Title
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Approve the FY 10/11 Budget adjustments listed in Attachment 3A under Adj. 6; and
2) Approve the budget transfer to make the proposed changes. (Cont'd 12/7/10, Item 35) (Est. Time: 20 Min.)
Body
The Board of Supervisors department budget must meet the necessary reductions in the Net County Cost (NCC) as set by the Chief Administrative Officer. As we continue meeting the needs of the economy in its current condition we need to face reductions in NCC for the department as a whole. This has had unbalanced effects on the District budgets.
In FY 09/10 the Board of Supervisors voted to have equal budgets however, the implementation of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 reductions caused the budgets to become unequal. Subsequently the FY 10/11 budget that was presented in June 2010 met the reductions in the NCC set by the Chief Administrative Officer however, the district budgets were not equal. The Board voted at that time to have equal budgets and set up the methodology of using salaries at step 5 and full benefits as the base for the district budgets.
During the FY 10/11 budget hearings on September 13, 2010, Item 10-0110, the Board decided to further reduce the district budgets by 10% and voted for the following:
1) Reduce all district budgets to $ 193,500 which reduced each district budget by $ 21,500.
2) Move the excess district expenditures from FY 09/10 to FY 10/11.
3) Direct Staff to bring back an ordinance to reduce the Supervisors salary by 10%.
On September 20, 2010 Item 10-0973 the Board after reviewing the reasons for the excess expenditures, restored the amount that had been reduced due to the overruns in Fiscal Year 2009/2010 to the district budgets.
On November 15, 2010 Item 10-1220, the Board took action to allow Board members to take voluntary reductions in salary.
A motion was made by Supervisor Knight and seconded by Supervisor Sweeney, as follows:
1) Adopt Resolution 175-2010 authorizing voluntary reductions in salary by Board members; and
2) Direct County Counsel to bring back a Resolution on December 7, 2010 allowing all current elected officials the same opportunity to voluntarily reduce their salaries.
The Clerk of the Board and CAO Analyst worked together with District Supervisors to identify the available options within the County policies to meet the necessary reductions. They also considered the goal of the Board of Supervisors to have equal district budgets, the same dollar amount for each district, and the steps needed to get to that point. At which time it was decided to return to the Board to request a change in Policy D-5 making the salaries and benefits in all districts whole and to define the timeline needed to implement the necessary changes to get to the equal budgets.
On December 7, 2010, File 10-1237, the Clerk of the Board returned to the Board of Supervisors recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Approve revisions to Policy D-5 - Board of Supervisors Departmental Budget and Expense Reimbursement, to clarify the policy for district budgets;
2) Authorize staff to process a budget transfer which will implement the revised provisions of Policy D-5 in Fiscal Year 2010-11, which will result in no NCC change for the department;
3) Receive the draft timeline for revisions to the salary and benefit structure and job classification specification for Supervisors' Assistants.
The Board directed staff to move forward with the changes for the Supervisor Assistant's salary and benefits package with the following motion:
A motion was made by Supervisor Sweeney, seconded by Supervisor Knight, to direct staff to return in April 2011 with a draft of the Supervisor Assistant's job description and benefits package. (See file 11-0468)
The Board approved the change to Policy D-5 and authorized the budget transfer with the following motion:
A motion was made by Supervisor Santiago, seconded by Supervisor Knight, as follows:
1) Approve revisions to Policy D-5; and
2) Authorize staff to process a budget transfer which will implement the revised provisions of Policy D-5 in Fiscal Year 2010-11.
On December 20, 2010, Supervisor Sweeney wrote a letter which addressed his concerns with the December 7, 2010 actions. He requested clarification for the following:
1) District budgets were not equal because of the actions taken on December 7, 2010.
2) The budget transfer needed a 4/5 vote.
3) Calculate the amount of each District budget based on the intent of December 7, 2010.
It is true that the District budgets are no longer equal. The action on December 7th revised Policy D-5 to assure full salaries and benefits for the Supervisors and their assistants. This was requested in order to focus on the changes in policy which need to be made to get to a salary and benefit package which will assure equal district budgets. It will be decided by the Board during 2011 what the benefits package for the assistants will be. They will also decide how it should be implemented.
The action on December 7th did not need a 4/5 vote per County Policy B-1 which states that budget transfers need Board approval when there is a change in the overall budget totals for the Department. A 4/5 vote per Government Code 29130 would only be necessary if the budget transfer required the use of contingency funds. The requested budget transfer contains changes which affect the total of individual district's budgets but the Department's overall NCC remains the same and does not require contingency funds.
The attached budget (Attachment 3A) shows the district budget changes made to comply with the adopted changes in Policy D-5 as well as the adjustments to meet the Department's revenue shortfall of $22,090. In order to make all of the adjustments, we had to look at the Department as a whole and identify where expenditures could be reduced.
Summary of FY 10/11 Budget
Adopted ADJ Adjustments
Budget Budgets Non Salary Salary
District I 193,878 193,878 0 378
District II 199,578 199,578 0 6,078
District III 178,893 178,893 -13,802 -805
District IV 183,513 183,513 -9,182 - 805
District V 210,900 210,900 1,111 16,289
COB 429,046 429,046 -17,581 -3,772
TOTAL DEPT 1,395,141 1,395,141 -39,454 17,363
REVENUE 36,767 36,767 -22,090
NCC 1,358,374 1,358,374
Recommended Board Actions:
1) Approve the FY 10/11 Budget adjustments listed in Attachment A under Adj. 6; and
2) Approve the budget transfer to make the proposed changes.
Attachments:
3A - FY 10/11 Budget with changes through December 7, 2010.
3B - Letter from Supervisor Sweeney dated December 20, 2010.
3C - Budget Transfer.
3D - Policy B-1.
3E - Agenda Items Requiring four or more votes.
Clerk Follow-up:
Process Budget Transfer.