Supervisors Vote to delay Action on Tax Sharing Agreement

Despite months of public concern and continued opposition to Ukiah's annexation proposal, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 this week to table consideration of terminating the Master Tax Sharing Agreement (MTSA).

Supervisor Bernie Norvell cast the lone vote against tabling the item, arguing that there is little reason to delay a decision when City officials continue to insist that nothing about the annexation proposal is final. The decision means the MTSA will remain in place while the County and City seek a mutually agreed-upon expert and hold a future joint meeting on annexation impacts, likely sometime this fall.

It is also worth noting that Supervisor Madeline Cline voted to table the item despite being the supervisor who originally introduced the resolution to terminate the MTSA. Under Board procedure, voting with the prevailing side preserves her ability to bring the issue back before the Board in the future. Cline continued to voice concerns about the agreement during the discussion, including the County's loss of negotiating leverage and feedback she received from supervisors in other counties who said they would never enter into a similar arrangement.

For residents concerned about annexation, the vote was disappointing.

Throughout the discussion, several supervisors suggested that more information is needed before action can be taken. But after months of workshops, public meetings, and community outreach, the message from residents has been remarkably consistent: people simply do not want to be annexed.

Supervisor John Haschak attended last week's community meeting, where nearly 75 residents packed the room and voiced concerns about annexation. Speaker after speaker expressed opposition to being brought into the City of Ukiah. The issue was not a lack of information, it was a lack of support.

Yet despite hearing those concerns firsthand, Supervisor Haschak voted to keep the MTSA in place.

That vote is particularly noteworthy because Haschak originally opposed the MTSA, citing concerns that the County lacked leverage. During Tuesday's discussion, he again acknowledged concerns about leverage and even suggested that negotiating annexation agreements individually may be the better approach. Yet he still voted to preserve the agreement that gives the City of Ukiah the upper hand.

The reality is simple: without the MTSA, the City would have to negotiate directly with the County on the financial impacts of annexation. With the MTSA in place, much of that leverage disappears.

Supervisor Norvell repeatedly challenged the argument that the County should wait longer before acting. He pointed out that this discussion began more than a year ago and that supervisors intentionally delayed consideration to allow additional review. That review period has come and gone.

Norvell also pushed back against claims by the Ukiah City Manager Sage Sangiacomo that terminating the MTSA would be a "knee-jerk reaction," noting that the County has spent over a year evaluating the agreement. As he stated during the meeting, it's easy to argue that leverage doesn't matter when you're the party holding all of it.

The Board's vote does not end the conversation. It simply delays it to the fall.

Residents opposed to annexation should continue attending public meetings, contacting their supervisors, and making their voices heard. The overwhelming public response so far has been clear: the communities targeted for annexation do not want to be annexed, and no amount of delay changes that reality.