Board applies budget ‘Band-Aid’

By Kristine Williams / The Calaveras Enterprise

Posted on May 17, 2013

Calaveras County supervisors Tuesday appeared reluctant to give definitive direction to the county’s Administrative Office about how to bridge a nearly $2 million deficit before proceeding to formulate fiscal year 2013-2014 budget.

“We (Administrative Office) didn’t get as much clarity as we’d like,” said Interim County Administrative Officer John Blacklock, referring to a previous board meeting when county staff first let the board know about the pending deficit.

Though the board had expressed a desire to hear from county department heads, few of those turned up to Tuesday’s evening discussion, which saw supervisors reject many of the Administrative Office’s offered solutions.

District 2 Supervisor Chris Wright was hesitant from the beginning, asking to see department budgets before making potential reduction decisions.

“It just feels like we’re kind of putting the cart before the horse,” he said. “It’s like trying to change a tire on a moving car.”

Wright did mention that if his budget priorities were met though – more Sheriff’s deputies and new computers for the county’s library system – he would likely approve whatever budget made its way before him.

District 4 Supervisor Debbie Ponte agreed with Wright regarding the budget’s structure, saying she felt the process was backward.

Regardless, county staff members had prepared a list of items requiring board direction that reduced the original $2 million deficit to just over $500,000. Many items were simply deferring funding decisions until recommended budget hearings commence in June – items like funding new vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office and Animal Services and the purchase of new software for the Human Resources Department.

While supervisors went along with the deferrals, decisions regarding actual elimination of funds, like reducing the amount of general fund money transferred to the county’s road fund by $350,000, garnered little support and were not approved.

Supervisors were in support of using some one-time funds – like Teeter funds, typically used for technology improvements – as a type of “stop-gap” funding source though both Auditor Rebecca Callen and Blacklock urged caution, describing such solutions as a Band-Aid approach.

“There’s going to be less and less Teeter for stop-gap funding,” said Callen. “We’re running out of places to find money.”

The evening’s discussion ultimately resulted in a modest deficit reduction. Instead of the original $2 million, the new deficit number is about $1.7 million. Budget talks will resume in June with the county’s recommended budget hearings.