40.5 Million was the budget proposed and now unanimously passed for Lassen County’s new fiscal year.
County Administrative Officer Richard Egan called the budget “status quo,” with staffing impacts significantly as the county has recently approved a 10% salary increase across the board for county departments.
Egan highlighted the key features of the budget, including the completion of the historic courthouse, which necessitated a substantial increase to a total cost of roughly 13 million from 8.5, as Egan noted was due to inflationary construction costs. Public safety contributions total 8 million, a slight decrease from the 22/23 budget in the general fund contribution. However, overall contributions to the public safety fund have increased due to the PGE settlement and the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund. Egan adds there is an expected revenue increase in the projected marijuana tax due to the opening of the new dispensary in Westwood. HLVRA will contribute the standard 80k; a small 200k contingency has been built into this year’s budget.
The supervisors diligently picked through multiple line items that stood out in each county department, concluding with unanimous approval.
