General Questions
What is town incorporation?
Municipal incorporation is simply a process whereby a local governmental unit is established by the people of a community to deliver certain public services. Under California’s Government Code Sections 34500-34504, the terms “city” and “town” are explicitly interchangeable. An incorporated town will have elected officials, as differentiated from an unincorporated community, which exists by tradition with limited representation and does not have elected officials at the local level.
Why do you think creating a Town in eastern Placer County is good for our community?
Today, the North Lake Tahoe communities have 1 Supervisor out of 5 Board of Supervisor members, with the other 4 living in western county. With a new town, we would have all 5 elected officials living locally in our community.
Counties are not set up to provide the community-serving services that municipalities provide. The communities of North Lake Tahoe have unique challenges and require services that are more consistent with what town/city governments are set up to do.
The population in our North Lake Tahoe area continues to decline as a percentage of the total population of District 5. As of 2020, eastern Placer’s population was 17% (13,837) of the total District 5 population of approximately 80,000. As significant growth continues in the western part of the County, we expect the focus of County resources and decision-making to continue shifting to the west.
A Town would create a structure where local people can make decisions about local issues here in the east. This would be a representative government similar to the town of Truckee or South Lake Tahoe.
Truckee did it 30 years ago and they are doing a better job serving the local community as a town vs being a remote area of Nevada County.
Financially, we expect that the area will generate more revenue than it needs to operate, leaving funds for important unmet needs.
What is the proposed name of the city/town?
That’s something that the citizens should weigh in on. We prefer the moniker of “Town” as it implies something smaller, more intimate. The name should reflect the entire region holistically, acknowledge and celebrate the connection of the valleys (Alpine, Olympic, Martis) to all North Lake Tahoe communities to make this work. North Lake Tahoe has been suggested by many but the ultimate name will be vetted with the community.
What are the proposed boundaries of this new town?
The boundaries include all the area of Placer County east of Donner Summit except Serene Lakes and Donner Lake, and the backcountry areas that are currently designated State Responsibility Areas (fire).
Why are the State Responsibility Areas omitted?
We would not want the new Town to be responsible for wildland fire protection in backcountry areas (expense/liability), so keeping those the responsibility of the State is prudent.
The geographic spread of the proposed town is huge. How will the town efficiently operate services and make it feel like a town?
That’s to be determined of course, but the Town of Truckee also covers a large area and provides effective services.
What is the population of the proposed new Town?
- New town population: estimated 13,387
- Total District 5 population (includes Auburn): 81,000
- Eastern Placer total: 13,387 (comparable—Truckee is close to 17,000)
- Tahoe City – 2,644
- Northstar – 298
- Kings Beach – 2,589
- West Shore – 2,290
- Olympic Valley – 823
- Alpine – 500
- Other areas within approximate boundary – 4,243
Where would the town administrative center be located?
This is yet to be determined but ideally some place central.
Who is behind this effort?
We are a volunteer committee comprised of community members (residents, business owners) interested in the long-term health and vitality of our community.
This effort has been attempted multiple times over the years, why is now the right time to do this?
Our current representative on the Board of Supervisors supports this effort 100%, something that has not been the case for decades. If our current District 5 Supervisor were to step down, she would likely be the last local person to represent us on the Board of Supervisors in our lifetimes.
Benefits + Impact Questions
What are the current challenges to providing services in eastern Placer County today?
Counties are not set up to provide municipal-like services to unincorporated areas.
Due to the bulk of the population being in the western county and the center of County government being in Auburn, we recognize County decision-making will continue to shift focus and resources to the west. When that day comes, we no longer have a District 5 Supervisor who lives in North Lake Tahoe, we can expect this shift to accelerate.
What will be the impact on the current level of services?
The Initial Fiscal Feasibility Review assumes the same level of service that currently exists, and service costs were compared to the Town of Truckee.
What services will the town/city provide?
In general, the new Town would assume responsibility for all municipal services provided by the County:
- Town Council and Town Legal
- Zoning, Planning, and Permitting
- Public Works/Engineering: Stormwater, Snow removal and road maintenance
- Sheriff and Police Services differ. Public Safety would be contracted with the County to provide until the new Town decides to provide all or some of them.
- Other services that could be provided include:
- Parks and Recreation
- Trash
What services will the County continue to provide?
- Health and Human Services
- Sheriff Services would be contracted
What are tax implications for individual homeowners and business owners if we become a Town? Will taxes go up?
Nothing would change with incorporation unless a future Town Council were to change the existing structure or pass a new measure.
What happens to North Tahoe Community Alliance, Northstar Community Services District, Olympic Valley Public Service District, TCPUD, NTPUD, Fire Departments, and other existing special districts with incorporation?
Similar to the approach taken during the incorporation of Truckee, the existing special districts and organizations remain providing the same important services.
What are potential impacts to emergency preparedness/fire issues? Will it be safer?
There is no reason to expect any change in public safety services. The Placer Sheriff’s Department will likely continue to provide services under contract with the Town until a police department can be set up, and the fire districts are unaffected by incorporation. They would continue to provide services as they do today.
What happens to current County employees, will they be automatically hired by the Town?
Typically, local governments engage in their own hiring process. It is possible that some existing County employees may apply for the positions identified as needed by the Town.
Governance Questions
How will the new city governance structure be set up?
We don’t know yet, but one option would be to model it after the Town of Truckee, with 5 elected town council members who must live within the geographic boundaries of the city, elected at-large.
There is also discussion of establishing city council seats for each unique community. Some feel this might insure representation from across the Town more evenly. What do you think about this?
There are also different types of town/city governments (incorporated or chartered) that affect the organization administrative powers.
Process Questions
What is the process and timeline for this new town effort?
The process of incorporation involves several steps that require a lot of time, effort, and resources from its supporters. The first step was to conduct an initial fiscal review of the potential incorporation, which analyzed the revenues and expenditures of the area and made an initial determination that a town could be fiscally feasible. The committee completed this step with the help of Urban Economics, a consulting firm that specializes in municipal finance. The results were very promising and showed that even with a smaller population the town would be fiscally feasible with significantly higher revenues than the Town of Truckee and South Lake Tahoe.
The next step is to conduct a more comprehensive fiscal analysis and service plan, which provides more detailed information on how the town would operate and what services it would provide. This step requires hiring a professional consultant who can work with Placer County staff and LAFCO staff to gather data and prepare a report. This step also requires paying fees to LAFCO for processing the application. The estimated cost for this step is at least $250,000. [LAFCO is the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is a state-mandated agency that oversees boundary changes and incorporations in each county.]
The following step is to gather further community support and submit an application to LAFCO for town formation. This step involves conducting surveys, meetings, workshops, and outreach campaigns to inform and engage the residents about the benefits and challenges of incorporation. This step also involves preparing and submitting a petition signed by at least 25% of the registered voters in the area to LAFCO.
The final step is to hold an election for incorporation, which requires approval by a majority vote of the residents in the area to be incorporated. If approved, the new town will be officially established and will elect its first council members.
Who votes to decide if we incorporate a new town?
The registered voters residing within the proposed Town boundaries, which is currently 8,582 registered voters.
What additional information do you need to better understand this issue?
What questions have not been answered for you today?
DROP US A LINE