BACKGROUND
State law requires that the Board adopt the annual budget by October 2 of each year. The attached budget resolution is based on the 2019-20 Recommended Budget as approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 11, 2019, and as revised by the recommendations included in this report. These recommendations have been reviewed with the Chair and Vice Chair in accordance with the Board’s Governance Manual.
A – 2018-19 Budget Adjustment – Mental Health
The Health and Human Services Agency’s (HHSA) mental health budget ended in a deficit for fiscal year 2018-19. This funding deficit is caused in part by recent Statewide changes to the In-Home Supportive-Services (IHSS) Maintenance of Effort (MOE), which redirected realignment growth from the mental health programs to social services to support the IHSS program. This redirection of funding does not reflect the local needs in Yolo County, where the need for realignment funding has been greater for mental health services than social services.
The deficit is further caused by escalating costs associated with Institutes for Mental Disease (IMD), which are hospitals, nursing facilities, and other institutions that are primarily engaged in providing diagnosis, treatment, or care of persons with mental diseases. HHSA is required to fund placements in IMDs when needed by our mental health consumers, but costs associated with these placements continue to increase.
Staff have identified two flexible funding sources that may be used to address this deficit in 2018-19 as described below.
Reallocation of Realignment Funding
Each year, the County of Yolo receives 2011 Realignment funding in accordance with California Government Code, Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 6.3 [30025 - 30029.12]. Per this code, each County is responsible for creating a County Local Revenue Fund 2011, which includes multiple accounts and subaccounts that receive realignment funding. Within the Support Services Account, each County is responsible for creating a Protective Services Subaccount and a Behavioral Health Subaccount.
The amounts to be deposited within each account and subaccount are determined by the State of California on an annual basis. However, within the Support Services Account, any county may annually reallocate up to 10% of the amount deposited in the immediately preceding year in the subaccount with the lowest balance. In order to complete such a reallocation, the county must document before its governing body that the reallocation was based on the most cost-effective use of available resources to maximize client outcomes. Additionally, the reallocation may only be in effect for the year in which the reallocation was made, and the county shall forward a copy of the documentation to the State Controller.
Based on this process, the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) is requesting that the Yolo County Board of Supervisors approve a reallocation of funds within the County Local Revenue Fund 2011, from the Protective Services Subaccount to the Behavioral Health Subaccount. In fiscal year 2018-19, total receipts to the Protective Services Subaccounts were equal to $11,794,086.52. HHSA is requesting approval of the Board to transfer 10% of those receipts ($1,179,408.65) from the Protective Services Account (known locally as the Social Services fund) to the Behavioral Health Subaccount (known locally as the Mental Health fund).
Appropriation of Intergovernmental Transfer (IGT) Funding
Each year HHSA seeks to secure federal financial support for services delivered to the Medi-Cal population that have not previously received federal matching funds. The mechanism for securing these funds involves an intergovernmental transfer (IGT) process, through an agreement with the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). The IGT process requires that Yolo County transfer local funding to DHCS, who uses the funds to draw down additional federal matching funds. DHCS then transfers the original county funds along with the federal matching funds (minus an administrative fee) to the local Medi-Cal Health Plan (in Yolo County this is Partnership Health Plan of California). Partnership then awards these funds to their partnering entities, including Yolo County.
The funding amount received from Partnership each year is variable, and HHSA often does not know the exact funding amount until payment is received by the County. This year, HHSA received IGT funding for fiscal year 2017-18 in an amount greater than expected and appropriated it in the 2018-19 budget. Appropriating these increased funds in the amount of $1,726,861 in fiscal year 2018-19 and using them would assist with filling the funding deficit in core mental health.
Budget Resolution and Next Steps
Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve the mental health Budget Resolution (Attachment A) allowing HHSA to direct flexible funding sources towards the services where they are most needed and close the mental health deficit in fiscal year 2018-19. The increasing need for flexible mental health funding reflects a continuing trend, not just in Yolo County, but statewide and nationally, in which local communities struggle to fully fund mental health services due to an expanding population in need of services and increasing costs.
B - Preliminary Fund Balance Report
The Preliminary Fund Balance Report (Attachment B) is a general accounting of the fund balances for all funds as of June 30, 2019. Fund balance used or not available indicates amounts that are either appropriated for use in 2019-20 or that are not available for current spending (such as prepaid expenses and inventories). The available fund balances are those remaining amounts that have not already been appropriated for use in 2019-20 and are available to be used in the manner outlined in statute. The Level of Restriction column identifies how much flexibility the Board has in directing the use of those available funds. It should be noted that the fund balances in this report are preliminary and therefore subject to change.
C – 2019-20 Adopted Budget
State law requires that the County adopt the annual budget no later than October 2. On June 11, 2019 the Board approved the 2019-20 Recommended Budget, which provided appropriation authority until the Adopted Budget is approved. The proposed 2019-20 Adopted Budget incorporates changes to the Recommended Budget based on revised revenue projections, available fund balances, additional department requests and Board priorities.
As described in the following sections, additional year-end fund balances have allowed for a number of one-time department requests to be funded. However, the balances currently available are not sufficient to fund all department requests, and thus efforts have been made to identify the highest priority items to fund. In addition, while modest increases in general purpose revenues have allowed for limited investment in new ongoing costs, revenue growth is not adequate to fund most new General Fund position requests.
In total, the proposed Adopted Budget includes a net increase of 13.5 new positions, of which 11.5 are funded with state or federal revenues, including several limited term positions funded with grants. Due to limited growth in the County’s ongoing general purpose revenues, only two new General Fund positions are recommended at this time. The 2019-20 Recommended Budget included a net increase of eight General Fund positions, including 12 new positions that were required to adequately staff the Monroe Jail expansion. However, to help fund the cost of this obligation, five General Fund positions were also eliminated at that time.
The table below provides a summary of the new positions already approved in the Recommended Budget on June 11, 2019:
New Positions Approved at Recommended Budget
| Dept |
Position |
FTE |
Funding |
| AG |
Admin Clerk |
1.0 |
Department revenue |
| AG |
Ag & Standards Inspector |
1.0 |
Department revenue |
| DA |
Deputy District Attorney IV |
1.0 |
Consumer Fraud |
| DCS |
Senior Solid Waste Attendant |
0.5 |
Landfill |
| DFS |
Accounting Technician |
1.0 |
Treasury Pool |
| GSD |
Systems Software Specialist II |
1.0 |
HHSA reimbursement |
| GSD |
Facility Project Coordinator |
1.0 |
HHSA reimbursement |
| HHSA |
HHSA Program Coordinator |
1.0 |
Fed/Realignment |
| HHSA |
Admin Services Analyst-Program |
1.0 |
Fed/Realignment |
| HHSA |
Public Health Nurse |
1.0 |
State/Realignment |
| HHSA |
Public Assistance Specialist III-IEVS |
1.0 |
Federal |
| HHSA |
Social Services Assistant |
1.0 |
Fed/State |
| HHSA |
Public Assistance Spec. II |
6.0 |
State |
| HHSA |
Child Welfare Worker II |
6.0 |
Fed/Realignment |
| HHSA |
Social Worker Supervisor II |
1.0 |
Fed/Realignment |
| HHSA |
Behavioral Health Case Manager II |
1.0 |
CCP |
| PROB |
Deputy Probation Officer II |
1.0 |
CCP |
| PROB |
Youth Construction Crew Assistant |
0.5 |
Department revenue |
| PROB |
Youth Construction Crew Assistant |
0.5 |
Department revenue |
| Sheriff |
Patrol Deputies |
2.0 |
Tribal Funds |
| Sheriff |
Detention - Correctional Officers |
10.0 |
General Fund |
| Sheriff |
Detention - Facility Cooks |
2.0 |
General Fund |
| Sheriff |
Deputy Coroner |
1.0 |
General Fund |
| CAO |
Airport Operations Manager |
(0.5) |
Airport |
| CAO |
Capital Project Manager |
(1.0) |
General Fund |
| DA |
Deputy District Attorney IV |
(2.0) |
General Fund |
| DA |
Fiscal Administrative Officer |
(1.0) |
General Fund |
| DCS |
Senior Planner |
(1.0) |
General Fund |
| |
Net Net Positions (Total) |
37.0 |
|
| |
Net New Positions (General Fund) |
8.0 |
|
The table below provides a summary of the new positions recommended in the Adopted Budget, as well as requested positions that are not recommended at this time.
Adopted Budget Recommended New Positions
| Dept |
Position |
FTE |
Funding |
Program |
| ACE |
Assessor Clerk-Recorder Assistant I (LT) |
1.0 |
Grant Funded |
Assessor |
| CAO |
Chief Information/Technology Officer |
1.0 |
General Fund |
IT |
| DA |
Outreach Specialist II (LT) |
1.0 |
Grant |
Neighborhood Court |
| DA |
Legal Secretary II (LT) |
1.0 |
Grant |
Neighborhood Court |
| DA |
Paralegal (LT) |
1.0 |
Grant |
Neighborhood Court |
| GSD |
Programmer Analyst III |
1.0 |
HHSA |
Business Intelligence |
| HHSA |
IHSS Adult Services Worker |
1.0 |
State |
IHSS |
| HHSA |
Behavioral Health Case Mgr. II (LT) |
1.0 |
Grant |
CA Hospitals |
| HHSA |
HHSA Manager I |
1.0 |
Realignment |
Public Health |
| HHSA |
HHSA Program Coordinator |
2.0 |
Realignment |
Public Health |
| HHSA |
Administrative Services Analyst |
1.0 |
Realignment |
Public Health |
| HHSA |
Senior Administrative Services Analyst |
1.0 |
Realignment |
Public Health |
| HHSA |
Outreach Specialist |
1.0 |
Realignment |
Public Health |
| PROB |
Legal Secretary |
(0.5) |
Department |
Administration |
| SHER |
Deputy Sheriff |
1.0 |
General Fund |
Capay Resident Deputy |
| |
Total New Positions |
13.5 |
|
|
The table below reflects new position requests that are not recommended at this time.
Requested Positions Not Recommended
| Dept |
Position |
FTE |
Funding |
Program |
| ACE |
Elections Technician |
1.0 |
General Fund |
|
| DFS |
Procurement Technician (LT) |
1.0 |
General Fund |
|
| DFS |
Property Tax Accounting Technician |
1.0 |
General Fund |
|
| HHSA |
Business Intelligence |
1.0 |
HHSA |
|
| SHER |
Patrol Deputies |
2.0 |
General Fund |
Homeless Outreach |
| SHER |
Resident Deputy |
1.0 |
General Fund |
Knights Landing/Dunnigan |
| SHER |
Deputy Recruit Trainees (LT) |
2.0 |
General Fund |
Management |
| SHER |
IT Coordinator |
1.0 |
General Fund |
|
| |
Total New Positions |
10.0 |
|
|
While the Adopted Budget provides for limited increases in General Fund spending, it continues to support the County’s long-term financial sustainability by continuing to build reserves, fund contingencies, and make progress toward funding the County’s long-term pension and OPEB liabilities. In addition, investments are being recommended in Information Technology that will increase efficiency and automation in future years.
Over the past several years, the County’s fiscal climate has been tightening and dependency on external funding sources such as state and federal funds has increased. Much of the growth in discretionary revenues has been consumed by sharp increases in required PERS contributions, while staffing obligations such as for the Monroe Jail expansion have applied further budgetary strain. These fiscal pressures have been effectively managed by limiting new expenditure growth especially in the General Fund and relying on fund balances resulting from high vacancy rates; however, additional challenges are on the horizon. The current 5-year financial forecast projects General Fund balances to turn negative in the next two or three years absent corrective action. In addition, any decline in economic growth would exacerbate the fiscal imbalance. Should this scenario begin to emerge, actions to achieve budgetary savings such as hiring freezes and deferral of capital expenditures would be quickly implemented.
With this backdrop in mind, the recommended 2019-20 Adopted Budget continues to strike a balance between funding current needs and preparing for future realities. The sections below describe the additional appropriations and changes in reserves that are recommended in the 2019-20 Adopted Budget.
General Fund
The General Fund ended 2018-19 with a preliminary estimated available fund balance of approximately $13.4 million, which is in line with the prior year but slightly higher than in previously years due to abnormally high vacancy rates. The table below shows the unassigned General Fund balance over the past five years.
| 2014-15 Actual |
2015-16 Actual |
2016-17 Actual |
2017-18 Actual* |
2018-19 Preliminary |
| $11,627,444 |
$8,434,599 |
$9,280,022 |
$13,653,833 |
$13,436,955 |
| * Does not include $3.5M from one-time SB90 reimbursement. |
In anticipation of higher fund balances resulting from the vacancy rates, the 2019-20 Recommended Budget included approximately $8.3 million in estimated carryforward fund balance as a funding source. As a result, $5.2 million in additional fund balance is available for appropriation in the Adopted Budget. While available fund balances have been high for several years, if the economy begins to turn down the vacancy rate would shrink rapidly and this level of carryforward will not be available. As such, fund balances continue to be used for one-time purposes in accordance with Board policy.
In addition, the projected 2019-20 general purpose on-going revenues have been revised to reflect an increase of approximately $473,537. The growth in property assessments attributed to $935,400 but that growth was offset by decreases in the Teeter transfer, ($400,000) and sales tax,($154,600). In FY 2018-19, the Teeter transfer to the general fund was $1.2 million, lower than in prior years by nearly $2.0 million. This is due to an increase in tax delinquencies and the need for a higher Teeter reserve as required by statute. The sales tax revenue projection for FY 2019-20 was reduced to acknowledge one-time adjustments in the calculation. In the other revenue sources, there were modest revenue increases in A87 cost reimbursements, Williamson Act, and Tribal proceeds but these were offset by minor revenue decreases in interest earnings, TOT tax, legal services revenue, and document transfer taxes, for a net increase of approximately $104,500.
The table below provides a summary of the recommended additional General Fund funding sources and uses. Attachment C provides a detailed listing of the recommended funding uses, as well as department requests that are not recommended for funding.
2019-20 Adopted Budget General Fund Summary
| Funding Sources |
2019-20 Recommended |
2019-20
Adopted |
Additional Funding |
| Fund Balance |
8,309,767 |
13,436,955 |
5,127,188 |
| General Purpose |
80,306,781 |
80,780,319 |
473,537 |
| Total |
88,616,548 |
94,217,274 |
5,600,725 |
| |
|
|
|
| Funding Uses |
|
|
Additional
Uses |
| Ongoing |
|
|
473,537 |
| One-Time |
|
|
5,127,188 |
| Total |
|
|
5,600,725 |
| |
|
|
|
| Department Requests Not Funded |
|
3,276,954 |
The following sections provide a narrative description for each of the additional General Fund recommendations included in the 2019-20 Adopted Budget.
Chief Information/Technology Officer
The proposed Adopted Budget includes $181,478 to establish and fund a new Chief Information/Technology Officer position. This department head level position would oversee a new standalone Information Technology (IT) department. For many years, the County’s IT operations have been managed as a division within the General Services Department. While this arrangement served to operate and maintain the County’s IT infrastructure in a cost-effective manner, the demands for more complex and innovative IT solutions in recent years support a strengthened IT presence in the County’s organizational structure. In addition, the increasing threat of costly and damaging cyber attacks against local governments underscores the need to ensure the integrity of the County’s IT systems. As we look toward the future, and the likelihood that there simply won’t be the revenue growth to support new positions to address workload growth, it will be necessary to have increased automation of processes and services to capably serve our growing community.
Knights Landing Levee Repair
The proposed Adopted Budget includes $933,000 in matching funds for a grant to implement flood protection in Knights Landing. It is anticipated that approximately $28 million in grant funds will become available in the fall of 2019 by the State Department of Water Resources for implementation of Small Communities Flood Risk Reduction studies. The County has undertaken three such studies (Clarksburg, Knights Landing, and Yolo) and intends to apply for the full funding allocation for implementation of the Knights Landing Flood Risk Reduction Study. The local match is 10%, or approximately $2.8 million; however, implementation is expected to take three years. As such, the 2019-20 Adopted Budget includes one-third of the overall grant match.
Grand Jury
It is recommended that an additional $15,647 in ongoing funding be allocated to the Grand Jury. In recent fiscal years, the operating budget for the Grand Jury has been over budget, prompting the group to complete a comparative funding analysis with the Grand Juries of other counties of similar size in square miles (Calaveras and Del Norte counties) and population (Butte and El Dorado counties). Results of that study indicate that the Yolo County Grand Jury does have a relatively smaller budget than the majority of the counties analyzed. This increase will bring the Grand Jury into closer alignment with the operating budgets of those counties and past experience.
Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Elections
The proposed Adopted Budget for Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Elections (ACE) includes a general-fund contribution of $151,808 as matching funds for implementation of the State Supplementation for County Assessors’ Program. The program is intended to assist Assessors in performing property assessments through one limited-term Assessor-Clerk Recorder I position and various technological improvements. ACE requested, and was granted, approval to apply for this program and requested a total of $264,267 in matching funds over two fiscal years at the July 23, 2019 Board of Supervisors meeting. The department was notified of selection for participation in the program on September 6, but was awarded a reduced amount. As such, the county contribution has also been reduced from $264,267 to $213,652. The department will require the balance of approved match funding ($61,844) in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Staff also recommends funding ACE an additional $80,000 in general fund in order to secure a new Elections printing and support services contract ($30,000), for an increase in Extra Help funding ($45,000) and to help support the second annual Youth Empowerment Summit ($5,000). The total Elections printing contract is in the amount of $375,000, but is offset by use of a $200,000 Elections Contingency fund and $145,000 in appropriated funding, both already approved during the Recommended budget process. Under this contract, ACE will receive expanded printing services for the 2020 Presidential Primary, along with automation of support services, (envelop stuffing, etc.,) previously completed in-house. Additional extra help funding ($45,000) is in order to bring the budget in line with actuals incurred by the department in previous fiscal years, and is largely related to temporary support required by the department during the lead up to annual elections.
The Yolo County Youth Empowerment Summit (YES!) is a day-long event hosted by ACE that is intended to empower and encourage youth to take on leadership roles and civic engagement in their local communities. The first YES! event recently received one of only seven awards presented by the National Association of Election Officials for Promoting and Exemplifying Professional Principles and Standards. The requested funding of $5,000 for this event will assist in offsetting transportation and supply costs for the event.
Community Services
The proposed Adopted Budget for Building and Planning includes funding for 3.5 Civic Sparks Fellows, which provide resiliency work as it relates to various climate change initiatives. The majority of this expenditure is funded by revenue from external jurisdictions and agencies, however, an additional $2,000 in general fund match is being recommended.
Staff also recommends $50,000 in additional general fund for the Roads Division to issue a contract for completion of a drainage study in the town of Knights Landing.
County Administrator’s Office
The proposed Adopted Budget includes $40,000 for a one-time grant match to study the feasibility of an Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) park in Yolo County. The County was successful in its application to California State Parks for OHV Parks Planning funds. The total award is $152,000 with the County providing $40,000 in matching funds. The grant will be implemented through a collaborative effort between the General Services (Parks Division) and County Administrators Office (Natural Resources Division). The planning grant will fund a market analysis to determine if there is enough community and stakeholder support to sustain new OHV opportunities in Yolo County. Assuming there is enough demand, the grant will also fund a feasibility study to examine various opportunities for trail riding and development of an OHV park in the unincorporated county.
District Attorney (DA)
The proposed Adopted Budget includes $70,000 in one-time funding for the replacement of two aged and high mileage sedans. Fleet has recommended these replacements.
General Services
The proposed Adopted Budget for General Services includes $141,000 for one-time expenditures. The Facilities division includes $60,000 for the replacement of the security key card system at the Administration building and $66,000 for the replacement of two facilities pickups. Fleet has recommended these vehicles for replacement. The proposed Adopted Budget for the Parks division includes $15,000 for additional fencing for the dog park located at Grasslands Regional Park. This will complete the project and allow a safer environment for the dogs and visitors to the park.
Health & Human Services Agency
It is recommended that $115,094 be allocated to the Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA) to support General Assistance (GA) enhancements and Public Guardian document imaging. On July 23, 2019, the Board approved a series of updates to the General Assistance program, including a modest increase in the standard of aid. It is estimated that this benefit enhancement will result in a cost increase of $88,094 per year.
In addition, it is recommended that $25,000 be allocated to establish Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Advocacy services, which will assist individuals with specific impairments throughout the entire SSI application and appeal process. In addition to helping individuals gain access to benefits for which they are entitled, this program may have an ancillary financial benefit to the County as General Assistance funds that are paid out to individuals eligible for SSI may be recouped from the Federal Government after the individual is approved for SSI.
Finally, it is recommended that $17,000 be allocated to Public Guardian (PG) for extra help costs to support document imaging, which is part of the Corrective Action Plan in response to a 2017 audit. This cost is mostly offset by a $15,000 increase in state revenue in Veterans Services, which allows an equal amount of General Fund support to be repurposed for PG document scanning. As a result, the net additional General Fund support for this purpose is just $2,000.
Sheriff
The proposed Adopted Budget includes an additional $734,340 in one-time funding for the Sheriff’s Office, including $275,000 for the replacement of 14 aged IT servers on the Sheriff campus, $149,000 for the replacement of 25 tablet replacements for Deputies in the field, $73,375 for miscellaneous equipment and supplies for the 10 new jail Corrections Officers approved in the Recommended Budget, and $25,000 for training ammunition. Additional General Fund in the amount of $150,000 is being recommended to replace 2 Patrol vehicles, while an additional 2 Patrol vehicles will be replaced using the Sheriff’s Small and Rural special revenue fund. Adding these 4 vehicles to the 4 sheriff vehicles approved in Recommended budget totals 8 vehicles budgeted for replacement. Fleet and the Sheriff have not provided the specific vehicle to be replaced with the budget allocation of 8 vehicles but the vehicle list prepared by the Fleet Superintendent identifies over eight Sheriff vehicles as meeting criteria for replacement.
The proposed Adopted Budget includes $123,600 in one-time General Fund support for a new Capay Valley Resident Deputy position. This position will provide a larger Sheriff presence in the Capay Valley, and will be able to provide enforcement against illegal cannabis activity. The cost of this position is partially offset by $70,000 in existing General Fund dollars that will be freed up by the proposed Cannabis Tax Expenditure Plan, resulting in a net additional General Fund cost of $53,600. For 2019-20, this position is being funded with one-time resources, as this expense may be eligible for funding with cannabis tax revenues in future years.
The Adopted Budget for the Sheriff’s Office also includes $75,000 for a new patrol vehicle for the Capay Resident Deputy position, which is recommended to be funded as part of the Cannabis Tax Expenditure Plan.
Contingencies
The County policy on Fund Balance and Reserves identifies appropriations for contingencies as the first line of defense against uncertainty in the annual budget, and provides that the County Administrator will recommend a specific level of appropriation for contingency, usually between 1% - 3% of total budgeted expenditures. The proposed Adopted Budget includes $1,830,000 in appropriation for various contingencies, as outlined below. Use of any contingency funds will require subsequent approval by a 4/5 vote of the Board of Supervisors.
Health and Human Services Contingency – The proposed Adopted Budget includes $1,000,000 as a Health and Human Services Contingency. In addition, there is a $1.5 million unappropriated contingency for Health & Human Services that was set aside in prior years. Combined, the total Health and Human Services Contingency is $2.5 million or 1.6% of operating fund expenditures.
Public Safety Contingency – The proposed Adopted Budget includes $500,000 as a contingency for Public Safety. This amount is in addition to $500,000 that was approved in the 2019-20 Recommended Budget, for a total Public Safety Contingency of $1 million. The additional $500,000 recommended in the Adopted Budget will bring the Public Safety contingency to approximately 1.25% of total Public Safety Fund expenditures.
IT Innovation Contingency – It is recommended that $300,000 be used to establish an IT Innovation Contingency for IT projects and solutions identified throughout the fiscal year that result in efficiencies or enhanced customer service. In prior years, IT Innovation has been used to fund projects such as digital asset management, digital scanning, cybersecurity and eDiscovery software.
Sustainability Innovation Contingency – It is recommended that $30,000 be used to establish a Sustainability Innovation Contingency to be used to assist departments in achieving and implementing more environmentally sustainable practices. This contingency was advocated by the Yolo County Green Team, a group of employees working toward more sustainable practices by employees.
Energy Audit Contingency – Staff recommends that the $300,000 approved in the 2019-20 Recommended Budget be repurposed to help fund the additional contingencies and department requests described within this staff report. The results of the Trane energy audit assessment are expected in early October, and based upon the County’s agreement with Trane, if the results are not within the expected costs and proposed savings that were anticipated, the County will not be responsible for compensating the company for completion of the detailed energy audit assessment. If, however, the proposed energy project can meet the projected costs and savings promised by Trane, cost for completion of the assessment will become a component of the financed energy savings project. Should the proposed project meet costs and savings as promised, a financing package is anticipated to be brought back to the Board for approval later in the 19-20 fiscal year.
Reserves
To safeguard against future economic downturns and set aside funding for County needs and liabilities, it is recommended that additional funding be allocated to various reserves as detailed below:
General Reserve – It is recommended that an additional $1,096,619 be allocated to the General Reserve. The County Policy on Fund Balance and Reserves establishes a General Reserve target of 10% of average General Fund and Public Safety Fund expenditures. The 2019-20 Recommended Budget included $622,435 in additional funding to just maintain the reserve at the current 6% level. The recommended additional funding would increase the reserve level to 6.5%.
CIP Reserve – It is recommended that $250,000 be allocated to the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Reserve to set aside resources for future capital needs, such as the Yolo Library, Adult Day Health Center and proposed new Knights Landing Park and Animal Shelter projects.
Non-General Fund
Additional 2019-20 funding requests have been received that can be met through non-General Fund resources. A summary of these requests are provided below.
Rural Community Investment Program
The Rural Community Investment Program (RCIP) is a mechanism for advancing unaddressed programs, policies and initiatives in rural unincorporated areas. Previously, staff from the County Administrator’s Office and Yolo County Housing gathered information on the interests of the rural communities in an effort to target potential County and grant funding resources. Information was gathered through conducting town meetings in some of the rural areas. Staff also reviewed the needs identified in the action plans of Capay Valley, Clarksburg and Knights Landing, and in the Yolo County Agricultural Labor Study.
Investments recommended for 2019-20 were driven by prior outreach efforts and internally identified funding needs. Historically, the Rural Community Invest program has been funded with General Fund revenues. Due to budgetary constraints on the General Fund, staff is recommending the $240,000 in projects identified in the table below be funded with Cannabis Tax revenues. This proposed use of Cannabis Tax revenues is consistent with the general Cannabis Tax expenditure framework previously adopted by the Board.
| Rural Community Investment Proposal |
Amount |
| Guinda Vault Toilet |
$65,000 |
| Madison Water System Design and Engineering |
$50,000 |
| Poplar Street Bollards |
$5,000 |
| Clarksburg 1883 Schoolhouse |
$50,000 |
| Fire Response Rehab Trailer Supplies |
$20,000 |
| Esparto Streetscape |
$50,000 |
| Total: |
$240,000 |
Attachment D provides a brief description of each of the recommended RCIP allocations. It should be noted that the $65,000 for the Guinda vault toilet is recommended only for one-time installation costs; this funding amount does not include ongoing maintenance. County staff will collaborate with the community to assist in identifying local funding for maintenance of the toilet facility.
Additionally, in 2015-16 the Board appropriated $25,000 for National Flood Insurance Program relief activities, namely advocacy to seek a change in federal policy related to flood insurance premiums for agricultural buildings. However, this effort did not move forward as initially conceived. As such, staff is proposing this funding be repurposed to determine the base flood elevation of flood prone areas with the County, which in turn may reduce flood insurance premiums for affected properties.
Cannabis Tax Expenditure Plan
In 2018-19 the County generated approximately $780,000 in cannabis tax revenue. Pursuant to the County’s cannabis tax ordinance, staff drafted the recommended expenditure plan (Attachment E), which provides funding to each of the four funding priorities identified in the Board’s cannabis tax general framework (Criminal Enforcement of Illegal Cultivation, Early Childhood Intervention and Prevention, Youth Development, and Rural Infrastructure). The cannabis tax expenditure plan was shared with the Budget Ad-Hoc Subcommittee on July 23 and again on September 10. The Subcommittee expressed the need for rigorous performance measures and noted a concern with spreading funding across multiple program areas rather than targeting investments in larger amounts. The Subcommittee also requested that the Cannabis Tax Citizen’s Oversight Committee provide feedback on prioritizing a particular category. The expenditure plan was reviewed with the Cannabis Tax Citizen’s Oversight Committee on August 26. The Citizen’s Oversight Committee stressed the importance of child and youth programs, ensuring that rural portions of the County have access to such services and that such requirements be written into the prospective RFPs for those services. The Oversight Committee also recommended that the Board expend the currently unallocated funds.
Health & Human Services Emerging Needs Funding Request
In July 2017, the Board approved a new policy and procedure for the appropriation and allocation of resources from the Pomona fund. Under this revised approach, $225,000 will be appropriated each year in the Pomona fund and designated as a contingency for emerging health and human service needs. At any time throughout the year, organizations may request funding by submitting a written request to the Board of Supervisors or County Administrator’s Office. All funding requests will first be reviewed with the Board Chair and Vice Chair, and then placed on the Board agenda for consideration by the full Board of Supervisors.
In accordance with this new process, the proposed Adopted Budget includes a funding request from Three Sisters Garden for $3,000. The Broderick Summer Harvest project is to promote health and racial equity through community education, work with at-risk youth, and to provide high quality organic vegetables to low income and Native American communities located in West Sacramento. The request for funding will be used for participant stipends, insurance, harvest tools and gear, supplies needed for packaging and distribution and a portable wash station.
Accumulated Capital Outlay
The proposed Adopted Budget for Accumulated Capital Outlay includes $600,000 for replacement of the Gonzales Building roof, located at 25 N. Cottonwood Street in Woodland. The existing roof is approximately twenty years old, and is experiencing a number of recurring maintenance issues, including water leaks during the rainy season and increasing difficulty in accessing HVAC units. For the past eighteen months Trane has been completing an energy audit on the County’s behalf. The County expects Trane to identify HVAC units to upgrade for this location in order to begin long-term reduction of the County’s rising utility expenses. Staff recommends approval of this expenditure, as new HVAC packages should not be placed at the Gonzales roof until it is replaced.
Community Services
The proposed Adopted Budget for Building and Planning contains $60,000 in anticipated expenses related to a Department of Housing Grant for the development of preparing, adopting and implementing plans and housing policies. It also includes the use of $99,000 in available fund balance to fund revised Area Plan Updates and Climate Plan initiatives and an increase in revenue of $2,500 to offset staff time as it related to DIF fees. As the department continues to implement the Tyler Technologies’ EnerGov system as their new land use permitting software, minimal corrections to recommended appropriations for the annual cost of the system ($59,693) are also being recommended for approval.
The proposed Adopted Budget for Integrated Waste Management (IWM) includes an increase of $10,000 in the use of fund balance for the purchase of a forklift. Though the equipment was approved during recommended budget, the department prefers to purchase an electric forklift as opposed to a gas-fueled. Further, the department is requesting a revision to a previously approved appropriation for a $250,000 paving project as the budget for that work has been revised to $155,000. Staff recommends use of available appropriated funding to completed necessary excavation work at the landfill. Additionally, while IWM is currently seeking another means of Ag Mitigation there is a $300,000 reduction in their anticipated use of fund balance with regards to this project.
For Roads, the proposed Adopted Budget includes an increase of $100,000 in contract services for an assessment of pavement conditions along the entire Yolo County road network which will be utilized to identify future road improvement priorities. Staff also recommends approval of a $15,000 expenditure for completion of a fee study for the Public Works Division, which can be used to revise Yolo County Master fees as needed. The Adopted Budget also includes revisions to the contract with Probation for roadside garbage pickup services ($10,000), in addition to a $70,000 Flood District Study along State Highway 16 requested by the County Administrators Office. A $100,000 increase in services and supplies is also being recommended, as the division anticipates an increase in the price of the reflective elements used in roads signage. All of these requests are offset by an increase in the use of fund balance. Staff is also recommending minor adjustments to estimates revenues in the unit, with regarding to HUTA/SB1 funding (-$961) and the Yolobus budget ($9,679), which is housed within the Roads Division of Community Services.
The Adopted Budget for the Cannabis Taskforce includes $25,000 for a new fee study in anticipation of potential adjustments in cultivation fees, as well as potential new fees for any new type of licenses that may be approved in conjunction with the Comprehensive Land Use Ordinance.
District Attorney
The proposed Adopted Budget includes $687,500 in grant funds. As discussed in the Recommended Budget, the application had been submitted for the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG), but funding had not been awarded. For the Adopted Budget, the status is more clear and Yolo County will be awarded a three year grant totaling $2,145,000. In the Recommended Budget the General Fund funded a Legal Process Clerk and Paralegal. FY 2019-20, $570,945 from the JAG grant will now fund those two positions for the remaining portion of the year, along with new limited term Legal Process Clerk, Paralegal, and Outreach Specialist. The JAG grant will also hire two additional extra help positions.
The District Attorney has also received a Cal OES grant for marginalized victims, $38,088. The grant will be used to purchase 3 kiosks to be placed in key county offices and/or community based organizations to assist victims in filing Cal VCB (California Victims Compensation Board) forms, finding out about prisoner release/parole hearings, and other essential victim service information.
The District Attorney’s proposed Adopted Budget also includes $78,490 from the DNA Identification fund. This request supports one of their 2019-20 Goals and Objectives for genealogical DNA testing for cold case investigations. The intent is to hire a retired annuitant as extra help and contract with a lab to conduct genealogical testing. The budget also includes travel costs to interview witnesses.
General Services
The proposed Adopted Budget for General Services includes a carryforward amount from the Accumulated Capital Outlay for projects that were approved, but not completed in the 2018-19 fiscal year. Specifically, funding for the conversion of the software that remotely controls the County HVAC systems ($115,043), and a roof overlay for the 120 W. Main Street, Woodland campus ($162,500). Both projects are currently in progress and are anticipated to be completed in the 19-20 fiscal year.
Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA)
The proposed Adopted Budget for HHSA includes funding for eight new positions that are funded by state and federal revenues. Six of these new positions are part of a targeted spending plan to improve health outcomes that is funded by an increase in 1991 Health Realignment funds. With passage of Senate Budget Bill 104, Yolo County is now formally recognized as a County Medical Services Program (CMSP) member county. As a result, starting in 2019-20, the county will no longer be required to revert $2.1 million annually in county public health realignment revenue back to the state for the purposes of covering indigent care. With this additional public health revenue, HHSA is proposing the funds be utilized to shore up critical core public health services, while also expanding the department’s capacity to implement prevention and health equity initiatives.
These will include investments in: (1) a community Wellness and Prevention Initiative to support community programs that address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and child and youth focused prevention activities; (2) increasing the county’s capacity to prevent and control chronic diseases like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes; (3) implementing a countywide Health in All Policies program; (4) the development and implementation of community driven health programs in high needs areas of the county; (5) improving the county’s capacity to prevent and treat skyrocketing rates of sexually transmitted diseases; (6) modernizing the county’s public health workforce in order to better address complex and persistent health issues; and (7) increasing HHSA’s capacity for development of new revenue sources to support county priorities and initiatives that are currently without dedicated funding streams.
The proposed Adopted Budget also includes a new IHSS Adult Services Worker to support increasing caseloads that is funded by an increase in state IHSS funding, and a limited term Behavioral Health Case Worker III to enhance felony diversion services, funded by a grant from the California Department of State Hospitals. The budget also includes funding to support one new dedicated Business Intelligence position in the General Services department, which will automate data collection and reporting and develop management dashboards and data analytics to improve decision-making and outcomes.
In addition, the proposed Adopted Budget also includes a $511,000 increase in the IHSS Maintenance of Effort (MOE) cost, funded by an increased use of 1991 Social Services realignment fund balance. The 2019-2020 State Budget included a restructuring of the IHSS cost shift that was first enacted in 2017-18. As part of the restructuring, the statewide County MOE was rebased to fit within available 1991 Realignment revenues, resulting in a reduced cost shift of nearly $500 million statewide. In addition, the State General Fund offset, accelerated caseload growth, and redirected VLF growth from Health and Mental Health realignment have been eliminated. While the new IHSS MOE reflects an overall benefit to counties compared to the previous structure, the exact calculation of Yolo County’s MOE for 2019-20 was not known when the Recommended Budget was approved.
Finally, the Adopted Budget includes several adjustments to alleviate financial pressure on the Mental Health fund. First, approximately $1 million in contractual and staffing costs that were originally budgeted in the Mental Health fund have been identified as appropriate Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) expenditures, and thus have been realigned to that funding source. While this realignment not only reduces costs in the Mental Health fund and aligns expenditures with the appropriate funding source, it also allows the Agency to spend down MHSA funds that may otherwise be subject to reversion to the State. Second, additional Intergovernmental Transfer (IGT) funds have been allocated to mitigate increasing Mental Health Institute for Mental Disease (IMD) placement costs. In 2018-19, IGT payments came in higher than anticipated, which allowed additional funding to be allocated to address the burgeoning mental health needs of the Medi-Cal population.
Attachment F provides a revised summary of the 2019-20 IGT spending plan which was presented and supported by the Budget Ad-Hoc at the September 10, 2019 meeting. The Board approved the use of emerging needs funding for the Beyond the Extended Shelter project of $150,000 at the September 10 meeting. The remaining projects including the Adult Day Health Center, Clarksburg Community Park Master Plan Development, Knights Landing Community Garden, and Paul’s Place have requested IGT Funds for Emerging Needs but have not yet received approval from the Budget Ad-Hoc or Board of Supervisors. In addition, the County is aware of several projects that have expressed interest in applying for IGT Emerging Needs funds in the near future including a Mobile Health Program and a Woodland East Beamer Housing Project however the size and scope of those IGT requests are not clear at this point. These projects will be considered during 2019-20 in accordance with the IGT policy after requests are received and carefully evaluated by HHSA staff.
Library
The proposed Adopted Budget for the Library includes the use of available fund balance and anticipated donations for an audio-visual systems upgrade at the Winters Library ($30,000), improvements to the staff entrance at Turner Library ($18,000), and moving expenses for the Assistant County Librarian ($6,000). Staff also recommends the use $8,300 in available fund balance for a contingency in case of increased expense on a previously approved fixed asset (large format scanner).
The Library is also requesting approval of a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, which will provide preservation assistance to the Yolo County Historical Collection/Gibson House Museum ($5,000).
Probation
The proposed Adopted Budget for Probation includes the conversion of a Legal Secretary II to a Probation aide, which is funded by the elimination of a .5 FTE limited term Legal Secretary position. It also includes anticipated increase in Standards and Correction Training revenues ($25,380) and Swift Certain and Fair Grant revenues ($201,716). Other items included in the Adopted Budget for Probation include a number of re-allocations and adjustments to placement of overhead expenditures, salary and benefits, and services and supplies within the various divisions and programs of the department. These movements, however, are all within existing allocations, and do not require additional general fund appropriations at this time.
Additional notable items included in Probation’s budget are $148,771 in additional use of available funding in the Youthful Offender Block Grant program to offset increase costs in the Juvenile Placement budget for a Northern California Construction Training Inc., contract and $171,417 for implementation of a Youth Reinvestment Grant award.
Public Defender
The proposed Adopted Budget for the Public Defender includes the addition of the UC Presidential Public Service Fellowship, $35,000, with a department match of $10,000. The department match will be absorbed in the existing appropriations, so no additional general fund is being requested. The grant will fund an extra help position to implement a new program that contacts misdemeanants prior to court.
Sheriff
To meet the needs of the future Tiberon software replacement, $150,000 from the Sheriff’s Small and Rural funds has been included in the Adopted Budget to fund a Systems Software Specialist to provide expertise in the implementation. Due to limited funding, the position will be an on-call contracted consultant through Sacramento County.
Reserves and Contingencies
As discussed in the sections above, the 2019-20 Adopted Budget allocates additional funds to various reserves and contingencies. The tables below summarize the total reserve and contingency amounts included in the 2019-20 Adopted Budget, inclusive of amounts that were previously approved in the Recommended Budget.
2019-20 Total Appropriation for Contingencies
(Recommended and Adopted) |
| General Fund |
$2,500,000 |
| Public Safety |
$1,000,000 |
| Health & Human Services |
$1,000,000 |
| Health & Human Services Emerging Needs |
$225,000 |
| IT Innovation |
$300,000 |
| Sustainability Innovation |
$30,000 |
2019-20 Total Budgeted Reserve Levels
(Recommended and Adopted) |
| General Reserve (6.5%) |
$14,256,043 |
| Capital Improvement Program |
$1,823,655 |
| Road Maintenance |
$300,000 |
| Audit Disallowance |
$2,000,000 |
| Liability Reserve |
$600,000 |
| OPEB Trust* |
$21,939,649 |
| Pension Trust* |
$4,250,708 |
*Reflects estimated 2019-20 contributions and balances based on projected department charges and premium payments.
Carryforward Appropriations
The 2019-20 Adopted Budget includes $3.5 million in unused appropriations from 2018-19 that were carried forward into 2019-20. These appropriations are for one-time purchases that have been ordered but not yet paid for, or for specific one-time projects or initiatives that were not completed by year-end. Examples include vehicle purchases that have not yet been invoiced, or contingency funds awarded for a specific project that had not yet been completed. The purpose of carryforward appropriations is to ensure sufficient budgetary authority to meet contractual obligations and to carry out Board directives. A summary of carryforward items and amounts by department is provided in Attachment G. All carryforward appropriations have been incorporated into the 2019-20 Adopted Budget, and are included in the budget totals reflected in Attachment H, Exhibit H1. |