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July 2008 |
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Mono Board of Supervisors buries itself in 2007/2008 budget |
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Monday, 10 September 2007 |
By Lara Kirkner and Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writers
The Mono County Board of Supervisors spent three days last week (Aug. 27-29) slaving away on their 2007/2008 budget, and by the end of the third day, after hearing about how different agencies could use more, or just some money from the county, the supervisors decided to have CAO David Wilbrecht come up with a list that prioritizes the policy items before them. The policy items are the areas in the budget where the amount being handed out would change. The board has a lot more wiggle room this year as their budget is much larger than usual. According to Finance Director Brian Muir, the county had an increase of about $2 million in property taxes compared to the 2005/06 fiscal year.
Decisions on who would get what were expected to be announced last Tuesday, Sept. 4, so the results will be reported in next week's Mammoth Times, but this week we provide a taste of what was asked for and from whom.
Part One
*Under Community Development, money was requested to be set aside for the creation of the the Housing Authority's Strategic Plan, a new vehicle and five new positions.
*A large discussion was held regarding supplying more money to the Mono County Fisheries Commission for future fish enhancement as stockings from the Department of Fish and Game become fewer and more far between. Commissioners were present and explained to the board that they have been trying to do some fund raising, but as a volunteer group they usually just end up fighting among themselves when it comes to fund raising efforts.
The commission would also like to clean up streamsides and collect feedback from anglers through surveys, which is an important part of economic development but which DFG no longer does, according to commissioners. They said that if the board would give them a permanent budget they wouldn't have to come before the board for every little thing. Last year they were allotted $77,000 over the course of the year in one-time fixes, but their policy item for the new year requested $139,000 for long-term planning.
Supervisor Hap Hazard, while sensitive to the topic, claimed he would not be supportive of supplementing state programs.
“I won't supplement fish, rest areas, snow removal along the highway, or anything else that the state is responsible for,” Hazard said.
He was, however, in favor of having the county produce more of its own fish to stock with.
*The Town of Mammoth Lakes put in a policy item request for $20,000 toward future partnership work on recreation, education and cultural centers, with Deputy Town Manager Karen Johnston focusing on the need to all be in these types of projects together in order to achieve everyone's goals.
*The Felici Trio requested $10,000 from the board, but Supervisor Byng Hunt suggested that the board look at giving them $20,000 because of the cultural enhancement that they bring to the county. The rest of the board members agreed.
*Same went for the Sierra Summer Festival organizers who asked for $5,000 but may have ended up with $10,000 at the board's request.
*Charles Broten of Inyo Mono Area Agency on Aging (IMAAA) asked for the $13,500 awarded to the group last year, plus anything above and beyond that the board could manage. The board said that while they could push forward with the budget item, the larger discussion needed to be had regarding the supervision of the agency's facility in Walker by employees in Inyo County. The board wants to be more efficient with the program and they say that can't be done by supervisors being 120 miles away from the place they are supervising. They planned to leave the policy item at $20,000 for discussion last Tuesday.
*Gaye Mueller of the Mono Council for the Arts came before the board to ask for $25,000, $13,000 above the $12,000 they were awarded last year. The council is in its first year of operation and is still getting its feet wet, but Mueller says they need to operate with a budget of at least $100,000 this fiscal year, instead of the $75,000 from last year, in order to be eligible for grant moneys. The council is also planning the “Trail of the Trout” project for next summer and could use more money in getting this project of giant fiberglass trout lining the 395 up and running. The supervisors decided to make the policy item worth $20,000 and suggested that Mueller go to the county's Tourism and Recreation Department to ask for the additional $5,000 that would be used for marketing the Council with brochures and other printed materials.
*Julie Tiede, Director of Mono County Child Support Services, reported to the board that they would be the new lead agency for distribution of the child support services money for both Inyo and Mono counties. Previously, Inyo County had been the lead agency. The two counties split the moneys 65 percent to 35 percent, with Mono County receiving 35 percent of the allotted $1,433,671, or $501,785. At this time, Mono County is number two in the state for child support services.
Part Two
On Wednesday, Aug. 29 the third and final special meeting of the Mono County Board of Supervisors took place to address the following budgeting issues: Animal Control, Assessor, County Administrative Office, Board of Supervisors and District Attorney.
At the beginning of the meeting it was disclosed by Brian Muir, Financial Director, that there has been a glitch in the property tax system. There were 600 property tax bills going back 22 years that never went to abstract—meaning they were never declared delinquent. Most of the property tax bills were from 1988 and represented approximately $650,000. The total amount is approximately $800,000. Of this amount, $100,000 is less than five years old and will be collected by the county. The board will go back and determine what they can do legally to try and collect the taxes due from 1988. Muir stated that they are required by code to notify the homeowners, but because it wasn’t taken care of more than 20 years ago it has become a retroactive issue. So the question is—is the county in the position to collect the taxes? It is possible that the county might fund the taxes as it was a county error and distribute the moneys accordingly.
*Nancy Boardman, Director of the Mono County Animal Control gave a brief overview of the issues concerning the county shelters. The problem with the well at the south county shelter is 50 percent resolved and David Wilbrecht is on committee, working with the town to resolve the rest of the issues. There is continued concern about the lack of a fenced-in exercise facility for the animals in the south county shelter. Boardman expressed that a fenced in compound would eliminate the dangers of animals and caretakers accidentally stepping into an area where rattlesnakes might reside. Basic maintenance issues were also addressed and brought to the board.
*The board wants to consider a status quo budget for the Assessor's office based on last year's figures and expressed concern with the Assessor budget increases for the 2007/2008 year.
*The CAO looked at the issues of transferring road department personnel back and forth and the board was concerned about all the shifting that occurs during the year because the county needs an experienced crew during the winter season.
*Financial Director Brian Muir suggested the outright purchase of the parcel of land in Mammoth Lakes. Initially, the board would also like a general fund contingency of $300,000 but Supervisor Reid suggested that a minimum general fund contingency of $500,000 would be more adequate.
*For the fiscal 2007/2008 year the District Attorney's office would like to hire a second investigator with at least 5-10 years' experience as well as increase NSF fees since the DA's office is once again prosecuting NSF cases.
*John Wentworth, President of the Mammoth Lakes Trails & Public Access Foundation did a PowerPoint presentation on trail use in the area and is requesting an additional $12,5000 in funding to help get the project finished.
At the end of the day Supervisor Bill Reid asked the CAO to do a budget priority list to be presented to the Board of Supervisors at the next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 15 September 2007 )
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