The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution on Oct. 20 that in effect spares the county from the State of California’s “borrowing” from local tax revenue. The program, sponsored by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, does not cost Mariposa County anything.

The state is poised to withhold an estimated $612,000 in property tax revenue from Mariposa County, as provided by the passage of the state budget. By participating in the Proposition 1A Securitization Program, the County will receive this revenue from California Communities proceeds of the sale of bonds.

“California Communities is assuming all of the risks, costs, and obligations associated with the issuance of bonds,” County Administrative Officer Rick Benson explained to the board in his agenda item last week.

Mariposa was the 56th of the 58 California counties to enter the agreement. “We were cautious,” Benson said. “It looked too good to be true. But we looked at it, and we’re finely convinced we’ll get the money at no risk to the County,” he said.

Even in the absence of this program, Benson said Mariposa County was not in jeopardy of being cash strapped, unlike most other California counties. “It’s better than it would have been,” Benson said of the program. “But we would have been okay.”