San Mateo County to get $77M in state budget deal

Nearly $77 million in funding for critical in-lieu vehicle license fee money that funds basic San Mateo County services has been included in a budget proposal from the legislature, a provision that would fund around 65% of the $119 million the county and its cities say is owed.

San Mateo County has long struggled with the unique bureaucratic mechanisms that deploy VLF funding. A 2004 change in the distribution system of VLF, which comes from taxes on California vehicles, tied reimbursement to county property tax revenue and the county’s school districts. But because the setup of San Mateo County’s existing educational revenue structures doesn’t qualify the county for the full in-lieu VLF amount, representatives are left to haggle for the money each year.

Read more here.