Budget Hearing Update | 9.24.2024

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Today’s Budget Hearing began with an introduction by CAO | Trent Tuthill and a budget overview from our financial consultant, Craig Goodman. We then heard from each Department Head regarding aspects of their budget that they felt the board and public should be aware of.

A. COUNTY MATTERS

A.1. County Administrative Office – Conduct budget hearings to consider the recommended budget for fiscal year 24/25. Recommended expenditures, including contingency, total $144,510,291.

Introduction – Trent Tuthill | CAO

  • Achievements – Shared a slide listing a sampling of the county-driven achievements to acknowledge. This included notes regarding a recent meeting that led to improvements in our ability to use existing (dated) equipment.
  • Mandatory vs. Discretionary County Services – explained and described the difference.
  • Strategic Plan Lines of Effort – highlighted the importance of aligning funding with strategic priorities.
  • Stop Deficit Spending – emphasized the importance of greater fiscal responsibility.
  • Balancing the Budget – The realities of balancing this budget:
    • Library – significant reduction of services
    • Sheriff – significant reductions
      • Animal Shelter – significant reduction of services 11.1.2024 & 4.1.2025
        • Rabies only – includes dog license
      • Sheriff – $1.9 million reduction
      • Jail – $229,000 reduction
    • Probation – $404,000 reduction – offset with CCP, Probation/Juvenile realignment funds
    • District Attorney – $29,000 reduction
    • Clerk/Recorder/Assessor/Elections – $79,000 reduction
    • Auditor – $62,000 reduction
    • Treasurer/Tax Collector – $145,000 reduction
    • Revenues – increased as outlined in the budget memo
  • No more one-time band-aid/short-term actions
  • Expenses – showing an increase over the last 5 years
    • Consumer Price Index – up 22.7%
    • Housing – up 25%
    • Gas – up 35% to 40%
    • County Expenditures
      • Insurance – up almost 60%
      • Workers Comp – up 25%
      • Utilities – up over 30%
      • Maintenance – up over 200%
      • Fuel – up 80%
      • Regular Salaries – up 40%
      • Regular Salaries/General Fund – up 28%
      • PERS | UAL – up 27%

Craig Goodman – Fiscal Consultant

  • External Influences – Shared an example of how decisions made outside the county have a direct impact on county finances. Funding of retirement/benefit programs is impacted by decisions made regarding discount rates associated with funding.
  • Trends – Shared a presentation that highlights trends and key data points
    • 24/25 budget reflects a 4.6% decrease over last year
  • Major Budget Components
    • $11.5 million for road and airport projects
    • $34.4 million for transfers within county funds
    • $48.3 million for salaries and benefits
      • $11.5 million General Fund (42% of General Fund Budget)
    • The budget continues to fund 100% of ADC
    • $98.6 million left to fund the balance of county operations
  • General Fund Revenue – $25,250,843
    • Taxes = 51.89%
    • Charges for current services = 23.42%
  • General Fund Revenue (with Sheriff portion) – $28,772,325
  • Property Tax Apportionment
    • County – 33%
    • Schools – 63%
    • Special Districts – 4%
  • General Fund Expenditure (with Sheriff portion)
    • 65.66% goes to Public Protection
  • General Fund Contributions to Others
    • 91.82% for Public Protection
  • General Fund Discretionary Budget
    • 72.22% for Public Protection
  • Debt Services
    • $629,000 in payments – this is fully funded
    • Umpqua Bank will be paid off this year.
    • Motorola CAD will be paid off this year
    • Day Wireless will be paid off next year
    • Hospital Debt
      • $7.7 million debt remains
      • The plan is to continue a similar level of debt payments – redirected to pay off this $7.7 million over the next 15 or so years.
      • This is actually a “cash overspend” that we are required to repay

Trends & Developments

  • Library proposal received from Friends of the Library
  • Animal Shelter – lots of discussion, expect a proposal today
  • Revenue Options
    • Community Service Areas
    • Special Districts
    • TOT increase
    • Sales Tax increase
    • Tourism Investment District
    • Cannabis Tax – don’t extend the 50% reduction granted two years ago – expires this year.
    • Grants – county continues to research/pursue as appropriate
      • We’ve never had a general grant administration staff – previously had a housing-focused grant writer. We still carry expenses associated with the administration of the grants that were obtained. Work in this area was integrated into Health & Human Services.
  • Personnel Impact
    • Golden Handshake via CalPERS – special arrangement to support early retirement (up to 2 years early) for qualified employees.
    • Human Resources has an FAQ document and will meet 1-1

Department Specific Presentations & Discussions

  • Agriculture – highlighted efforts to serve the county with available resources.
  • Auditor-Controller – operating with 6 of 9 people needed to effectively provide services, meet mandated deadlines, etc. The department is currently strained and things will only get worse if/as additional reductions are required.
  • Behavioral Health – changes in mandated programs are impacting the way funds are allocated. Prop 1 changes will have a large impact in the next fiscal year.
  • Community Development – discussion regarding the impact of staff limitations on the services we provide/want to provide.
    • Cannabis Division – provided a presentation that covered all the same information provided when the board awarded special funding. Indicated that Cannabis Tax revenue will be significantly less than originally estimated. This is in part due to recent data from the (state-level) Department of Commercial Cannabis that the average volume of product produced by farms of average size in Trinity County is approximately 1/2 what was originally estimated.
  • Child Support Services – no General Funds. 66% of funding is federal. Humboldt County staff actually provides services on behalf of Trinity County. 3% budget cut from the state. This should not expect
  • Cooperative Extension – a 40% FTE provides administrative support here in Trinity County. The second person is expected to fill the nutrition education role in Trinity County soon.
  • Court Reporter/Assessor – expressed that we are “in dire straights” here in Trinity County. The budget includes funding for one of two positions that were funded last year. The un-funded position will be in the Elections office. Four divisions with only five staff.
  • CAO – includes several divisions… including the Library.
  • Library – a formal proposal from Friends of the Library would allow the libraries to remain open (with fewer hours for some locations). It appears that we can support this with the same amount of funding reflected in the proposed budget. More work is needed to work through the details. The board provided direction for the CAO/staff to work with proposed funding and the Friends of the Library proposal to keep libraries open… at least on a limited basis.
  • District Attorney – allocated 14 positions, currently have 9. Recently shifted someone to the Victim Witness (grant-funded) program. Mandated to provide discovery documents to counsel 30 days before trial. They had been providing faster – to support potential settlements, etc. Absences can lead to a significant impact on services and deadlines.
  • Health & Human Services – total budget $40,788,265. Reduced vacancy rate from 30%+ to 18%.  The housing portion (funded by grants) is up significantly from last year – $545,638. Through careful “braiding” of funding, we are serving more people with fewer county-provided funds.
  • Veterans Services – 363 veterans received benefits last year totaling over $7 million.
  • Human Resources – focusing on enhanced services and efficiencies.
  • Information Technology – staff levels translate into a high ratio of employees: support personnel – well above normal/average range for counties.
  • Probation – the focus is on crime prevention and a reduction in recidivism. Officer on duty 24 hours per day 7 days a week. Budget reductions are equivalent to 40% of staff. Realignment funds are helping to maintain service levels in the absence of General Funds. This is not a long-term solution. Will continue to research funding alternatives and creative solutions. Explained that costs would be higher if we did not outsource the placement of youth in the program.
  • Sheriff Department – $14 million + was requested for “adequate” staffing levels. There are only 36.5 of 59 allocated positions funded in the proposed budget. In addition to staffing reductions, training resources will be more limited this year. Staffing in the jail is up from 20 last year to 22 this year. Funding for this increase in staff came from other division funds. Medical expenses are up significantly over the last few years.
  • Animal Control – funds from the General Fund were cut to zero this year. Health Realignment funds will cover mandated services only (rabies, licensing).
    • PUBLIC COMMENT 
      • TASA – shared a proposal to deliver an additional $70,000 in funding (beyond the current $35,000 this calendar year) to keep the shelter running with current services. Will continue researching funding options. Will also continue supporting the spay and neuter program. Also offered grant support.
      • Read the statement of 13 13-year-old who reports an attack by a dog.
      • Concerns shared regarding MOU with the county for Animal Shelter.
      • Appreciation was offered for the Sheriff’s contributions and support of the Animal Shelter
  • Code Enforcement – now only involved in “criminal” enforcement (vs civil enforcement).
  • Sheriff Division – $1.9 million less than requested. Four civilian office positions were eliminated. Public office hours will be reduced. Walk-in services will likely be by appointment only. Online services will be made available to the public to streamline the process. The server upgrade will be delayed. Deputies in the jail can be moved to patrol (in some cases). This provides some level of flexibility in a staff-limited situation.
  • Jail – 72-bed facility in four pods. Average 35 to 48 inmates. Have looked into options – including outsourcing for Jail Health.
    • There is an opportunity for us to offer vacant spaces/cells to other jurisdictions – depending upon circumstances. Not aware of neighboring counties needing overflow services.
    • Inmate health – we are responsible for all health needs while in custody.
    • Patrol – four assigned to Jail, 15… total sworn officers… including those in the jail, the Sheriff, under-sheriff, detectives, etc.
  • Transportation – funding is flat to last year – no General Fund contribution.
    • Use of Old Equipment – recent approval to continue full use of aged equipment until 2028 will make a big difference. This equipment was previously limited to very few hours per year.
    • Four transit routes are supported by this department.
    • Airports are also part of this department. Funding comes in part from gas taxes (based on registered vehicles)… which are declining. We still have storm damage from 2017 that we are still waiting to repair. This is due to limited staffing and funding. Federal funding requires engineers and other staff to prepare applications, etc. It takes 300 to 400 hours to prepare/submit an application. 20 road workers – with 2 to 3 times as many miles per road worker than the average for other counties.
    • Secure Rural Schools funding is at risk… this represents 23% of funding for road work. Letter sent to congressional representatives on behalf of Trinity County. NACO has been very supportive. Jaime Green has also been very active in support of this funding. CAO Tuthill believes funding may not come in when we usually receive it – due to ongoing congressional negotiations regarding the federal budget.
  • Treasurer/Tax Collector – budget reductions will negatively impact our ability to serve the public. This will likely show up in slower processing of requests, etc.
    • A suggestion was made to coordinate regarding reduction of hours so that they are aligned.

DIRECTION TO STAFF

  • The board’s direction to staff was to:
    • For the Library – maintain the proposed budget level of funding and work with the Friends of the Library to flesh out details regarding the hours of operation that can be accommodated with proposed donation-based funding and changes in the use of proposed county funds.
    • For the Animal Shelter – maintain the proposed budget level of funding and work with TASA to flesh out details regarding the hours of operation and services that can be accommodated with the proposed donation-based funding and ongoing support of volunteers.
    • Overall Budget – other than the items outlined above, to bring forward the budget as proposed for approval during the October 1st board meeting.
    • Contingency Funds – Ensure that leaders understand that there will be a very tight filter used when considering requests for contingency funds.

 

ADJOURN