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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03221988 - 2.4 TO- BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FRoNI Phil Batchelor, Ck itra County Administrator Costa DATE: March 21, 1988 Co SUBJECT: FOLLOW-UP TO MIDYEAR BUDGET REPORT , SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) &BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Direct the County Administrator to not recommend any new programs or expenditures unless they have a non-general fund or substitute source of funding. 2. Direct the County Administrator to undertake a fee and revenue review with policy direction that the County is to fully recover all costs, including overhead. 3 . Aggressively explore new ways of funding existing programs,.. such as refinancing of the phone, system and refinancing bonded debt. 4. Direct the County Administrator to ask for the departments' ideas and suggestions related to how they might save 50 on the general fund portion of .their budget next fiscal year. 5. Authorize the County Administrator, as appropriate, to request departments to develop plans for saving money, once a specified amount needed is known. 6. Continue to pursue alternative ways to correct the inequities existing in Senate Bill 709, such as SB 175, AB 3950, AB 2817 , and SB 407, so that the County can benefit from trial court funding. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The , financial implications of the above recommended actions, if all implemented,' would be the gain of additional County dollars for next fiscal year. It is expected that even with all the measures above, no additional money for discretionary programs could be made available. Instead, it is more likely .that existing programs can be fully funded. BACKGROUND: Several weeks ago, the Board heard a pessimistic report from the County Administrator related to how the County' s budget looks for 1988-89. As a result of the information provided, the Board directed the County Administrator to return later in March with recommended policies for how to approach next year' s budget. r G1Ev'. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT; _ YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF WARD COMMITTEE APPROVE .OTHER SIGNATUREISI: ACTION OF BOARD ON 3-22-H R A7PROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER This matter is referred to the Finance Committee. County Departments are requested. to submit their suggestions to the County Administrator: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS (ABSENT 7/1:: 1 AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES. DUES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: CAO Finance Unit ATTESTED ;Z a Department Heads PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382/7-83 BY--�� �' 'I _,DEPUTY I 4 Various alternatives were examined by staff. Those rlcommended above appear to be the ones with the most potential for large dollar impacts on a continuing basis. As mentioned in the mid-year report, two major factors influence the budget picture for next fiscal year. The first is staffing and operation of the new jail. It is expected that costs will approximate $10 million per year once the facility is fully operational. At the present time, no funding source has been identified to pay for this additional expense. The remainder of the problem discussed in the mid-year report relates to other parts of the budget. Items such as a decrease in the growth of property taxes and decreases in other sources of revenue as well as the fund balance impact the forecast for next year. Additionally, fully funded salary and benefits for 1988-89 increase expenses by $14 million, and the Retirement Board subsidy is expected to decrease. As a result of these and other issues, several actions were recommended to and approved by the Board. Additionally, the Board asked the County Administrator to develop some proposed policies which could be used by our office and the Board in reviewing requests for funding which come to the Board between now and the time the jail staffing and operations issue is resolved. The recommendations center around the concept that the County department heads should be left to manage their own budgets to the extent possible. The plan calls for each department to participate in helping balance the budget, rather than leaving the problem with the Board or the County Administrator. Although somewhat broad in scope, it is felt that the recommended actions can have more real impact on resolving the County' s budget challenges than could more specific actions such as a freeze in travel or other specific actions. The other significant problem with a specific actions at this time are that they create the need for central office oversight. Given current staffing and the necessity to develop the 1988-89 budget, it is unlikely for the County Administrator' s staff could get into the level of oversight which would be necessary to significantly affect the budget issues discussed before the Board.