Announcements regarding hearings, grants, and public comment notices of importance to California's rural counties.
RCRC Hosts FREE Self Generation Incentive Program Webinar –$100M Available for Disadvantaged Communities and High Fire Threat Districts
The Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) started as a program for incentivizing natural gas fired Co-Generation installations, and was modified to include Energy Storage a few years ago. When the program was modified, the California Public Utilities Commission also added an Equity Budget. The Equity Budget is to ensure that economically disadvantaged ratepayer groups have a chance to access some of the funds by setting up a separate allocation.
The Equity Budget now has $110M in available funding, including $100M available for one of two uses: Energy Storage in Disadvantaged Communities; and, Energy Storage for Critical Resilience purposes in High Fire Threat Districts (HFTD), primarily in public sector applications.
The program is anticipated to start accepting applications beginning April 1, 2020, and the funds are expected to move extremely quickly. Local governments that are interested in applying for these funds should plan to have completed applications ready for submission by late March 2020.
RCRC is hosting a FREE webinar to provide further information, and assist counties with understanding the tasks that need to be completed for an application, and the options available to help with application preparation. The webinar will be held Wednesday, November 6th at 3:00 p.m., and be led by Michael Day, Advanced Energy Program Development with Trane US, Inc. Details and registration can be accessed here.
Siskiyou County Seeks County Administrator
The ideal candidate is an experienced county administrator/executive, or senior level executive from a comparable public sector organization; some relevant private sector experience may be helpful.
Details on the County Administrator position can be accessed here.
Shasta County Seeks County Executive Officer
Located at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, nestled between Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen, Shasta County covers over 3,800+ square miles of rivers, lakes, mountains, State Parks, and National Forests. Easily one of the most picturesque counties in all of California, Shasta County, population 180,000, has an economy based on agriculture, tourism, timber, medical services, and retail businesses. Shasta County has a wealth of resources in a business friendly atmosphere promoting thriving industries.
Shasta County offers all of the amenities of the big city while retaining a comfortable small town atmosphere. With its natural beauty, diversified culture, affordable housing, excellent educational system, abundance of recreational opportunities, and excellent quality of life, Shasta County is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
Details on the County Executive Officer position can be accessed here.
CNRA Secretary Crowfoot Speaker Series: Protecting California Communities in the Age of Mega Fires
Join California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and home hardening experts for a discussion on how to protect California communities in the age of mega-fires. Click here for details.
FREE Webinar: Local Government Cybersecurity in California
More than 200 US local governments have been hit by ransomware attacks in recent years. How can public agencies protect themselves? California County News is joining with leading cybersecurity experts to bring resources on just that question, beginning with a free webinar on Wednesday, October 30th with leading cybersecurity firm LMNTRIX. LMNTRIX will provide an overview of the threats facing local governments, including how to prevent attacks on your agency. Details and registration can be accessed here.
California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) Seeks Speakers for 2020 Annual Conference
Share your communications knowledge and experience with Public Information Officers (PIOs) from around the state at the 2019 CAPIO conference to be held April 20-23, 2020, at the Hilton Beachfront Resort Santa Barbara (Formerly the Fess Parker Doubletree). Speakers chosen to lead conference sessions receive 10% off full conference registration. Click here for details.
Changes for CDBG and CDBG Disaster Recovery Applicants and Grantees
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and CDBG Disaster Recovery (DR) program are implementing a new Grant Management System, called eCivis Grants Network, to help make service to the customer more efficient. Click here to register to attend a training about the new Grant Management System.
State CDBG Program Redesign Training Videos Available Online
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has posted the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program redesign training videos. The training videos cover three of the classes that were presented at training events held across the state between July and September of 2019.
Click here
Beyond the Brink: California’s Watershed
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) co-sponsored a new educational video, “Beyond the Brink: California’s Watershed,” to highlight the importance of headwaters and watershed management. The 26-minute video is produced by Jim Thebaut and The Chronicles Group, and is a collaboration with several entities dedicated to improving the health of California’s forested watersheds. RCRC Senior Legislative Advocate Mary-Ann Warmerdam is also featured in the film.
Headwaters serve an important role in California’s water management system. Healthy forests have multiple benefits, including increased water supply reliability, improved water quality, reduced impacts from catastrophic wildfires, increased renewable energy supplies, improved response to climate change and enhanced habitat. RCRC and ACWA are founding members of the California Forest Watershed Alliance (CAFWA), a nonpartisan, urban-rural coalition representing water interests, local governments, the conservation community, agriculture, and the forestry sector, created to promote the restoration and improvement of California’s forested watersheds.
Links to the full version video and promo can be accessed here.