in process. This project aims to further enhance the inclusiveness and transparency of recruitment efforts. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the existing notice and outreach practices have resulted in a lack of qualified candidates for the Measure A Oversight Board, any more so than among other board and commissions.