December 8, 2015 

Randall S. Fiertz 

County of Santa Cruz 

COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 

701 OCEAN STREET, SUITE 520, SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060-4073 

(831) 454-2100 FAX: (831) 454-3420 TOO: (831) 454-2123 

SUSAN A. MAURIELLO, J.D., COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER 

Director, Airport Compliance and Management Analysis 

Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Ave., SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

Subject: The Santa Cruz County Library Financing Authority Action Plan in 

Response to FAA Policy Change 79 FR 66282-01 

Dear Mr. Fiertz: 

This letter is in response to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) amendment of its 

Policy and·.Pro.cedwes··Concerning,..th.e. ~se ' .. of,. rp<;>q:..Beve,~u~ ..• 11.tr@.Ef FAA interprets 

· restrictions on the use .Pt:;'toc~l:tax~s. on avi~.tipn J~el: : {e~ceptJfiJ<~~i~ ~fW~t 911: Deceli)ber. 

30,· 1987). to .include spe~i?ll S.ale$ tc:n< ·. reverwe~ ~~r ved: fi.~IT;l ~V.i~ti ~f');, fl-lel, · ,,:r;h~~ f:AA 

requires aii·Jocal agencies y.J.hicJ;ueceive sales tax re.v.enue 0n a'(i<;~tion ·fJ.Jel to su.t?mit an 

action pla.n by December 8, 201.5. . : ; .. ;J ~·'",(. .·: . • ' · 

' ·. In California,· .. local:taxes with restrictions as to their use are -'~sp~dat!-,tgxes" and requir.e 

two-thirds voter approval. The voters in Santa Cruz.County approve(:J a ~pecial. sal~s tax 

to support the County's publlic library systems in 1996, and perrn.anently extended it in 

2008. The Santa Cruz County Library Financing Authority (SCCLFA) receives 

approximately $2,500 annually from this special tax on aviation fuel sold at the City of 

Watsonville municipal airport. It would be a violation of the State Constitution to redirect 

revenue under this voter approved special tax from the County's public library systems to 

the City of Watsonville for airport capital and operating costs. Accordingly, the SCCLFA 

will not be redirecting that tax revenue to the airport in compliance with the FAA's 

amendment. 

Incidentally, both the County of Santa Cruz and the City of Watsonville expend well in 

excess of $2,500 annually in general purpose revenue to support the Watsonville airport 

capital and operating costs, including but not limited to ..fire protection, public safety, 

emergency response, access to and from the airport on roads and public transportation, 

public ·utility infrastructure, government-supplied employee services, health and safety 

oversight including Jood han(;!Jing and .disposal, : and ·mitigation . of noise- and other 

el)vironn:rentat.conc,:,erns, :We hope-and anticipate that you will take this into consideration 

in deterooiniog whetheu-t,o pursue tt)is issue furthen'(ith regard to t~e revenue the SCCLFA 

d_epi.ves frQrl} speciaLtaxes·on,aviation fuel sold at the Watsonville Airport. . . i • 

'I .'t'. ·:; . 

SERVING THE COMMUNITY- WORKING FOR THE FUTURE 1' . 

: '; • : ~ r : .. l "::. ; ·, 1 ~·: . : ) , 
Randall S. Fiertz 

December 8, 2015 

Page 2 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (831) 454-2100. If I do not 

hear back from you, I will conclude that this letter suffices to effectively state the SCCLFA's 

position on this issue. 

Ve/)J!o;:;;& 1 

Carlos Palacios 

Assistant County Administrative Officer 

cc: Auditor -Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector 

County Counsel 

SERVING THE COMMUNITY- WORKING FOR THE FUTURE