LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a preliminary $185 million 2011-12 budget, with final acceptance still to come later this summer.
In a 4-1 vote – with Supervisor Anthony Farrington voting no – the board approved the document according to the requirements of the state County Budget Act, which requires the action before June 30.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox, who has labored on the budget with his staff and department heads for several months, said the county must adopt the final budget by Oct. 2. He noted the county has never missed that deadline.
This year's budget is once again balanced, with Cox and his staff avoiding deep cuts to services and with only five county employees likely to be impacted by job cuts: four filled Code Enforcement positions are proposed to be eliminated effective Aug. 1, along with a clerical position in the Probation Department.
Cox said the county's human resources department will work with those staffers to try to find them other positions to fill. The budget notes, for example, that while four Code Enforcement positions are to be eliminated, two jobs are to be created in the Building and Safety Division.
One of the chief unknowns that will impact the county budget is property tax revenue estimates. Cox said that he is anticipating a 5-percent decline based on early estimates from the county assessor. He said he expected to have those numbers within two weeks.
As in past years, Cox said the budget recommends using one-time revenue sources for one-time projects – not for staffing or other uses, a practice Cox has shied away from over the years. That practice is credited with helping Lake County become one of the few counties in the state without a deficit.
Projects included in the budget are a new Middletown library, senior center and sheriff's substation, as well as a Clearlake Oaks senior center and funds to cover a rental agreement for a new Mental Health administration facility in Lucerne.
Despite concerns about state action against redevelopment, Cox said the proposed budget assumes that the Lake County Redevelopment Agency – which covers much of the Northshore area from Upper Lake to Clearlake Oaks – will continue to exist.
As such, the budget includes funds for continued renovations on the Lucerne Hotel, which the agency purchased last year. Cox said the agency also is going to explore issuing bonds.
Other items in the budget include funds for the proposed purchase of the Gard Street School property in Kelseyville, improvements to wastewater systems and the South Main Street project in Lakeport, Cox said.
Cox said the budget also has $1 million carried over from the current year's budget for algae mitigation and water quality projects, with an additional $400,000 added to it for the coming fiscal year.
Infrastructure improvements at Lampson Field outside of Lakeport, funds for a visitor center in the Clearlake/Lower Lake area – which Cox said the county is hoping to be able to partner with the city of Clearlake in completing – and a grant writing position are other budget items, Cox said.
“With every challenge comes an opportunity,” said Cox.
Having to cope with tougher financial times has given county staff the chance to examine the budget, increase efficiencies and reduce costs, he explained.
“No one has taken this to heart more than the sheriff,” Cox said, explaining that Sheriff Frank Rivero's department receives the largest amount of discretionary funding from the general fund.
“The sheriff has taken extraordinary steps” to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, said Cox.
Cox told Lake County News later in the day that the sheriff's budget includes so many cost saving measures “I don’t know where to begin.”
He said they included everything from tightening up on expenditures for things such as routine supplies and facility operational expenses to eliminating vacant positions and reducing overtime in the jail.
Cox told the board he was pleased to be able to present a budget without massive layoffs or employee furloughs.
“This will be a very workable budget,” he said.
One immediate change to the document resulted from the opening of bids for the Middletown Senior Center project. The opening, which just occurred, found that all of the bids came in over the budgeted amount, and Cox said county staff was negotiating with the lowest bidder to see if they could reduce costs.
Cox's recommended changes to keep the budget in balance included reallocating money from the geothermal resources budget.
Supervisor Rob Brown suggested that, in order to cover funding for the projects, the sheriff's substation could be in the old Middletown Library once that building is vacated. Cox agreed, saying that was the plan originally.
Brown said there are things in the proposed budget about which not all of the supervisors would agree, but he felt it was a good start and noted that approving the document didn't put any of them in the position of necessarily approving the specific projects it contained. Those could be further discussed before final acceptance.
Supervisor Denise Rushing said she agreed with going ahead on the document, and thanked Cox for another “amazing” effort in creating a balanced budget.
She asked about the property tax numbers, which Cox said he expected to have within two weeks, and commended them for adding a grant writer position, although she was concerned that the county is underinvested in its information technology systems.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington had questions about the proposed purchase of Gard Street School, which he came out against when it was discussed earlier this spring.
Specifically, he asked about its funding source. Cox said it will come from the general fund but will be reimbursed when the Special Districts building in downtown Lakeport is sold; Special Districts is one of the departments proposed to move to the Gard Street facility if it's purchased.
“It's like an advance,” said Cox.
Farrington asked why the matter of locating departments at Gard Street hadn't gone for review before a county committee like the Air Quality Management District had when it was looking at a building purchase. Cox said it did, but that staff hadn't yet put together a report.
Farrington said he was struggling with the proposal. “I just don't understand it.”
Brown said he likewise didn't agree with spending millions on a half-mile of South Main Street, with more money needed for that project than the rest of the county's roads.
Farrington said South Main Street serves the public. “So do the other 600 miles” of county roads, Brown replied.
The board then voted 4-1 to approve the document.
Chair Jim Comstock commended Cox for his work, noting that Cox has been in his office on nights and weekends refining the budget document. Cox admitted that his office “has become my home away from home.”
Said Comstock, “We may not be the wealthiest but everything we have is ours. Well done.”
The board even gave an embarrassed Cox a standing ovation.
“This is probably the last budget I'll be bringing to the board, so thank you very much,” said Cox, noting he has to retire some time.
He credited his staff and department heads for their contributions. Holding up the thick budget book, he said it's a team effort, adding that the county is very fortunate to have the staff it has.
The board then went on to unanimously approve resolutions establishing position allocations for the recommended budget, and authorization to purchase capital assets and fill positions prior to the budget's final adoption.
Cox told Lake County News later Tuesday that he doesn't yet have dates set for the final budget hearing, which he expects will be in mid-August. The date ultimately depends on what the state does.
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