$149M PG&E Settlement: Sonoma County Seeks Input On How To Spend

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors during its meeting Tuesday is set to begin discussing the allocation of $149 million in Pacific Gas & Electric settlement funds, and as part of that process is seeking public input on how the money should be spent.

The funds are the result of a lawsuit Sonoma County filed on Feb. 26, 2018, against PG&E for damages related to the October 2017 fires. The lawsuit, along with hundreds of other consolidated claims filed by other public entities, fire victims and insurance companies, came to a halt when PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 29, 2019.

Sonoma County and eight other public entities settled their damage claims with PG&E on June 18, 2019, for a total of $415 million. Based on a pro rata share allocation of the respective amounts of actual damages suffered by each entity, Sonoma County received a total of $149.3 million, after attorneys’ fees and costs. The bankruptcy court approved PG&E’s reorganization plan on June 20.

In addition to hearing ideas from the public at its Tuesday meeting, the Board is expected to direct staff to accept written input from the community via email until Sept. 4, County Spokesman Paul Gullixson said in a news release Monday.

"Staff will then compile, summarize and share these ideas prior to the Board’s Oct. 6 meeting where a possible decision will be made about how the funds will be allocated," Gullixson said.

The county’s calculated losses from the 2017 fires include $111.5 million in damages to roads, culverts and trees and ecosystem service losses, including watershed restoration and water quality protection.

The county also has listed other costs including $26.8 million in out-of-pocket expenses, which includes staff time and labor costs to perform work related to the fire response and recovery efforts.

In determining allocations for the PG&E settlement funds, the Board is expected to consider making further investments in recovery and resiliency as guided by its Recovery and Resiliency Framework vision adopted in December 2018.

The Board also is expected to be influenced by the county’s five-year Strategic Plan priorities, which supervisors are now in the process of updating.

"As discussed during the July 27-28 Budget Workshops, the Board also may decide to use a portion of the settlement funds to address the county’s current $45-million budget shortfall that’s a result of revenue declines and cost increases associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn," Gullixson said.

To submit input on how the funds should be spent, community members are encouraged to send their suggestions via email to PGECommunityInput@sonoma-county.org between now and Sept. 4.

Tuesday's meeting begins at 8:30 a.m.; to watch the livestream go to https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click the "In Progress" hyperlink to begin viewing.

To join the meeting on Zoom by computer, tablet, smartphone application, go to: https://sonomacounty.zoom.us/j... and enter the password 397774.

To participate in the Zoom meeting by phone, call 1 (669) 900 9128, enter the meeting ID: 990 8451 7847 and then the password 397774.