- a weekly column published in the Pioneer Press

The Board of Supervisors passed its final 2003-04 budget this week, subject to be readjusted later in the year if necessary. Functions paid for out of General Fund monies will be budgeted at $ 28 million. There will be a “hard hiring freeze.”  Computer upgrades and software changes will be strictly scrutinized. “Mandated” programs will be reviewed and a determination made whether they are challengeable.

The General Fund includes costs of operating most County Departments: Board of Supervisors; County Administrator; Auditor, Assessor; Tax Collector/Treasurer; County Counsel; Elections; Data Processing; County Courts; County Clerk; Grand Jury; Law Library; some D.A.; Public Defender; Juvenile Hall; Probation; a portion of County Fire Protection; Ag Commissioner; Building Dept.; Recorder; Planning Dept.; Veterans Service; Library; and some Sheriff. General Funds can be allocated to departments and programs at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.

A few additional programs are also funded out of the General Fund: the Tourism Bureau; the Shasta Valley Enterprise Zone; the Economic Development Council (EDC); care of Court Wards; facilities for the U.C. Farm Advisors; certain monies limited to park expenditures under Proposition 12; indigent ambulance costs; aid to indigents; PSA II (elderly) cost match; and the County museum. An additional fund called “Provisions” is maintained as a reserve for emergency or unexpected costs, such as the Governor’s recall election.

County costs of 680,000 for IHSS entitlements (In Home Social Services for income eligible elderly and disabled) is normally paid from the General Fund. This year, Public Health and Behavioral Health stepped up to the plate and took the burden of about half of these costs in their own budgets.         

The General Fund does not include programs funded by grants or other direct sources earmarked for specific purposes and no other. For instance, it does not include $12 million for Behavioral Health, which is paid through MediCal, Insurance and private payments. It does not include $3.4 million for Public Health. Nor does it include $18 million for Human Services. (This is paid through federal and State funding and requiring only a very minimal cost share from the County.) It does not include the Child Support Services program at $3.2 million. It does not include the County Road Dept. at $10.3 million. It does not include the $4 million grant earmarked for construction of the new Juvenile Hall. These monies have already been earmarked as a condition of the grant,  allocated by Congress or by the State legislature.

The General Fund and specifically earmarked programs together total about $98 million.

There is another 7 million of “enterprise” funds created by fees to operate STAGE, the airports and the dump. There are another $4 million of aggregate costs for employee benefits. Other insurance costs round the total budget out at around $109.5 million.

In June, Departments cut about $3 million from their budgets – about 12% in cuts. The Tourism and EDC contracts were substantially reduced and financial support for the State Fair Booth eliminated. Data Processing was dramatically reduced.

In August, the State held back Vehicle License Fee (VLF) income to the County to the tune of $1million. Other reductions in income required another $1.5 million. $558,000 of Tobacco Litigation Revenue was used to reduce the County budget deficit to $2 million. Departments funded by the General fund were asked to reduce their budgets according based on their percentage of the Fund. All Departments but the Sheriff and D.A. complied.

The D.A. agreed on Tuesday to accept the cuts proposed at this time with promised additional discussions on revenue matters.

The Sheriff was requested to cut $921,520 from his budget. He indicated that he could only cut about $500,000, leaving a $400,000 discrepancy. Also, the State Legislature recently discontinued Rural Crime funds. This meant that the Sheriff’s budget was an additional $500,000 in the hole for a grand total of $1,421,520.

Although concerned that the State budget deficit problem will continue to hit the Counties for several years, the Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to use $500,000 from its ACO (Accumulated Capital Outlay) fund to restore lost Crime Fund revenues to the Sheriff.  This left him back with the $921,520 in needed cuts and only about $500,000 in cuts actually made.

In discussing the discrepancy, the Sheriff indicated that outlying substations, (such as Happy Camp, Etna and Hornbrook,) might need to be closed, and services and coverage in these areas reduced if the full $921,520 in budget cuts was imposed. 

As a legislative act, the Board of Supervisors has the authority to set the County budget. Both the D.A. and the Sheriff are “constitutional offices.” In budget matters, the Board of Supervisors will allocate a total gross budget to the Department. The D.A. and Sheriff will  decide how to allocate those monies within the department.   

The Sheriff gave indications that with full cuts services to District 5 could be impacted to a level considered unacceptable to folks in our local communities. I believe that public health and safety is a primary function of government. I requested that the Board revisit some of the discretionary programs we fund to reallocate that funding to the Sheriff. Four of the Supervisors voted to pass the proposed budget as is, which included the Sheriff’s full budget cuts. I voted against passage.