Plumas County’s spending plan for the 2025-2026 fiscal year went into public review Sept. 15 as the board of supervisors considered a proposed $174.1 million budget. The first of a scheduled two-day budget hearing began with an overview before the supervisors considered each of the county’s 27 departments one-by-one.

Rodney Craig Goodman, a certified public accountant working as a consultant to the county, introduced the proposed budget, noting that it shows a 7.8% increase over the previous fiscal year. But that’s “misleading,” he said.

The 2024-2025 budget was missing $12 million — “big chunks” of revenue that should have been included but weren’t, Goodman told the supervisors. The missing funds included $1.4 million associated with the county’s contract with ENGIE Services U.S., a project designed to replace aging equipment and upgrade the county’s energy infrastructure.

If all of the excluded funds had been fully budgeted, the difference between the current year and last year’s budget would have been 1.5%, Goodman said.

“We made some cuts this year. It just doesn’t look like it,” he told the supervisors.

Supervisor Mimi Hall noted the importance of identifying every department’s available funds and budgeting them. “That money was always there. Unless we budget it we can’t spend it,” she said.

Revenues versus expenditures

The proposed budget projects total revenues of approximately $138.7 million. The majority — 41.5% — come from state and federal aid, which is largely mandated to support health, social services and public assistance. Transfers among funds represent 30.9% of total revenue, providing critical support for internal service allocations and cost recovery.

Tax revenues are expected to contribute 16.7% to the coffers. Goodman adjusted the revenue from taxes to $23.2 million, a slight increase from the nearly $21 million previously estimated in the recommended budget.

County general fund

The general fund is the principal fund county officials use to operate the county. It accounts for all financial resources that are not requirements in another specialized fund. The general fund supports the overall operations and activities that include public safety, health, and other essential services.

The proposed budget for the county general fund is $60.8 million, up slightly from last year’s $59.3 million. Of that, the supervisors have authority to direct $31.5 million. Nearly 41% of this discretionary budget is allocated to general government operations, according to the recommendation.

The largest portion of the discretionary budget — $16.5 million — would go to general contributions to county operations, which could include administration, elections and planning. Another nearly 16% is designated for public protection.

The 2025-2026 budget for the county general fund includes a $5.6 million gap between revenues and expenses. The proposal is to use 17.8% of the county’s discretionary budget to close the gap. Last year the general fund revenue-to-expense gap was $12.2 million.

County workforce

Plumas County’s workforce has fluctuated in recent years, with numerous vacancies that have often required workers to do more than one job. Currently the county has authorized 422.246 full-time equivalency positions, with 335 positions filled and 79.08 vacant — a 19% vacancy rate.

This year the combined request for positions from county departments is 414.081 full-time equivalents, down 8.165 FTEs from last year. The reductions are in public health (9.045 FTEs), behavioral health (2 FTEs) and probation (1 FTE).

These reductions are partially offset by requests for additional positions, which Goodman called “modest.” The county administrative office is requesting a one-third FTE position. The county counsel’s office is seeking one full-time position, facilities 2.05 FTEs, and the library one half-time FTE.

By mid-morning on the supervisors’ first day of budget hearings they had begun going through individual departments’ proposals in alphabetical order. The board is scheduled to continue budget hearings after its regularly meeting Sept. 16.

Source: Plumas Sun