Budget presented to Board of Supervisors
Financial future of county library district creates concerns
Yuma County staff’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2017-18 was formally presented for the first time Monday to the county Board of Supervisors, with an overview of a document which will be dissected during two days of budget meetings next week.
The total $244 million plan does not currently include any property tax rate increases, but County Administrator Susan Thorpe highlighted the fiscal status of the county library district, which according to the county’s long-term financial forecast is on track to run out of all cash reserves operations by 2021, assuming a conservative 1.5 percent annual growth in property tax revenue.
“The last year projected to have a fund balance, which is fiscal year 19-20, is projected to have a fund balance of $595,000,” Thorpe said. “Obviously we need to make sure we have some stabilization of that fund in the long term.”
Yuma County property owners are charged a separate property tax rate to pay for operations at the library district, which has eight locations from San Luis to Roll. The district’s total recommended budget for the upcoming year is $14.6 million, a 3 percent decrease from the year before. Total reserve and contingency funds are shown at just under $3 million.
In previous years the district had an oversized fund reserve it was trying to spend down, Thorpe said, and now it’s gotten to the tipping point; the recommended fund balance for the library district is about $3 million.
The library district’s property tax rate is currently $0.6262 per $1,000 in limited property value, and Thorpe showed a slide outlining how much additional money would be generated for the libraries by raising that rate to $0.6404 over a four-year period: $533,000, assuming growth
of 1 percent.
District 2 Supervisor Russell McCloud said, “I’d like to see a plan that says, OK, we’re going to reduce expenses, so we don’t have to increase taxes. There’s more than one way to stabilize that budget. Just like any budget can do, reduce your expenses. I would prefer that.”
Board Chairman Tony Reyes said the cost of running the county government is going up, even as the number of people on the payroll goes down when vacant positions are eliminated.
“Yes, cut as much as you can, reduce every possible cost of running government, but at the end of the day, we have a responsibility to make sure the government we manage runs efficiently, but also doesn’t get into a crisis decision when people don’t make the decisions they have to make sometimes,” he said.
The budget for the library and other county departments will be scrutinized during special budget meetings for the board, staff and public Tuesday and Wednesday, both starting 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ auditorium, 198 S. 1st Ave. Adoption of the tentative budget is scheduled for May 15, and adoption of the final budget for June 19.
Thorpe said there are concerns with the fund balances in other areas of the budget. The most common recommendation is for governments to have reserve funds equal to about 15 to 20 percent of the total budget. The proposed budget transfers about $850,000 out of the General Fund’s reserve to cover rising costs in other areas, leaving reserves at the 15 percent mark at $14.3 million.
“As we move forward into the coming fiscal year, we plan to reduce and/or eliminate any structural imbalances in the General Fund, or any other fund,” Thorpe said. “Yuma County is financially strong, especially compared to the years following the Great Recession. So my intent as county administrator, now that we have a longrange financial plan, is to fully utilize that long-range plan.”
Other county budget pressures include continuing spikes in contributions to public pension costs, expected revenue loss and mandated spending from the state budget, and replacing outdated equipment including vehicles; next year’s proposed budget includes 20 new vehicles for the sheriff’s department and six for the assessor’s office.
The fiscal plan recommends a total property tax rate of $3.6262 per $100 of limited property value, slightly down from the current year. Out of that, 2.4884 would go into the General Fund, 0.6202 to the library district, another 0.2562 to library district debt service (down nearly 2 cents, the only change from the 201617 budget), and 0.2794 to the flood control district.
The proposed budget includes a 2.02 percent pay increase for all employees, and several positions will also get a market-based increase, according to the document. The medical insurance premium is inching up by two percent, but there are slight decreases to the county’s contribution to dependent coverage.
Other major expenses being budgeted for include increases in state pension plan contributions, rising costs under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and mental health care services, replacement of vehicles, phone systems and other equipment, plus continued cost shifts expected from the state budget, which also has not been finalized. Also Monday, the board:
• Approved construction plans for a drainage improvement project along North Frontage Road between Fortuna Road and Foothills Boulevard, as well for sending the project out to bid and an amendment to an agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation regarding the project.
• Called off an auction for a county-owned property at 12107 S. Sandra Ave. in the Foothills, with a minimum bid of $64,350, after the county attorney’s office said there had not been enough advertisements to meet legal requirements. No prospective bidders were on hand.
• Heard a presentation on Yuma Visitors Bureau activities from Executive Director Linda Morgan.
• A work session will be held after the regular meeting on the county’s communications division’s activities, programs and possible improvements.