EL DORADO COUNTY RELEASES FISCAL YEAR 2021-22 $681 MILLION RECOMMENDED BUDGET
(PLACERVILLE, CA) – El Dorado Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton today released his Fiscal Year 2021-22 Recommended Budget to the Board of Supervisors. The total Recommended Budget is approximately $681 million, which is $37.13 million (5%) less than the FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget of $718.42 million approved by the Board in September 2020.
"After an extraordinary year for County operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still able to present a budget for consideration that is balanced, meets State guidelines and, importantly, includes funding for several Board priorities established over the last six months," said Ashton.
The Recommended Budget fully funds the General Fund Contingency at $6 million, General Reserves at $10 million and the annual contribution to the Designation for Capital Projects at $5 million, and allocates $3 million in discretionary revenues to road maintenance in accordance with the Board's most recently adopted budget policy.
Total General Fund appropriations are recommended at $337.36 million, which is $11.13 million (3.2%) less than the FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget of $348.49 million approved by the Board last fall.
The budget also addresses the Board's recent priorities by including the following:
- Allocates $1.3 million for the implementation of a Body Worn Camera program for the Sheriff's Office.
- Allocates $6.5 million for ongoing deferred maintenance of County owned buildings.
- Sets aside $936,713 for future CalPERS cost increases.
- Sets aside $2.3 million for the FY 2022-23 Public Safety Facility loan payment.
- Allocates $500,000 to begin replacing the aging snow removal fleet.
- Allocates a combined $645,800 to the Lake Valley, El Dorado County Fire and Georgetown Fire Districts to offset costs due to tourism impacts.
- Allocates $578,000 to the Planning & Building Department to increase code enforcement services due to the growth in Vacation Home Rentals, as well as additional resources to address State Mandates and Tier 1 priorities identified by the Board.
"Our General Fund is stable, due to the fiscal and budget policies developed and adhered to over the last five years and that position may tempt us to make decisions without fully considering future needs," said Ashton. "But there are significant upcoming challenges that we simply can't afford to lose sight of. If we do, we won't be in a position to afford to address them later."
Those challenges include meeting the County's facility needs, including replacement of aging buildings such as the Spring Street facility, El Dorado Center and South Lake Tahoe jail that exceed funds currently available in the Capital Project Designation. Operational costs for the Placerville Jail will increase upon completion of the expansion project, and it is likely that the County's CalPERS Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) will increase if CalPERS reduces the discount rate, as is widely anticipated.
The Board of Supervisors will be asked to consider and make any adjustments and approve the Recommended Budget at a special Budget Hearing June 7, 2021.
State law requires counties to have a budget in place no later than June 30th of each year. The Recommended Budget can be found here.
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