Final Budget for 2005-2006: The Board of
Supervisors just passed its final budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2005,
which runs until June 30, 2005. That budget amounts to $109,826,873. As I have explained
in prior columns, large chunks of the budget are for federal/ state programs that the
County administers locally. These include Human Services at $20,916,350; Behavioral Health
Services at $14,611,375; and Public Health at $4,068,882.
This year, the Sheriff came in at $14,580,560. The Sheriff’s
Department is funded with a mixture of discretionary “General Fund” monies
(about $11,000,000,) as well as grants and contracts. The total General Fund, which also
pays for services of other departments such as the Auditor, Assessor, County Clerk and
Elections, Tax Collector and Treasurer, Data Processing, District Attorney, Public
Defender, Administrator, Juvenile Hall, Probation, Agriculture, Library, Museum, Veterans
Services, County Counsel and Board of Supervisors came in at $34,128,182.
Property Tax Revenue: In
fiscal year 2004-2005, Siskiyou County collected a total of around $28,000,000 in property
tax revenue. Of that, the County received back about $6.2 million (22%.) This covered
about 18% of the General Fund expenses. The remaining property tax money goes to schools,
special districts and cities.
No Property Taxes Fund the
Road Department: The final budget for the Road Department is $11,826,561. None of the
revenue from this department comes from property taxes. About $2.8 million of the Road
Department’s revenue come from fuel taxes. This is important to consider when
proposals for reducing fuel taxes to offset gas price increases are proposed. The
legislation authorizing fuel taxes also specified how the money could be used –
engineering /administration, snow removal and repair of storm damage. Fuel tax money is
allocated according to the number of road miles in each County’s system. There are
1,361 miles of County-maintained roads in Siskiyou County.
Of these, 866 are paved and 495 are unpaved.
About $1.4 million of the budget comes from TEA-21 funds. These are
federal funds and state funds. Several years
ago, the voters passed Proposition 42 to allocate a certain percentage of sales tax
collected on gas to road costs. However, a loop hole in the law states that whenever the
state declares a fiscal emergency, they can keep the money and pay it to us at some later
date. We will not receive any of these funds for at least the next two years.
The Road Department also receives grant money for specific projects,
such as the Shackleford, Cottonwood, and Ash Creek bridges. In addition, the Road
Department does work for the cities and airports. (They do not do private work. The County
does not compete with private contractors.) Road Department workers work four days of 10
hours. On Fridays and Saturdays, the department can hire them out at overtime rates to the
cities.
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act: One of
the largest sources of revenue from the Road Dept. has been the Secure Rural Schools and
Community Self-Determination Act (SRSCSA or PL 106-393.) This federal law replaced income
previously received by the Road Department and Schools from timber receipts on our local
National Forests. For instance, in 1989/90, Siskiyou County received as much as $4.2
million in timber receipts from timber harvested from our local National Forests.
Subsequent to restrictions on harvest due to the Northwest Forest Plan, Endangered Species
Act listings and numerous law suits, timber receipts dropped precipitously. SRSCSA made
sure that revenues continued to support local communities. The Road Department currently
receives a whopping $3.9 million of its revenue from SRSCSA. That federal law sunsets in
2006, and if not reauthorized, the Road Department will lose one third of its revenues.
Unfortunately, asphalt prices have tripled in the past three years,
causing budgetary pressures due to material costs. The Road Department is currently
reducing its staff through attrition. For the past three years, the Board of Supervisors
has not accepted any new roads into its maintained system. |
