One of Abbott and Costello's funniest routines was about baseball with a catch line "Who's On First." Yolo County Supervisors are giving the impression "Nobody's on first."

Public documents confirm the use of Tribal Mitigation Funds is an option as a source of funding the eminent domain taking of the Conaway Ranch. Some of these funds are directed to the general fund - thus the county clearly and, contrary to public protestations, has and may still be considering this option. Incredibly, some supervisors disclaim knowledge of these documents and even the source.

The source is the county and to not know about such critical financial documents when making an $80 million decision is an abject failure of the supervisors' fiduciary duty to the taxpayers. One must ask what financial documents did the county consider before gambling $80 million?

A friend and respected county official termed this Mitigation Fund re-direction "an exercise" and a "typical" analysis. I don't consider financing an $80 million seizure of 17,000 acres of private land either an exercise or typical. Decisions of far less magnitude warrant lengthy analysis and discussion. If there has been any such scrutiny by the county it has occurred in closed sessions.

This is no exercise, it's a serious proposal along with selling some of the ranch and selling ranch water outside the county to retire the up to $80 million debt. Worse, officials repeatedly have stated they had no intentions to consider any of the above while their own county documents confirm these options are indeed on the table. If these fiscal documents represent but an exercise and officials weren't "privy" to them it is no wonder the county is in fiscal trouble. Folks, this doesn't wash.

The consideration of using Tribal Mitigation Funds as part of plan to pay for the Conaway was made all the more interesting last week when the county acted to approve the conversion of 314 acres of agricultural preserve land to a golf course.

According to The Daily Democrat, this action was only the second Williamson Act cancellation in county history, so it must have been very important to the county. As a condition of this approval the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians agreed to compensate the county $3 million dollars. A million here, a million there and pretty soon you've enough to pay for the Conaway.

In light of the public documents "exercise" about the Tribal Mitigation Funds being used for acquisition of the Conaway the latter assumption has credence. Now golf balls will lie where crops once grew in the Capay Valley and even more vehicles will run up and down Highway 16. Of course, traffic is Caltrans' problem.

At the time the Board voted to proceed with eminent domain, many, if not all, of the documents and analysis I have reviewed were in existence.

If the board today confesses no knowledge of such important financial documents they made an extraordinary decision, blindly rolling the dice and they are flat-out high stakes gambling with the future of the county. No prudent businessperson would take such risk with out thorough analysis. None would sign a multi-million dollar deal and figure out where the money would come from or how to manage 17,000 acres later.

The public, members of the Joint Powers Authority and, if you are to believe some supervisors, all are in the dark about contingencies and consequences related to one of the largest eminent domain seizures in the history of California. Talk about "betting on the outcome!"

Tax revenue distribution documents generated last year disclose where Conaway Ranch taxes are used. Woodland schools received almost 38 percent and 12 percent went into the general fund.

The county has offered no explanation as to how this lost revenue will be replaced from the county's deficient budget. Fire districts, the library, mosquito control, two community colleges as well as Davis schools among other public entities receive Conaway tax revenues. Has the county apprised them of the consequences they face? Maybe this is also just an exercise.

Is this an exercise? I think it is more likely to become a bad dream.

Who's on first? Looks to me that the county is "off base."