Portola Valley open-space committee asks town for legal review and accounting of open-space fund

The Portola Valley Open Space Committee voted Thursday to ask the town council and town attorney for a formal legal opinion and a forensic accounting of the Open Space Fund, citing uncertainty about whether utility-user–tax revenue intended for open-space acquisition can lawfully be used for trail or other maintenance. The motion was made by the committee chair, Carter, and (according to the meeting record) seconded by Gary; it passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Why it matters: Committee members said the town uses the fund to protect and acquire land but has wrestled recently with whether the fund can cover maintenance costs that the general fund has traditionally borne. If the fund’s allowable uses are more restricted than some on the town council assume, reallocating money to maintenance could risk legal challenge or violate the original voter intent that created the utility tax.

Carter, the committee chair, argued the group should await a formal legal opinion before recommending charter changes. “I think we need to kinda stick to the original guns, which is to say… maintenance… is really a general fund responsibility, and not an open space fund responsibility,” Carter said during the meeting.

Nona, a long-serving committee member, told the panel that prior work by a conservation subcommittee outlined a scope of maintenance that could be eligible for Open Space Fund support if the attorney agrees, but stressed the committee needs better financial transparency to proceed. She noted the committee previously recommended about $45,000 for open-space maintenance in one year and about $65,000 in the next; committee members said they are not sure those recommended amounts were fully spent and asked staff to provide the actual expenditure records.

The committee’s motion asked the town to deliver two items: (1) a legal assessment from the town attorney based on the original voter information that created the utility tax, and (2) a forensic accounting of how Open Space Fund dollars were used in the last two fiscal cycles along with what the general fund paid for related activities. Members said the town’s finance director, Tony McFarland, expects to provide more complete financial data in the back half of the year.

Next steps: The committee will await the town attorney’s written opinion and the requested financial information before considering any charter revisions or formal recommendations to change how the Open Space Fund is used.