Nosedive in revenues has Placer supervisors bracing for spending talks
Revenues continue to drop, with state providing major hit
Placer County staff and supervisors signaled Tuesday that they’re girding for more tough budget decisions spurred by an increasingly smaller revenue stream. With millions in funding grabs from the state all but certain and the county’s own tax revenues continuing to weaken, more potentially painful decisions on spending will have to be made this month, the board was told by a four-member budget team and County CEO Tom Miller. “These are truly unprecedented times,” said Jeff Bell, chief budget analyst. Last week, with a budget pact finally in place with the state, the county got its first glimpse at what amounts to a further $17.5 million drop in revenue from state takeaways and reductions. Additional decreases in sales tax, property tax and other revenues mean staff and supervisors will be trying to dig the county out of a $26 million hole when a budget workshop takes place Aug. 18 and 19 in Auburn. Bell, who worked for the state for nine years, including the Department of Finance for five, said he’d never seen anything like what he witnessed this year in the Capitol. The county now has to deal with “the mess that came out and the hit we’re going to take at the local level,” Bell said. After finding ways to tighten an initial projected $18 million shortfall in this year’s budget, the county emerged in June with a tentative spending plan that anticipated a bigger shortfall as the summer progressed and a divided Legislature and governor worked out from under a $26 billion deficit projection. This year marks the first time in recent memory that the county will not increase its overall budget. It was tentatively set at $769 million in late May and represents an 11.1 percent drop from last year. Now it’s bound to drop even lower, supervisors were told. The single greatest impact from the state budget is the suspension of Proposition 1A and a property-tax “loan” of between $8 million and $11.1 million from the general fund. The loss in tax funding to the state will give the county that much less money to help prop up other programs reeling from state cuts, including Health and Human Services. The estimated impact on that department’s budget is $5 million to $6 million. Miller compared it to a large bucket with property tax money that used to fill smaller buckets now being itself emptied. Supervisors said they expect the state cuts to continue. “We have to realize that the state was running a structural budget deficit in good times and is going to continue to do so,” Supervisor Kirk Uhler said. “I don’t see how the budget or the state is going to fix itself,” Supervisor Robert Weygandt said. “It won’t turn around – as it has done in the past – completely. We need to look at three or four years down the road.” The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.
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The budget can fix itself.... Cut freak'n FAT. Get the excess spending on illegals under control. Quit being a welfare state! It is a shame our elected are idiots that cannot live within the means! How does LA county spend 334 million a MONTH!
Quick, make sure that Miller and his good old boys and girls get their raises before the door slams shut.
So a vacant position for three years is now filled at $92,000/year. Assitant CEO just received a raise to $166.00/hour. And the people who protect us are going to have to give up part of their salary? Just wait until the next election, if not sooner....
I agree... cut some of the fat off. It's the government so I'm sure that there's waytoo much going on in regards to wasted money. I know there was in the Navy.
"now that we got these raises out of the way, let's make some tuff cuts."
What are you whining about "ill lee gals" for ? I don't see any "illegals" marrying supervisors for jobs ! They're the ones doing all the landscaping grunt work for $10/hr so these jokers can go golfing in their spare time.
A $10 an hour job paid under the table is worth at least $15.00. We have people that refuse to work because they are subsidized by government programs. Cut-off the program and those that are sitting around would displace illegals if they want to have anything. Cut the public welfare starting with high paid executives along with those that are being paid to stay at home that are capable of working.
Our county is in financial crisis and the board of sups. is handing out pay raisesa! WHAT?? Pay raises! Yes pay raises to executives salaries. Six figure income pay raises when we are in a financial meltdown! WOW!! Well thats America land of the free for you. Pay your taxes so the execs can live thre good life. How can this be justified? It can't. that's how> If our economy was stable and there were numerous options for a C.E.O. to find a better paying job, then it would be. But as we all know that is not the case. Therefore, this is an atrocity commited against us citezens. When a company is losing money it cuts jobs and implements hiring and wage freezes. That's responsible. That's what we ought do now in our county.
Our county is in financial crisis and the board of sups. is handing out pay raisesa! WHAT?? Pay raises! Yes pay raises to executives salaries. Six figure income pay raises when we are in a financial meltdown! WOW!! Well thats America land of the free for you. Pay your taxes so the execs can live thre good life. How can this be justified? It can't. that's how> If our economy was stable and there were numerous options for a C.E.O. to find a better paying job, then it would be. But as we all know that is not the case. Therefore, this is an atrocity commited against us citezens. When a company is losing money it cuts jobs and implements hiring and wage freezes. That's responsible. That's what we ought do now in our county.
So, after the ruckus over budget cuts exactly what have the Supervisors done to make things right? Nothing, that’s what. They still have their raises and its business as usual at the Domes. They screw the people in Placer County and the county workers, then act as if nothing has happened insinuating that if they ignore the peoples outrage and cries for change long enough they will eventually forget all about it and go away. What a cavalier attitude from the selected elite and their “friends”. Disgusting!!!
Transparency in government, it’s what the people deserve
Loomisresident,
They have, Miller and hIs staff recently gave themselves a 10% pay raise. At the same time, Miller and the County Supervisors are cutting the pay and benefits of hundred's of Placer County employees as well as forcing furlough day's without pay, of course......................Slam!!!