Amador County – Amador County Supervisors on Tuesday heard a forecast for next budget year which showed the county likely will face 13-14 percent reductions in revenue across the board which boil down to a $3.8 million deficit for 2012-2013 fiscal year.

County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said the forecast for expenditures was $37.5 million and general fund revenue was expected to be $32.7 million, and with $1.7 million in carryover from the current year, the county was looking at a projected deficit of $2.7 million next fiscal year.

Iley’s 2012-2013 draft budget assumes the return to 40-hour work weeks for all employee units, and also assumes that $1.1 million lost in the “triple-flip” would be restored by the California Legislature.

Supervisor Vice Chairman Richard Forster said assuming the triple-flip funds would be restored is risky, and by its treatment in Legislative committees, “it’s no guarantee at this point and if you are going to budget conservatively, you should leave out the triple-flip.”

Supervisor John Plasse agreed, and said he watched an Assembly committee approve “$6.2 million in additional rent for the state Board of Equalization in the blink of an eye” but they did not care about a one-time, $1.1 million legislation to restore Amador County’s triple-flip funds. Plasse said they worried that it could set precedent and pointed at Shasta County.

Plasse said Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association testified that Shasta County has 40 school districts, with seven in “basic aid” status but no indication others will change. He said Mono County also pulled out of basic aid status because it has a community college from which to pull Educational Revenue Augmentation Funds.

Forster said they should not count the triple-flip funds as automatic revenue. Supervisor Ted Novelli said it should not be part of the general fund. Iley said removing that would put the budget deficit at $3.8 million for next year, and he would have to let department heads and elected officials know that they would have to create budgets around that. Plasse suggested provisional budgets with the loss.

Forster said Assembly committees asked for figures that showed impacts on public safety after loss of the triple-flip. Iley said he could send the committees a letter. He said expected budget cuts include $776,000 from the Sheriff’s Department; $273,000 from the District Attorney; and $192,000 from Probation. Those did not include AB109 funding, but they all expected additional loss in revenue, including $400,000 to the Sheriff’s Department, for total lost revenue of $1.1 million.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.