LAKEPORT >> Revenues and expenditures for the Lake County Air Quality Management District (LCAQMD) have decreased by 41.5 percent, both of which total nearly $950,000. The decrease is the result of canceled building reserves.
At the same time, the county continues to maintain air quality.
“During this calendar year we anticipate being designated full attainment with all Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS),” LCAQMD Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart boasted. The designation will be before Dec. 31 and would be the 25th consecutive year the county has reached full attainment.
Lake County is the only full attainment district in the state.
One concern regarding attainment is the age of equipment used for particulate monitoring, which is 17 years old.
“Keeping monitoring equipment in good working order is necessary to maintain the AAQS attainment status designation,” Gearhart explained. “It involves considerable staff time to sample and follow federal and state quality assurance protocols, but it is less costly than interfacing with other agencies and sample handling that would otherwise be required.”
LCAOMD presented a draft of their 2015-16 budget to the Lake County Board of Supervisors during a public hearing Tuesday.
“We normally try to schedule this during the county’s budget hearing process, but due to a number of issues that occurred that was not possible,” Gearhart said.
Permit fees are anticipated to account for 51 percent of the budget, or $483,000. The balance supported largely by state subvention at 12 percent. Canceled air monitoring reserves account for 11 percent, or $100,000.
Salaries are the largest expenditure, totaling nearly $267,000 to pay the district’s 4.6 full time positions.
Workman’s compensation saw an increase of $607, which is accounted for in the budget, Gearhart said.
“Our total budget amount will stay the same,” Gearhart explained. “We just balanced the numbers.”
The board approved the budget with a 4-0, District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock was absent.
A final budget will be brought to the board for adoption in two weeks.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
