County Supervisors Vote 3-2 To Change Budget Reserves Formula

SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has voted 3-2 to give final approval to changing the formula for its budget reserves.

The Tuesday vote -- the required second reading before an proposed ordinance becomes law -- increases the county's recognized emergency reserves from $692 million to $1.327 billion, according to a statement from board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe, the proposal's sponsors.

Lawson-Remer, Montgomery Steppe and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre approved the new policy, while their colleagues Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond were opposed.

According to the Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe, the policy now:

-- revises the reserve formula, based on daily operating expenses, rather than one-time capital projects, with a minimum reserve target at $945 million, down from the previous projection of $973 million;

-- includes both "unassigned" and "assigned" reserves, under board control and available in a true emergency, in accordance with best practices from the Government Finance Officers Association;

-- recognizes the reserves increase from $692 million to $1.327 billion, approximately $380 million higher.

According to Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe, the new policy "does not authorize automatic spending," but instead "installs the strongest protections in county history."

Those include board supervisor approval, only spending those reserves during a recession or in response to state or federal cuts to core services. According to Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe, withdrawals are capped at 25%, or $95 million, per year.

The board voted 3-2 on Aug. 26 to give the proposal its initial approval, with Aguirre, Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe voting yes and Anderson and Desmond voting no.

Desmond in a statement described the first approval as a "reckless step backward for San Diego County."

— City News Service