Title
Receive a status report on budget requests from departments and development of the FY 2014-15 Recommended Budget.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive a status report on budget requests from departments and development of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-15 Recommended Budget.
SUMMARY:
The County Administrative Office is in the final stages of reviewing departmental budget requests for FY 2014-15. Budget hearings are scheduled to begin on June 10, 2014. This report provides an update on the status of budget development, with analysis of departmental budget requests, potential service level impacts, and preliminary recommendations for mitigating these impacts with the limited resources available.
DISCUSSION:
Earlier this year, departments forecasted the expenditures needed to maintain existing service levels and available revenues to support those needs. The difference between a department's expenditures and its program revenues is referred to as general fund contributions (GFC). General fund contributions are the Board's discretionary monies and include the County's share of property taxes, transient occupancy tax, sales tax, and other non-restricted revenues. The majority of County departments rely on GFC at some level to provide services. The Board generally allocates each year's GFC in proportion to prior year authorizations, with growth targeted to County priorities and programs with the greatest need. In the years following the recession, annual GFC allocations to departments declined in order to maintain a fiscally balanced budget amid weakening revenues. After four years of declining GFC, the County's discretionary revenues improved modestly in FY 2013-14 with a 4.6% countywide increase in discretionary funding to departments. Much of this growth in funding was needed to address inflation in the costs of providing services. This trend is expected to continue next fiscal year, as rising costs consum...
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