Title
FY2021 Budget Hearings
Recommended Action
Budget Adoption
Council could adopt the budget on April 20, 21, 27 or 28, 2020.
I move that Council adopt the FY2021 budget in the amount of $____________ as described in Attachment B, Summary of Changes from Proposed to Adopted Budget.
I further move that Council approve the following items related to the adoption of the FY2021 budget:
1. FY2021 Long Range Financial Projection as amended during budget hearing in Attachment B;
2. FY2020 Equipment Replacement List in Attachment F;
3. FY2020 Recurring Grants in Attachment H;
4. Summary of Pension Fund Administrative Costs in Attachment G;
5. FY2021 Schedule of Appropriations for Salary Adjustments in Attachment I; and
6. FY2021 Department of Public Utilities’ Schedule of Funds in Attachment J.
I further move that Council approve continuing appropriations in the FY2021 budget for the following items from the FY2020 budget:
a) all valid encumbrances outstanding at June 30, 2020;
b) all unexpended and unencumbered previously approved project budgets at June 30, 2020;
c) all unexpended and unencumbered previously approved Major Facilities Maintenance budget at June 30, 2020;
d) all unexpended and unencumbered previously approved Traffic & Streets Pavement Preservation budget at June 30, 2020;
e) the unexpended and unencumbered previously approved budget for Fire Mitigation; and
f) all unexpended and unencumbered grant budgets at June 30, 2020 that are permitted to be carried forward by their governing grant agreements.
I further move that per Code Ordinance 02-302, Section 40-63 (c)(12), Council approves redirecting the FY2019 DPU profit transfer in the amount of $829,634 within the Department of Public Utilities from Electric Distribution and Gas to Water Production for the purpose of 1) Rerouting Pajarito Road Water Transmission Line in FY2021 and 2) NM SR4 Water Production Pipeline in FY2022. I further move to approve Budget Revision 2020-25. I further move to approve the FY2021 budget option in the amount of $450,000 which is incorporated in the total adopted budget.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council adopt the FY2021 budget.
Body
BUDGET HEARINGS (and potential budget adoption)
The FY2021 Budget Hearings are scheduled for Monday, April 20, 2019, Tuesday, April 21, 2019, Monday, April 27, 2019, and Tuesday, April 28, 2019, beginning at 6 p.m each evening. The proposed budget has been distributed separately, and reference copies are available online at the County's website and at the Customer Care Center.
Budget presentations will be made in the order identified on the agenda. Parking lot items should be held to a minimum and will be resolved prior to the adoption of the budget.
Public Hearings: Public in-person attendance at the budget hearings will not be allowed in compliance with New Mexico Department of Health’s public health emergency order governing mass gatherings because of COVID-19. The public can view proceedings at <http://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx%20or%20locally%20on%20PAC-8> or locally on PAC-8. The County encourages public comment via email at lacmanager@lacnm.us <mailto:lacmanager@lacnm.us>. Citizens are asked to type PUBLIC COMMENT in the subject line of the email.
Introduction, Overview, Budget Summary, Long Range Financial Projection and Budget Options
The County Manager will present an introduction, overview and the budget options. The overview will address the high-level goals of the proposed budget. Highlights from the Budget Summary section of the proposed budget (pages 26-54) will be presented by Steven Lynne, Deputy County Manager and Karen Kendall, Budget & Performance Manager.
Joint Utilities Fund Budget
The Utilities Manager will present the Utilities Department Budget, Schedule of Funds and Budget Option.
Parking Lot - Outstanding / Unresolved Items and Budget Options
Any changes made or direction received during the budget hearings will be incorporated into the proposed budget. Attachment B, Summary of Changes from Proposed to Adopted will be updated as Council makes changes.
FY2021 Long Range Financial Projection
The attached Long Range Financial Projection (Attachment B) is presented here. The County's financial policies require Council approval of the projection which indicates Council's long-range financial policy direction.
FY2021 Fleet Equipment Replacement List
Approval of this list (Attachment F) at this point in time will eliminate the need for additional formal Council action for routine replacement of vehicles at a later date.
Summary of Pension Fund Administrative Costs
Although the expenses of the Pension Plan are passed on to the plan participants, the County Council, as the Plan Sponsor, has routinely established and approved an administrative budget for the Pension Fund to provide system controls over these payments. Because this is a trust fund, the administrative costs are not a formal part of the County's budget. See Attachment G.
Recurring Grants
Each year departments are required to notify Council of their intent to apply for recurring grants. Attachment H is a list of the recurring grants and estimated amounts for FY2021. This will eliminate the need for additional formal Council action at a later date unless actual received amounts are different than originally budgeted. If that is the case, these routine adjustments will be lumped together and brought before Council during mid-year budget revisions.
Schedule of Appropriations for Salary Adjustments
The Schedule of Appropriations for Salary Adjustments provides a list of estimated salary adjustment costs included in the proposed budget by each salary group. This schedule will be updated as Council makes changes to the budget. See Attachment I.
Department of Public Utilities’ Schedule of Funds
The Department of Public Utilities’ Schedule of Funds is a new schedule as required by Los Alamos County Code Ordinance 02-302, Section 40=65. The schedule of funds, and any amendment of the schedule, as proposed by the board, shall be referred to the council for consideration for adoption.
The schedule of funds shall prescribe the necessary yearly funding of reserves for replacements, additions and improvements, and other reserves authorized by Charter, bond ordinances and bond indentures or other governing instrument and shall be consistent with the needs of the utilities systems. The replacement reserve shall cover (among other things) machinery and equipment and system replacements. The schedule of funds shall reflect separate reserve allocations for separate utility systems. See Attachment J
Continuing Appropriations
In addition to adoption of the budget, carryover of certain current year budget items are presented at this time because of their routine nature.
a. Encumbrances - commitments to purchase, but for which delivery of goods or services has not yet been made and associated payments will cross fiscal years.
b. Unexpended and unencumbered project budgets - project budgets that Council has previously, specifically approved such as CIP or other projects.
c. Unexpended and unencumbered budget that Council has previously approved for Major Facilities Maintenance (MFM).
d. Unexpended and unencumbered budget that Council has previously approved for Traffic & Streets Pavement Preservation.
e. Unexpended and unencumbered previously approved budget for Fire Mitigation;
f. Unexpended and unencumbered grant budgets for programs that extend over fiscal years.
Alternatives
Council may amend the proposed budget. The State requires that the governing body adopt its budget each year with requests due by June 1. State statute does not allow for an extension to this deadline.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
See the FY2021 Proposed Budget and accompanying Budget Options
Attachments
A - FY2021 Proposed Budget
B - Summary of Changes from Proposed to Adopted
C - FY2021 Long Range Financial Projection Updated
D - Budget Options for FY2021 Updated
E - Department and Elected Officials Presentation Slides
F - Fleet Equipment Replacement List Updated
G - Pension Admin Costs
H - FY2021 Recurring Grants List
I - FY2021 Schedule of Appropriations for Salary Updated
J - Department of Public Utilities Schedule of Funds
K - Department of Public Utilities Budget Option
L - Budget Revision 2020-25
M - Updated Budget Book Pages for Hearing