Property tax revenues help fatten budget

By Maveric Vu

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Posted: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11:11 AM CDT

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors crunched the final numbers in the 2006-07 county budget Friday morning at the Cal Works Building in San Andreas. Increased property tax revenues allowed for a little extra money to be passed out this year.

“We’re in better shape in this year’s budget than in past years,” said Supervisor Thomas Tryon, District 4, after the hearing. “We’ve had a good economy and real estate market.”

However, Tryon and other board members said they were aware that the surplus might not happen again next year.

The three-hour final budget hearing brought together the board and many of the county’s department heads, who showed up to request additional money for their offices.

Many of the requests revolved around funding to fill vacant positions and to buy equipment for specific projects. County Chief Probation Officer Michael Kriletich requested money for furniture to fill the empty space in his department’s new office.

According to the county Administrative Office’s budget recommendation, there was a surplus of about $400,000 going into Friday’s deliberations. While available General Fund money was up 11 percent from last year, there was not enough to fund any new staff positions for county departments.

The county Assessor’s office was one of the several departments that stated it needed funding for an added staff position. Even a bribe of homegrown tomatoes from county Assessor Grant Metzger couldn’t sway the board’s actions.

“They really liked chocolate,” Metzger said, who has given gifts during budget hearings in past years. “I get nothing back usually.”

While no new positions were granted, the board did allocate funds toward department requests.

The county Sheriff’s department was awarded $11,500 to go toward dispatch deputy training. About $10,000 was given to the county Environmental Health department for West Nile virus mosquito control equipment.

Near the end of the hearing, the board had a split vote on the allocation of $2,300 that would go toward the Calaveras Volunteer Center. Supervisors Bill Claudino, District 1, Steve Wilensky, District 2, and Victoria Erickson, District 5, supported the funding of community service groups. Supervisor Tryon and chairwoman Merita Callaway, District 3, opposed it.

The two supervisors who were opposed said the county has been able to successfully wean community groups off of county funding, allowing them to be self-sufficient.

With funding for the volunteer center going through, there was a remainder of $9,000 worth of requests with only $5 available in the budget balance. Callaway pushed to find a way to allocate money towards training costs for the Technology Services department and Wilensky’s request to fund a translator for county probation.

Both department heads withdrew their requests in the “spirit of negotiation,” after the board failed to find a way to squeeze in the $9,000.

Callaway and Wilensky said this year’s final hearing was tame in comparison to past years, where arguments and debates delayed the final budget for several hours. While the surplus from property tax may be a one-time occurrence, Wilensky said the extra money available for allocation helped make this year’s negotiations much smoother.

According to the Administrative report, there was a positive balance of about $3.8 million accumulated through careful spending and delays in proposed department reorganizations.

However, Administrative Officer Tom Mitchell said the county’s reliance on cash carried over from last year to fund this year’s budget is a dangerous situation.

Relying on cash carry is extremely dangerous, Mitchell said during the hearing, because should there be an emergency, there would be no extra monies available.

Supervisor Tryon, who has been on the board since 1984, said the issue of cash carry has always been a component of the final budget and its use must be planned for. He said he was more concerned with the county’s reliance on property taxes.

While concerns over the county budget may be on the horizon, the 2006-07 budget has been finalized for yet another year.

As the three-hour mark was reached Friday, Supervisor Tryon said, “Why don’t we just pay for the tomatoes and call it a day?”

Contact Maveric Vu at mvu@calaverasenterprise.com.

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