Gloom was not the kind of warm and fuzzy feeling the Colusa County Board of Supervisors wanted in a mid-year budget review on Valentine’s Day, but no one was shocked that the year ahead will be a tough row to hoe.
In addition to the permanent annual $1.7 million reduction to the general fund – due to the recent reconfiguration of the PG&E unitary tax allocations – the county is struggling with the rising cost of doing business and losses from an agricultural economy that was not as robust as typical.
“It’s no surprise,” said Supervisor Merced Corona. “We knew it was coming last year when we patched (the budget) together. But it is what it is.”
Since the board approved a conservative $137.5 million budget in September, county expenditures to date have increased $1.14 million, revenue increased $579,200, and restricted reserves decreased $564,648.
The adjusted 2022-23 budget now stands at $138.6 million just midway through the fiscal year, said Chief Administrative Officer Wendy Tyler.
“A lot of departments are trying to work within their budgets,” Tyler said. “Some of them have salary savings and things they are hoping will bridge the gap for them.”
While Tyler said the budget situation may be tough, she does not believe the county’s finances are severe enough to create panic and a mass exodus of employees to other jurisdictions.
However, in the year ahead, she said the county will have a difficult time balancing the budget while doing its best to preserve critical services for the public. Realistically, the public could feel the impacts of shorthanded departments, whether they are vendors waiting four weeks to get paid instead of two – or builders waiting a few weeks longer than usual for permits.
County officials are not yet certain the effect the estimated $22 billion shortfall in the state’s budget will have on the county.
Tyler said she did not spend a lot of time looking at the state’s proposed budget, because she suspects significant changes will be made between May and August.
“As recently as last Thursday, there was an update that the January anticipated revenues, based on what the Governor was projecting in his budget development, are already $2 billion less that what he was thinking he would have when he reduced his budget,” Tyler said.
Tyler said she is confident that whatever changes the state makes, department heads will be able to work through it.
“We will see then what the fallout really is,” she said.
Tyler said as the board moves forward developing next year’s budget, the county will try to hold to its mission to provide responsive government services in a fiscally responsible manner, strive to preserve the county’s agriculture heritage, and promote economic development.
“People have unfilled positions…”Tyler said. “We haven’t filled those positions but we still need them if you expect us to do what we’ve been doing.”
Tyler said as the county begins to develop this next year’s budget, there will be difficult decisions that will have to be made; there may be no possible way to treat all departments equally; fewer functions of government will have to be considered; and changes in service levels to match staffing levels may have to be implemented.
On a more optimistic note, supervisors said they would continue to work through the county’s budget issues creatively to preserve services, while finding a way to diversify the economy for the future.
“I’m looking forward to solving the problem,” Chairman Kent Boes said. ■