Amador County – County Administrative Officer Terri Daly presented a mid-year budget update Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors, urging them to continue to “take steps early and often” in order to stay solvent. “Because our (Supervisors) has taken action early and often, starting as far back as 2007, that enables me to say we are financially sound,” said Daly. She said the county must continue to spend conservatively in order to keep expenditures in line with revenues in the General Fund. As of December 31st, 2009, General Fund revenues are down 15.1 percent from one year before. Expenditures are also down 1.8 percent over last year at the same time, following a 9.6 percent decrease in 2009 over 2008 due to the implementation of the 36-hour workweek. Based on projections created by Daly and staff with assistance from County Auditor Joe Lowe, she said they expect to conclude this budget year with General Fund revenues and expenditures in the $34.4 million range. The budget report estimates total General Fund revenues during the 2010-2011 budget year will total approximately $39.1 million. Projected expenditures over the next year will be $43.8 million, resulting in a projected deficit of about $4.7 million. She said the two major factors contributing to the current deficit over the last year are a decrease in property tax revenue and approximately $2 million in “encumbered costs” which she and staff our currently developing budget strategies for in the coming year. She said “major actions” are necessary to balance the 2010-2011 budget. “I think its time, because we haven’t ever done it, to really take a look at what are the priorities of the county and…really start doing some long term budget planning,” she said. She urged a “County-wide department reorganization” to avoid a “redundancy in services.” Although the $43.8 million expenditure projection includes reverting back to the traditional 40-hour work week, Daly suggested the 36-hour work week be continued for one more fiscal year. She said with every dollar the county brings in, about 60 cents goes out to personnel. Supervisor John Plasse questioned whether it was cost effective to continue the 36 hour, 4 day work week and asked Daly to compare that with the normal 40 hour 5 day work week in terms of savings in energy costs. He said current 9 hour days could also mean less productivity because of the “fatigue factor.” Daly also urged they approve a continuation of the Early Retirement Incentive Program “that would offer $500 per year of service to all retirement-eligible employees.” She said there are still question marks that could effect budget projections. These include a big increase in the amount the county will pay for PERS retirement funding and what funding they will receive to build the new jail. The Supervisors agreed to bring back the item for discussion after Daly and staff bring back specifics on their requests and more information on a departmental reorganization. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 17:00
County Budget Review Reveals Projected Deficit of $4.7 Million
Written by Tom-
font size
decrease font size
increase font size
Amador County – County Administrative Officer Terri Daly presented a mid-year budget update Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors, urging them to continue to “take steps early and often” in order to stay solvent. “Because our (Supervisors) has taken action early and often, starting as far back as 2007, that enables me to say we are financially sound,” said Daly. She said the county must continue to spend conservatively in order to keep expenditures in line with revenues in the General Fund. As of December 31st, 2009, General Fund revenues are down 15.1 percent from one year before. Expenditures are also down 1.8 percent over last year at the same time, following a 9.6 percent decrease in 2009 over 2008 due to the implementation of the 36-hour workweek. Based on projections created by Daly and staff with assistance from County Auditor Joe Lowe, she said they expect to conclude this budget year with General Fund revenues and expenditures in the $34.4 million range. The budget report estimates total General Fund revenues during the 2010-2011 budget year will total approximately $39.1 million. Projected expenditures over the next year will be $43.8 million, resulting in a projected deficit of about $4.7 million. She said the two major factors contributing to the current deficit over the last year are a decrease in property tax revenue and approximately $2 million in “encumbered costs” which she and staff our currently developing budget strategies for in the coming year. She said “major actions” are necessary to balance the 2010-2011 budget. “I think its time, because we haven’t ever done it, to really take a look at what are the priorities of the county and…really start doing some long term budget planning,” she said. She urged a “County-wide department reorganization” to avoid a “redundancy in services.” Although the $43.8 million expenditure projection includes reverting back to the traditional 40-hour work week, Daly suggested the 36-hour work week be continued for one more fiscal year. She said with every dollar the county brings in, about 60 cents goes out to personnel. Supervisor John Plasse questioned whether it was cost effective to continue the 36 hour, 4 day work week and asked Daly to compare that with the normal 40 hour 5 day work week in terms of savings in energy costs. He said current 9 hour days could also mean less productivity because of the “fatigue factor.” Daly also urged they approve a continuation of the Early Retirement Incentive Program “that would offer $500 per year of service to all retirement-eligible employees.” She said there are still question marks that could effect budget projections. These include a big increase in the amount the county will pay for PERS retirement funding and what funding they will receive to build the new jail. The Supervisors agreed to bring back the item for discussion after Daly and staff bring back specifics on their requests and more information on a departmental reorganization. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Latest from Tom
- Richard Forster previews this week's Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting with host, Tom Slivick. (2 of 2)
- Richard Forster on TSPN TV News December 7, 2015 (1 of 2)
- Ebbetts Pass (State Route 4) Closed for Winter
- State HWY 89 Closed for the Winter
- Richard Forster on TSPN TV News November 23, 2015 (2 of 2)
