Title
Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board review and Accept the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Master Budget Calendar.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The Master Budget Calendar guides the timeline for development of the Recommended and Adopted Budgets, as well as the close-out of the prior year. In recent years, the Chief Administrative Office has included additional meetings to ensure adequate and timely communication of budget requests and major policy and funding issues to and between County Departments, the Chief Administrative Office, and the Board of Supervisors. These meetings are scheduled again for the FY 2021-22 budget development process, as highlighted below.
Department Briefings to the Board
In the last two fiscal years, we have scheduled department briefings during regular board meetings to provide departments with an opportunity to update the Board on departmental activities and upcoming challenges and opportunities. This year we are proposing two special meetings for these briefings, and organizing the briefings by functional group. The proposed dates for these meetings are February 2 and February 16, 2021, and are subject to the Board's approval of the 2021 meeting calendar.
CAO and Department Meetings
While the CAO's Office communicates closely with departments throughout the budget development process, the calendar sets aside a week for each department to meet with its CAO analyst to discuss the department's submitted budget request. These meetings are scheduled for the week of March 1, 2021, approximately two weeks after budget requests have been submitted, so that the analyst is prepared to discuss specific aspects of the requests with the Department Head and budget staff.
Functional Group Meetings with Ad Hoc Committee
As in past years, the calendar includes meetings with the CAO's Office, the Board's Budget Ad Hoc Committee, and each functional group. These meetings provide an opportunity for the committee to preview the departments' budget requests and potential policy questions to be considered during the budget process. These meetings are scheduled for the week of March 15, 2021.
Special Meeting
A Board of Supervisors Special Meeting, which is held to discuss the progress on the development of the Recommended Budget and seek further guidance, as necessary, on Board priorities for funding, is proposed for April 19, 2021, subject to the Board's approval of the 2021 meeting calendar.
Publication and Approval
It is anticipated that the Recommended Budget will be publicly available on or before May 28, 2021. The Recommended Budget is required to be made available to the public for two weeks prior to the Budget Hearing, which is proposed for June 7, 2021. The Recommended Budget is required by statute to be approved on or before June 30 of each year.
It will still be necessary for staff to bring year-end fund balance budget adjustments to the Board for consideration and approval in September, following the close of the FY 2020-21 books. These adjustments, along with any other necessary changes, comprise the "Adopted Budget," which must be adopted by October 2, per statute.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
All Departments participate in the budget development process.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
None
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Good Governance
CONTACT
Don Ashton, Chief Administrative Officer