LAKEPORT — The Lake County supervisors Tuesday threw their support behind a nine-figure recommended county budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously approved the staff-drafted budget document, which projected nearly $181.5 million in appropriations during the 2013-14 fiscal year. Final budget consideration is set to occur later this year.
The recommended budget is “structurally balanced and remains debt-free,” according to County Administrative Officer Matt Perry, who led the nearly hour-long presentation Tuesday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
“We have it balanced, based on some assumptions that will not be confirmed until later on this summer,” he told the BOS.
The estimated $181.5 million in appropriations represented almost $1.6 million more than the current fiscal year. The 2013-14 general fund appropriation, projected at $53.6 million, would come in about $1 million less than 2012-13.
The outlook appears brighter for two pivotal funding sources, according to county officials, who anticipate a 5-percent increase in sales tax revenues and a 1.5-percent increase in property taxes.
Perry noted those projected boosts, if they come to fruition, would help offset costs associated with public safety realignment and a 40-percent increase in worker”s compensation premiums.
The recommended budget called for 935 employee positions, an increase of nearly two dozen compared to the final 2012-13 budget.
A vast majority of the new positions are funded by sources outside of the county general fund, Perry said. Additionally, a handful of county departments propose eliminating a total of 7.5 vacant positions as a cost-cutting measure.
Departments facing significantly reduced budgets or otherwise particularly tough financial times include probation, library, public health and community development”s building and safety division, Perry said.
Many of the roughly 20 people who attended the budget presentation were department heads and other county staff members. All five supervisors voted to approve the budgetary recommendation at the end of the public discussion.
The BOS is set to consider adopting the final 2013-14 budget in several months, with a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 4. State law requires the county budget to be approved by the end of June and formally adopted by Oct. 2.
As part of their county budget moves, the supervisors passed a resolution setting position allocations to match the recommended budget and authorized purchasing some capital assets and filling new positions that need to be in place before September.
In total, BOS members addressed a trio of draft budgets Tuesday.
The supervisors unanimously supported recommended budget documents for the Lake County Air Quality Management District — sitting as that district”s board of directors.
The two air quality budget units estimated $1.2 million in revenues and expenditures during 2013-14.
The supervisors then signed off on revisions to the 2012-13 Lake County Housing Commission budget and approved the commission”s proposed $1.8 million 2013-14 budget.
The votes were 6-0, with resident member Deborah Figueroa joining the five supervisors on the housing commission board of directors.
Later, the BOS unanimously adopted a two-year memorandum of understanding with the Lake County Deputy District Attorney”s Association.
The supervisors also moved to establish salaries and benefits for county management employees and members of the administrative office, human resources and county counsel”s office for next fiscal year.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com. Follow coverage on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh or #LakeBOS.
