The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s request for a $300,000 advance of its 2014-15 property taxes.
California’s constitution authorizes a county to lend available funds to a special district if the amount does not exceed 85 percent of the district’s expected tax revenue.
IFPD’s annual property tax revenue exceeds $1 million, so the request easily met the conditions and was approved at the board’s July 29 meeting.
The agreement restricts the use of these funds to essential services to the local community and any normal operating expense.
IFPD agreed to pay interest to the county for compensating the lost investment earnings during this period.
While the first property tax distribution is in December 2014, the advance and interest can be repaid from the January 2015 tax distribution.
Previous requests, beginning in September 2011, have exceeded $400,000, but the IFPD commission believed it needed less this year because it is beginning to build its own cash reserves from the funds received when it sold the cell tower lease a year ago.