Board of Supervisors Budget Questions & Responses

During the budget development process, staff takes note of the questions asked by Board members and provides written responses to questions for which responses were not readily available at the time the questions were asked.

View each question and its answer in the table, or view all of the Board questions and responses (PDF).

Question Number

Board Questions
Response Document
1Mr. Ross requested a copy of the notes from the Pre-Budget Public Hearing PowerPoint presentation.   Those notes are attached.
Response
2What is the total cost (Employee and Employer) for the County’s KC 30 Health Insurance (basic plan) by coverage type.
Response
3Provide general information on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Cadillac Plan Excise tax, including what types of coverage is  included and the thresholds for the various coverage types
Response
4

Please provide statistical data to substantiate the following workforce issues that were noted during the FY 2016 Pre-budget work session:

  • HR is beginning to see trends that are concerning, including:
  • Turnover of key high performing/high potential employees
  • Attrition in key service positions, like firefighter/medics and family service workers in the Social Services Dept. (social workers)
  • Difficulty recruiting candidates with desired skills and proven experience, (i.e. IT, FREM, DSS) while also maintaining internal equity due to frozen salaries
  • Employee dissatisfaction with promotional opportunities which is evidenced by declining interest and attendance in training/learning opportunities
  • Increased workloads with limited new positions

Response
5

Mr. Yakabouski requested:

  • Real & Personal Property tax rate history
  • Historical Local Transfer to Schools
  • Significant budget drivers FY2011–FY2015
  • Five Year History of tax supported Department/Agency budgets
Response
6Given the decline in fuel prices, what is the future state of our Transportation Fund?  Can we fund our existing debt?
Response
7By year, how much have we received in fuel tax revenue for transportation?  How much has been allocated and to what projects?
Response
8What are the various pots of funding available, i.e. sidewalk, transportation, reserve, tourism, etc. and how much is in each?  Any specific rules for how they can be used?
Response
9When we were balancing the FY 2015 Budget, how many of the pennies added to the Personal Property rate were for Sheriff’s Office budget items?
Response
10Should any increases in revenue tie specifically to the race track?
Response
11How do previous year out-year forecasts compare to what actually happened in past years’ budgets?
Response
12What has been the historic variation of budget to actual figures for revenues and expenditures?
Response
13What has the private sector done for annual pay raises?
Response
14Has the annual merit and COLA combined ever totaled the 4.5% annual increases assumed in the five-year model?
Response
15What has been the historical School Operating Budget total?  Show enrollment for each year, as well.
Response
16Can we shift to a fiscal year on tax collections instead of a calendar year such that the budget and the tax collections coincide?
Response
17What specifically will the Radio Network Engineer do?  Why does this position need to overlap with the period of time when Harris will be providing services to the County?  How much would this position have cost if it were outsourced?
Oral Response provided in Presentation on March 10, 2015
18Why are DSS/CSA expenses going up?
Oral Response provided in Presentation on March 10, 2015
19How much revenue have we received from rezonings in recent years?
Response
20How much are we subsidizing the landfill and convenience sites out of the General Fund?  Is there a rate, higher or lower, that we think will allow them to pay for themselves?  What action can be taken to reduce the taxpayer subsidy associated with the operation of the Refuse Collection/Recycle functions?
Response
21Explain the process for developing enrollment projections.
Response
22If there are 3,018 employees and 1,717 of them are teachers, what are the other 1,301 positions?  Please provide a breakout of what positions they are and what functions they serve.
Response
23What is meant by State employee in the State’s budget concerning COLAs?  What’s the definition of State employee?  Who is included?
Response
24Provide a list of recommended budget savings.
Response
25Provide the draft MOU and process documents previously submitted by the CBRC concerning review of potential consolidation of certain functions with the Schools.  Provide the School Board’s response that was sent after they reviewed these documents some time ago.
Response
26Provide a copy of comments/notes from CBRC presentation to the Board on 2/24/2015.
Response
27Provide a historical comparison of compensation adjustments for the Schools and the County.
Response
28If the School Division does not receive the $1.9 million increase in local funding, what cuts will be made from the School budget?
Response
29Provide a comparison of starting teacher salaries with the surrounding localities.
Response
30Is it possible to establish a minimum assessed value for Business Property Tax assessments, like the $750,000 minimum gross receipt for BPOL?  If so, what is the breakeven point for the minimum determination, where the Business Property revenue collected covers the cost to assess and collect the tax?   What would be the offsetting loss of Property Tax revenue?   How many businesses would no longer need to file a Business Property return?
Response
31Are there guidelines other than those from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that could be applied to the new animal shelter to reduce the costs of the project?
Response
32Are there metrics available that show that, as you put money towards any given Social Services program, people are able to successfully exit the program?
Response
33What were the increases for teachers resulting from salary scale adjustments made in the approximate 2005, 2006 and 2007 timeframe?  Those increases were not reflected in the answer to Question #27.
Response
34What positions in the Schools’ budget are mandated?  Please provide number of positions as well as position types/titles.
Response
35For all mandated programs and positions, show the costs of the programs/positions, the revenue received from State or Federal sources, and the net cost to local taxpayers.  Also, show the amount State and Federal sources are supposed to pay by law.
Response
36Show the cost compared to revenue received for educating ESOL students.  How much revenue do we get from Federal and State sources for the ESOL program?  Legally, could we choose not to follow Federal Title III requirements?  If we don’t follow the Federal requirements, is/how is State revenue affected?
Response
37Provide a listing of “key” employees we have lost.  How many years of service did they have?  Why did they leave?  Did an internal or external candidate replace them?  If internal, how many years of service does the replacing employee have?
Response
38How many employees are currently eligible for retirement?  Are there positions for which we could expect that we would not be able to replace a current employee with a lower salary?
Response
39What would it cost the County to transition all employees and retirees to KeyCare 20?
Response
40What are the traffic counts at the Marshall Park convenience site?  Please quantify the out-year savings related to the expansion of the Marshall Park convenience site project, including both capital (equipment replacements) and operating costs.  
Response