STATE AND COUNTY BUDGET: The California
State budget is projected to be more than 15 billion dollars
in the red. Besides cutting funding for most State programs by 10 percent and charging new
fees for services such as Cal-Fire, the State plans to shift cash flow problems onto the
shoulders of the Counties. Reimbursement for County services provided under State/Federal
programs, (such as Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services,) will be held back
from two to as many as six months. This means that at some point next fiscal year, the
County will be in the red by from $8-9 million. Siskiyou County
will have to borrow on anticipated revenue to cover the cash flow shortfall as property
and other taxes do not come in evenly throughout the year.
Siskiyou County is currently in the process of working with Department
Heads to craft a balanced budget in a particularly tight budget year. Expenses have gone
up, costs of programs are being shifted by the state to the County and it appears that
revenues to meet needs will fail to keep pace. It is expected that some unpopular cuts
will happen. The preliminary fiscal year 2008-09 budget hearing will be held on June 10 at
10:00 a.m. at the Board of Supervisor’s Chambers on the
second floor at the Courthouse in Yreka.
On the federal level, Congress is taking up the
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for 2008. This bill contains funding for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the bill, $400 million is being proposed in the
Senate version to fund the Secure Rural Schools (SRS)
program for one year. This is a short term continuation of the program that provided Siskiyou County
schools and roads with approximate $9 million. (The program was initiated to replace the
tremendous drop in 25% timber receipts funds from harvest on the National Forests
following restrictions from the Northwest Forest Plan.) Indications are that the House
version of the bill will not fund the SRS.
Alarmingly, absolutely no
funding is proposed for PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) to the Counties. Siskiyou County is
approximately 63% federal and State owned lands. As such, there are no property taxes paid
on these lands. Federal PILT is a payment based on the value of the land back when
it was first reserved as federal land. Congress never appropriates the full amount and a
trickle of pennies on the dollar traditionally is paid to the County in PILT. No
payment at all further will further increase the burden of federal lands on rural
Counties. (Of note, the state has not paid its in lieu of taxes for years.)
The County, cities and
businesses throughout Siskiyou County are waiting to hear whether funding for some of the
taxes incentives for our newly designated Countywide Enterprise Zone (EZ) will be cut in
the State budget. Meanwhile, the Economic Development Council (EDC) is submitting an
application for a companion designation as a Targeted Employment Area to cover the entire
county. If accepted, this would mean that businesses located within commercial areas of
the countywide EZ that hire anyone with a Siskiyou County address would qualify for the employment tax breaks
offered in the EZ. The “vouchering” process would be immensely simplified.
In what may prove to be an
unfortunate future glitch, interests that oppose the proposed water bottling plant in
McCloud are seeking to undermine the entire countywide designation by challenging the
inclusion of McCloud in the boundaries. The Siskiyou County EZ application was ranked
number one in the state and has been given an award for its innovative countywide
approach. The EDC, County and cities have worked very hard to achieve this milestone as a
possible stepping stone to economic recovery. I look forward to the project moving ahead
on all levels with unified support. |
