RES 10338 - Laserfiche WebLink

This final program element serves to provide each region with the resources necessary to help facilitate the rapid adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy generation system installations throughout the target area by connecting property owners to any and all available on- the- ground or proposed resources, and services, providing a streamlined framework for easy navigation, reduced out -of- pocket expenses, and overall increased cost effectiveness for both participants and the program overall. The focus of the program will be to create region -wide (or county -wide, where appropriate) cooperative project design, implementation, marketing, and coordination to maximize economies of scale, take advantage of overlapping markets, and ultimately allow each dollar to go further to benefit all parties. Financing Costs and Fees A. Financing Costs As Program Administrator of the California Communities CaliforniaFIRST Program, Renewable Funding will coordinate and provide program administration, financing, and legal services to support a robust statewide municipal financing program. Specific financing costs are concentrated at the start of the program and result in increased fees to a program participant, and therefore a higher effective interest rate. In order to lower the interest rate, the SEP funds will be used to cover bond disclosure counsel, bond rating fees, and a bond fiscal agent. In addition, a direct interest rate buy -down will be employed to achieve a bond rate that is equivalent to an A -rated bond, which is likely to be the bond rating later in the program. B. Set -up Fees A funding request equivalent to the city and county set -up fees will be included in the proposal. The costs for initial legal work and validation proceedings will be covered by this request. Additionally, the costs of establishing county web portals, importing local assessor's data, and maintaining the website will be part of this funding request. Suggested Maior Marketing Program Coordination Marketing Program Elements A. Agency Coordination Steering Committee Participation In recognition of the additional coordination time required to get new programs off the ground, individual counties may elect to include a modest amount of staff time for agency representatives to participate in the program steering committee and other activities to drive marketing program design, educational /marketing material development, form and protocol development, etc. By investing this time at the onset, we are able to develop a self- sustaining program for the long term. County agencies (that is, auditor /tax collector /controller) will receive a small percentage, incorporated into each loan, to cover regular ongoing program administration costs associated with maintaining the tax roll and collecting annual assessments in years beyond the grant term. Some jurisdictions may instead wish to contribute this time as project leveraged funds /resources to increase overall program cost effectiveness based on their individual needs and resources. Regional partnership may also elect to use a portion of the resources from this program element toward informal or formalized staff /personnel training within their jurisdictions. B. Education Outreach/ Marketing Successful program adoption requires thoughtful design, convenient procedures, and a robust program education component to encourage and energize program participation. Achieving this goal, the project team will create clear, consistent, and thematic program branding imagery, educational and recruitment tools such as program brochures. The program will be supported by the CaliforniaFIRST web portal and links to new and existing partner and complementary websites, frequently asked questions, applications, and /or other program materials. In addition, the project will engage a wide stretching network of partners to promote, recruit, and disseminate program information utilizing existing mechanisms of door -to -door outreach, community event tabling, 2