Lake County Board of Supervisors Chair Brad Rasmussen said Wednesday that the county budget “is structurally balanced” and that “there are no projected deficits within the next 2-3 fiscal years.” The county’s own five-year forecast shows general fund spending running ahead of revenue in every year through 2030-31. Money carried over from earlier years covers the gap for three years.
Rasmussen’s statement, posted on the county website Wednesday, also said supervisors had “heard your concerns” about how they will replace County Administrative Officer Susan Parker, who retires Dec. 31. He said the board will “publicly explore options” in open session Tuesday, Nov. 10. “Permanent CAO is not a hiring decision that can be made on a short timeline, in my opinion,” he wrote.
What the forecast shows
The latest five-year forecast from county budget staff was posted with the materials for the Oct. 1 budget hearing. It projects general fund spending above tax and other revenue every year through 2030-31. The gap is about $4.8 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year and grows to about $6.2 million in 2030-31.
Money carried over from earlier years covers those gaps for three years, consistent with Rasmussen’s “no projected deficits within the next 2-3 fiscal years.” The forecast shows the general fund ending 2028-29 with $3.2 million left. It then drops to negative $2.5 million in 2029-30 and negative $8.7 million in 2030-31. Separate from that balance, the same presentation lists $39.4 million in general fund contingencies and reserves, including a $16 million general reserve.
The balance goes negative a year sooner than in the forecast staff presented June 17. Under the option staff recommended then, the balance stayed positive through 2029-30 and fell to negative $4.2 million in 2030-31.
Asked about the deficit outlook at the Oct. 1 hearing, Deputy County Administrative Officer Casey Moreno said, “We are still looking at having a deficit, but we are making meaningful changes.” She said the forecast is good for one or two years at most because the county keeps making changes.
What ‘structurally balanced’ means
Moreno gave the county’s definition at the Oct. 1 hearing: “A structurally balanced budget is one where the ongoing expenses are covered by the ongoing revenues.”
Two days earlier, at the Sept. 29 hearing, Supervisor Bruno Sabatier had said the opposite. “We’re taking from our contingency reserves to backfill because we don’t have a structurally balanced budget,” he said. Staff had proposed cutting the general fund’s contingency account, money set aside for emergencies, by about $3.5 million.
The final budget supervisors adopted Oct. 1 estimates general fund revenue at $88.8 million and spending at $101 million. It covers the $12.1 million difference with money left over from past years. In the June recommended budget, staff had estimated that carryover at $17.7 million.
Rasmussen’s statement said cost-cutting since June, including a hiring freeze and the decision to stop paying for vacant general fund jobs, “resulted in a 9% reduction in anticipated General Fund expenditures.” The statement doesn’t say what the 9% is measured against. The county’s budget summaries show budgeted general fund spending of $104.9 million in June and $101 million in the final budget, a drop of about 4%.
County administration staff will make a budget presentation Nov. 17 “as one step in providing greater clarity,” Rasmussen wrote.
The administrator search
The county added an item to the Nov. 3 agenda on Friday, Oct. 30, two days after Parker’s retirement announcement. It called for closed-session “Interviews for County Administrative Officer” and “Appointment of County Administrative Officer.”
Rasmussen removed the item at the start of the Nov. 3 meeting. He gave no reason. Supervisor Helen Owen said she had planned to ask that it be moved to open session. County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano said an item added to a regular meeting must have come to the county’s attention after the agenda was posted and must be too urgent to wait for the next meeting.
During public comment, Rob Brown of Kelseyville urged the board to hire a temporary manager who wouldn’t apply for the permanent job. “It should be a competitive process,” he said.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska wrote to a constituent that the job “will be publicly advertised and opened for recruitment in accordance with our usual process,” Lake County News reported Thursday. The paper also reported that the job isn’t listed on the county’s Human Resources website.
At the end of the Nov. 3 meeting, Sabatier said he’s working with Rasmussen on a recruitment process to bring back to the board. Rasmussen’s statement doesn’t say what options the board will weigh Nov. 10. As of Thursday morning, the county hadn’t posted an agenda for that meeting.
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