To: Board of Supervisors/Directors/Commissioners/Directors of the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District of the County of Sonoma
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Peter Bruland: 707-565-2431
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget Hearings
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution adopting the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget and Position Allocation Listing and final Board direction for all entities governed by the Board of Supervisors/Directors/Commissioners (Tab 13)
B) Adopt a Resolution approving the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget for the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District (Tab 13)
C) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution establishing Fiscal Year 2023-24 appropriations limits for the County and Board of Supervisors-governed special districts, County Services Areas, and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Tab 12)
D) Adopt Revised Financial and Budget Policies (Tab 11)
E) Adopt Supplemental Budget Adjustments (Tab 8)
F) Make a finding that any expenditures to community organizations that are receiving funding as a part of the Budget Deliberation process during these budget hearings are in compliance with Government Code Section 26227, and that these expenditures are “necessary to meet the social needs of the population of the County, and to authorize the County Administrator to execute agreements to fund approved requests.”
G) Designate the County Administrator or her designee to execute agreements to implement any items funded as part of these Budget Hearings and included in the Budget Hearing Deliberation Tool (Tab 3)
H) Authorize Departments, in coordination with and oversight by the Human Resources Department, to administer layoff proceedings in accordance with Civil Service Rule 11: Layoffs, and authorize Human Resources to implement strategies to mitigate layoffs to the extent possible if necessary (Tab 9)
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Executive Summary:
Public hearings on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Recommended Budget will begin on June 13, 2023 and will continue each day, not to exceed fourteen (14) calendar days, until the budget is adopted. In addition, the Board will establish appropriations limits in compliance with Article XIII B of the State Constitution for FY 2023-24.
The discussion in this memo highlights a few key elements of the Recommended Budget. The Recommended Budget and additional materials for budget hearings available at: < https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports> <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports> provide in depth information on administrative details associated with the budget as well as areas of policy updates.
The schedule and a detailed description of the binder contents can be found in Tab 1 of the above-mentioned budget binder materials.
Discussion:
The total recommended uses (less operating transfers) for FY 2023-24 is $2.19 billion. This is financed by $1.97 billion in sources and $225 million in use of fund balance. Use of fund balance includes use of accumulated revenues or bond funding for capital projects and other one-time costs. Total use of fund balance is decreasing by $62.9 million from the FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget. Details regarding the overall recommended budget can be found on pages 11-16 of the Recommended Budget book and details associated with department’s budgets can be found within that book. The Recommended Budget is available here: <<https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Main%20County%20Site/Administrative%20Support%20%26%20Fiscal%20Services/CAO/Documents/Public%20Reports/Budget%20Reports/2023-24/FY-2023-24-Recommended-Budget-Webpage-Clickable-Table-Contents.pdf> >
In addition to the Recommended Budget, additional information for the Budget Hearings is compiled for the Board of Supervisors and the public to explain staff recommendations to adjust the budget before final adoption. The information (commonly referred to as the “Budget Hearing Materials Binder”) can be found on the County’s Budget Reports webpage: < https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports> <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports>.
Budget Hearings were preceded by Spring Budget Workshops (April 25-27, 2023) in which departments presented an overview of their FY 2023-24 Recommended Budgets. The workshop materials and departmental PowerPoint presentations are available here: <https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?m=l&id=/matter.aspx?key=10037>.
The information available in the Budget Hearing Materials includes:
1) A brief overview of the budget and an overview of materials in the Binder and schedule for budget hearings;
2) A memo outlining Available Revenue Sources that the Board may program at Budget Hearings;
3) The Budget Hearing Deliberation tool which illustrates various budget requests, as well as outlines County Administrator Recommendations;
4) A memo discussing the General Fund Reserves;
5) Reports providing details on Add Back and Program Change Requests submitted by departments;
6) Requests for funding submitted by Board members;
7) Board Inquiry Requests for additional information on various topics related to the budget and responses from staff;
8) Supplemental Adjustments to the FY 2023-24 Recommended budget;
9) A summary of position changes from the FY 2022-23 Revised Budget to present;
10) A memo discussing fund balances in the various funds controlled by the County and special districts under the control of the Board of Supervisors/Directors;
11) An update to County Financial Policies;
12) Resolution updating the Proposition 4 Appropriations Limit (Gann Limit) for FY 2023-24;
13) Resolutions adopting the FY 2023-24 budget, which will establish the appropriations and positions approved for fiscal year starting on July 1, 2023.
Layoff Administration and Mitigation Strategies
The recommended budget includes potential layoffs of a 1.0 time-limited Department Analyst in the Economic Development Board. The department has requested that this position be continued, and the CAO has recommended them for funding (Tab 3). However, if the adoption of the FY 2023-24 County budget results in the reduction of any allocated positions that are currently encumbered, Human Resources seeks authorization from the Board to work with departments to administer layoff proceedings, effective October 3, 2023, in accordance with the Sonoma County Civil Service Rules, specifically Rule 11: Layoffs.
Further, Human Resources seeks approval to implement strategies, effective between now and October, to mitigate employee impacts and minimize the number of potential job losses to the extent reasonably possible.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 1: Strengthen operational effectiveness, fiscal reliability, and accountability
Objective: Objective 3: Ensure County budget process and information are understandable, accessible, and in a format that enables the public to identify County investments and funding for major initiatives and services.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Please refer to the Executive Summary Budget Overview on pages 11-16 of the Recommended Budget for financial details associated with the FY 2023-24 Recommended Budget.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Please refer to Exhibit D of the Sonoma County Budget Resolution (Tab 13) for position allocation details included in the Recommended Budget.
Of note, there are 3.7 positions that have historically been allocated in the County Administrator’s Budget. In order to improve efficiency in managing payroll and budget, these positions will be moved from the County Administrator’s budget and into LAFCO’s department budget as part of these Budget Hearing actions. No other changes will be made to the relationship between LAFCO and the County. This change is included in Tab 13 - Resolutions; Exhibit D, which illustrates all position allocation changes being proposed as part of these Budget Hearing Deliberations.
Attachments:
Resolutions
PowerPoint Presentations
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Recommended Budget
Budget Hearing Materials (Link)