Every two years around this time we have to update our local government and elections pages, which requires our Newsroom elves to dig deep into the weeds in many different places. In advance of that, we tend to give the elves a bit of time off. Here are some local government stories that have been cooking while they have been away.

1. DEL PASO MANOR WATER DISTRICT.  Sacramento County LAFCO has kicked the hornet's nest by threatening to start dissolving the water district by May 2025, alleging deficiencies in the District's infrastructure, financing capabilities and fire flow capacity. LAFCO gave the District time to fix the problems. There is now an operating agreement with the Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD) which could lead to a merger with SSWD. That issue has triggered concerns about local control. It's touch-and-go these days for small water districts to cope with the extremely high costs of modern water supply infrastructure and the challenges of ensuring adequate water within a region confronted by drought and climate change.  This month's election could lead to a shake-up of Board Members, but it won't be the end of the story.

2. SAN JUAN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. The middle school at Watt and Edison has opened. The other one at the old Creekside Elementary site is supposed to open in January of 2025. Both share the same cookie-cutter design and $60M/school price tags, although neither one had been envisoned in the District's Master Plan that relied on the last school bond measure.  This month's school bond measure might solve that revenue problem, albeit after the fact (which is not how things are supposed to work) Being at the end of a dead-end street, the middle school at the Creekside site is expected to generate daily traffic that will significantly disturb the streets in the neighborhood, as well as El Camino Avenue - which will be getting a new $750,000 stoplight that commuters are sure to love. The School Board that cuts the ribbon on the Creekside project's opening day next January will have a majority of members who were not around when the decisions to build the new middle schools were made. whether they will be happy to have three middle schools clustered within three miles in our community remains to be seen. There will no doubt be more to come as time moves on.

3. FULTON-EL CAMINO RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT.  This is another hornet's nest. Many years ago the District set up a Park Police Department to cope with crime problems at their parks. The Sheriff's Department (over-tasked across a vast area then, as is still the case) had not been able to stop gangs from using the parks for turf wars. The District converted its rangers into sworn peace officers, who serve part-time and function - via a formal Memorandum of Understanding - as an extension of the Sheriff's people. The bad guys were chased out of the parks. Eventuallly, the costs of running a law enforcement program required budget adjustments. The District's park police expanded their operations by contracting with other park districts in the area that had similar law enforcement concerns. Revenue from the contracts provided additional funds to cover administrative expenses for the District. That system worked well for many years. The Covid pandemic shook up the District's revenues and impacted the ability of some contracted districts to pay for services. The District then undertook studies that indicated potential severe fiscal problems. A local TV station started probing the issues and recently released a scathing exposé - the District's response is here. Will the park police be disbanded? Will the Sheriff pick up the ball?  On November 12th the District Board will hold a public meeting about the matter. This story will be one to watch as well.

4. SACRAMENTO COUNTY DISTRICT 3. Supervisor Rich Desmond, having completed his recent transportation and incorporation meetings, has re-structured his community meetings into a Town Hall format. The first of his Town Hall meetings were held on November 4th. There was a morning meeting at the community center in Gibbons Park and a late afternoon meeting in Fair Oaks. At both meetings, Supervisor Desmond introduced the Deputy County Executives for Community Services (David Defanti) and for Social Services (Chevon Kothari). They spoke briefly about the county services they oversee. Sheriffs Deputies and a CHP representative were also present. The meetings were mostly Q and A sessions with the audience, touching on issues like code enforcement, controversial land use projects, roadway improvements, panhandling and so on. The meetings were a significant improvement upon the former District 3 Supervisor's fake "town halls", which were mostly guest-speaker commercials of praise for the County that left hardly any time for the concerns of the audience. There will probably be more of these Desmond-style meetings going forward.