CLEARLAKE — When it comes to finances, the City of Clearlake has something in common with many of its residents — the ones who struggle to balance their checkbooks and hope the unexpected expense or sudden drop in income doesn”t derail the entire process.
“The city is a lot like people in the community in that regard,” the city”s interim financial director, Jack Dilles, said before Thursday”s council meeting at City Hall.
“We”re in a challenging fiscal position with little financial capacity to withstand unexpected expenditures, a drop in revenue, a disaster or uninsured losses,” Dilles told the council a few minutes later.
But unlike a lot a people in town, if the city”s budget gets too tight, it can ask the council to tap into other funds. City staff requested a “budget adjustment” of $161,975 Thursday night, and the council voted 4-0 to approve the additional funding.
Councilman Joey Luiz was absent from the meeting.
“I like to look at the ?net,”” Dilles said. “That”s the true financial position. And the ?net” looks OK.”
Between the two accounts Dilles discussed in his midyear financial report to the council, the general fund should finish the 2012-13 fiscal year on June 30 with a balance of $568,551.
But the projected balance for a separate development fund at fiscal year”s end is a minus $306,119.
Overall, that”s a plus $262,000, but that includes a “risk management” cushion of $150,000, Dilles explained, without which the city is running only 2.7 percent in the black.
“And that”s not much of a contingency for the huge amount of money in the budget,” city manager Joan Phillipe said.
Dilles said the cost overruns came mostly from litigation expenses, including workers compensation claims and other legal expenditures..
“Those costs are going to happen, but it”s hard to predict what they”ll be in any given year,” he said.
In other business, the council voted 4-0 to adopt an ordinance that will regulate taxis and other vehicles for hire.
The council opened the meeting by presenting two proclamations, the first declaring April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Councilwoman Gina Fortino Dickson made the presentation to Tanya Biasotti of Healthy Start (Lake County Office of Education) and Latoya Fortino of People Services, Inc. of Clear Lake.
The second presentation, declaring April as Donate a Life Month, was made by Mayor Jeri Spittler to Rodd and Kellie Joseph and Nicole Newton.
Rodd, a sergeant with the Clearlake Police Department, and wife Kellie, a Lake County Sheriff”s Department detective, are the parents of six-month old Ryland Joseph, who needs a bone marrow transplant to survive Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
Fortunately, they found a likely donor in their 21-month old daughter, Brooklynn. But many in similar situations aren”t as fortunate.
Rich Mellott is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 14 or rmellott@record-bee.com.
