HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.26.19 FY 2018-2019 General Fund Fund Balance - McCracken, Shari Waugh, Melanie
From: McCracken, Shari
Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2019 5:09 PM
To: 8OS
Cc: Clerk of the Board; Ring, Brian;Jessee, Meegan; Pickett, Andy; Kim, Sang; Hatcher, Casey
Subject: FY 2018-19 General Fund fund balance
Board Members,
I'm happy to share some good news,for a change. The Auditor's Office is in the process of completing the final
accounting for fiscal year 2019-20 and pending any final adjustments I anticipate the General Fund available fund
balance will be approximately$2 million more than we estimated in the FY 2019-20 Budget. I anticipate you will get a
memo from Graciela in the coming days, if you haven't already. Initial analysis reflects that it is primarily a result of
more discretionary revenue that anticipated including$800,000 in emergency reimbursement we received at the end of
the fiscal year, higher sales tax revenues than anticipated (we need to verify that it's an actual increase and not a matter
of timing of payment),Teeter Plan revenues that did not decline as much as anticipated and adjustments related to
interest earnings.We will have more complete analysis in the 4th quarter financial report later this fall.
This is good news as we have a number of unanticipated costs,some related to Camp Fire response and recovery, others
related to our every-changing world,that will need to be addressed utilizing General Fund Contingencies. Some uses of
Contingencies have already been approved by your Board, while others will be coming to you for consideration in the
future.
Some examples and order of magnitude of unanticipated costs, which may have already been approved by the Board,
include:
• $600,000(estimate) - Unanticipated Capital Project costs—there will be more that come up during the year as
facilities or their components fail and as construction costs continue to rise.
• $4,500,000+ (estimate)—Unbudgeted emergency response and recovery staffing(extra-help and regular
staffing) and recovery costs (hazard tree removal contracts and staffing—approximately$200,000-$300,000 of
local cost, with the balance reimbursed over time.
• $500,000-$750,000(estimate)- Local match for various federal grants (Hazard Mitigation Grants, Pre-
Mitigation Grants, USDA Grants, etc.).
• $325,000-Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) loan (paid back in 18-24 months)
• Unknown amount- Loans to CSAs to cover repair and replacement work where there is insufficient fund balance
in the CSA.
• Unknown amount- PSPS response costs, including assessment, purchase, and installation of generators on
critical facilities—staff will utilize grant funds for a portion of costs, where available.
• Unknown amount- Labor negotiations
The additional fund balance is very welcome, because without it the reductions to General Fund Contingencies would
have made the gap in the County's budget for FY 2020-21 larger than we already anticipate. Absent sufficient fund
balance and revenues,the only way to fill the gap is a reduction in General Fund-funded services.
I have to commend staff who collaborate on General Fund fund balance projections each year, as they came within less
than 2%of actual. This speaks to the experience of staff, as well as the inclusion of many minds challenging
assumptions, analyzing trends, and understanding the nuances of the diverse components of both the County's
revenues and expenditures, which make up these estimates.
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Please let me or Meegan know if you have questions. Details may not be available, as many of these are estimates
related to upcoming costs.
Have a good evening,
Shari
Ortce.n.f.Lc,L.
Chief Administrative Officer
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3305 M: 530.990.5029
***Please note this is a new phone number and update your records accordingly***
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