RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The Board of Supervisors next week is slated to approve budget adjustments totaling $22.2 million to cover expenses that spilled over from the previous fiscal year, including costs that appeared likely to reduce the county reserve pool by millions of dollars.
In June, the board signed off on an $8.61 billion budget for county government in the current fiscal year.
However, some costs from 2022-23 were not yet factored into appropriations, and a review of the previous year’s outlays indicated there were over-hanging expenditures that required attention.
“The unresolved year-end adjustments are submitted by departments for board approval in order to ensure a balanced budget within the budgetary unit before the fiscal year is closed,” according to an Executive Office statement.
Most of the spill-over obligations will be pared down by accounts other than the General Fund, though roughly $2.4 million will have to be extracted from it, officials said.
The “Year-End Cleanup Budget Report” showed a required reduction in the county’s principal contingency account to meet some of the expenses, drawing it down from $20 million to $6.24 million.
The projection at the beginning of 2023-24 was for reserve funds to reach $555 million by the end of the fiscal year, compared to an estimated $537 million reserve pool at the close of the last one in June.
The latest round of expenses, if approved by the board, would appear to lower the earlier projection.
The budget remains structurally balanced, according to the Executive Office.
County CEO Jeff Van Wagenen said in June that the current budget. creates the opportunity to enhance the efforts of our departments providing vital programs for our constituents countywide.”
The 2023-24 budget is roughly 15% larger than 2022-23’s, which was about $7.45 billion. Close to half of the appropriations are comprised of state and federal “pass-through” funds, over which the board has little to no control.
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