Clark County’s general fund “continues to be in a fragile but stable state,” commissioners heard Wednesday during a routine update.
“Despite some major challenges in 2013, we’ve managed to prevent any further erosion of the general fund’s financial position,” Budget Director Bob Stevens said during his opening remarks.
“As we begin a new year and the process of developing the ’15-’16 budget, we will continue to face the growing challenge of balancing the most pressing needs of the present against our future financial health,” Stevens said. “Those choices are unavoidable, and I’m afraid none of them are going to be easy.”
Commissioners are expected to discuss the challenge in greater detail today during an annual retreat, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tri-Mountain Golf Course in Ridgefield.
Revenues continue lagging behind expenses in the county’s 2013-14 budget, projected at $315.7 million, said Adriana Prata, a county budget analyst.
Revenues are estimated at $298 million. The county has been making up the difference between projected revenues and budgeted expenses by dipping into reserves, Prata said, which commissioners knew they’d be relying on when the budget was adopted.
Prata said the county won’t meet its policy goal of having enough unassigned money in a reserve fund to keep the county running for 54 days in the event of an emergency.
In January 2013, the county had $24.2 million, or enough for 62 days. By the end of this year, Prata projects the balance will be $17.9 million, enough for 44 days.
Wednesday’s news wasn’t all bad.
Prata said expenditures came in $2.8 million under budget in 2013, and she projects similar savings this year. Those savings could help bolster the reserve fund, she said.
“We need to make every effort to stay on course this year to strengthen our financial position and handle any unexpected or unavoidable expenses,” she added.
After the meeting, Stevens said reserves have been used to cover, among other things, a fee holiday, a software replacement project and an initial payment on a $10 million loan the county took out last year to pay a legal settlement to two men who spent 17 years in prison before being exonerated.
