Chairwoman Pat Loe’s recent decision to eliminate the
supervisors’ budget subcommittee came as a surprise to her peers,
many of whom are hoping the issue will be revisited because they
are unsure how it will affect the county process to budget $80
million.
Hollister – Chairwoman Pat Loe’s recent decision to eliminate the supervisors’ budget subcommittee came as a surprise to her peers, many of whom are hoping the issue will be revisited because they are unsure how it will affect the county process to budget $80 million.
In a surprise decision, Loe announced that she was doing away with the board’s budget subcommittee – a pair of supervisors who work with county staff to hammer out a budget – shortly after she was elected board chair on Jan. 3. She said the Board of Supervisors would instead hold open hearings with the full board when it comes time to craft the county’s 2006-07 budget. But in the absence of the budget subcommittee – most recently comprised of supervisors Jaime De La Cruz and Don Marcus – Loe’s colleagues on the board say they are unsure of how they will put together the county’s nearly $81 million budget.
“It caught me a bit off guard to say the least,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said about Loe’s move to element the committee. “What I’m concerned about, is this the in best interest of managing our budget?”
The product of about six months of work by county staff and the Board of Supervisors, the county budget allocates money to various county departments such as the Sheriff’s Office, the county library and planning and building departments. A long-standing entity, the budget subcommittee met with county staff each month to brainstorm ways to best put together a county budget, according to Marcus. The subcommittee would report back to the full board with various options, he said.
“I was relatively surprised when (Loe) decided to abolish the subcommittee,” he said. However, he added, he would give Loe’s new method a chance.
With a board comprised of first-term supervisors and the recent loss of former Finance Director Dan Vrtis and Management Analyst Robin Scattini – both county staff members who were key to crafting the budget – Loe said supervisors just don’t have enough experience to draft a budget the same old way.
“I don’t think any of us are qualified to make those decisions without having open meetings and discussions about them,” Loe said.
Botelho, De La Cruz and Marcus each said that they are concerned that having open hearings without a subcommittee having first done the budget grunt work will result in the whole process becoming unwieldy and inefficient. Botelho said he thought the budget committee was efficient because its members could meet with county staff, explore different budget alternatives and then return to the full Board of Supervisors with viable options.
“I’m not sure how the process works without a committee,” he said.
Marcus also said that he is concerned that open hearings will squelch hypothetical discussion about sensitive matters out of fear that, “possibilities may be misconstrued as probabilities.”
“When you’re working on how to plan for the future you throw ideas out,” he said. “When you get into open session discussion, hypotheticals sometimes get misconstrued.”
Loe said she does not share these concerns with her colleagues on the board.
Supervisor Reb Monaco said that the budget committee had an “invaluable function” and was unsure of how it would be replaced.
With more questions than answers about how the budget process will work this year, Loe’s fellow supervisors said they are eager to have further discussion about her decision to eliminate the subcommittee.
“I think as a board we have to discuss that a little more,” Monaco said.
Botelho said he hopes that discussion will take place at the board’s Feb. 16 retreat.
Loe said she is going to hold fast to her decision.
“They can have their discussion,” she said. “I made the decision and I’m chair of the board.”
County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson said that she plans to give the Board of Supervisors a through mid-year budget report within the next few weeks.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at lr****@fr***********.com
