Budget shortfall discussed Tuesday

Grappling with budget shortfalls has become familiar to the Glenn County Board of Supervisors in recent years.

This coming fiscal year will be no exception as the county faces a $3.5 million shortfall for 2012-13.

Saying they had so many questions it would take a week to answer them, supervisors opted to hold a special budget meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday to discuss what to do.

Each supervisor is a liaison to different county departments, and each plans to meet with respective department heads to see where things can be cut.

Finance Director Ted Rozmaryn said the budget shortfall is based mainly in reductions in county revenues which are hard to predict with this economy.

Also factoring in is a return to a 40-hour work week and additions of staff to various departments, he said, along with benefit costs and so on.

Many departments have reduced employees, put others on furloughs and reduced their work weeks during the current fiscal year to cope with revenue losses.

However, the board asked Rozmaryn and his staff to plan for a 40-hour work week in the proposed 2012-2013 budget papers, and he did that.

He said some example revenue losses were a tobacco settlement to the county that was $71,000 less than anticipated, public guardian charges that were down $10,000 and Williamson Act conservation contract applications being down by $72,000.

As for talks with department heads, Supervisor Mike Murray said he knows what he will hear.

"They will say we can't do it, they are understaffed," Murray said. Things he has heard previously during past budget talks.

But he will talk with them , he said.

During the May 8 meeting, the board likely will re-appoint Murray and Board Chairman Steve Soeth to an ad hoc committee that will review budget options with the various departments.

The pair has done this in the past and pledged to do it again if that is the board's wish, they said.

Otherwise, the board took no other action Tuesday as cuts and changes will take time to study, supervisors said.

The county has until June 30 to pass a 2012-13 budget, and that could even be extended until October if necessary, officials said.

Contact Rick Longley at 934-6800 or rlongley@tcnpress.com.