clint quilter

Clint Quilter, Inyo County CAO, will present the Board of Supervisors with his recommended Budget FY 2020-21

Inyo County’s Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Recommended Budget Available on Online (8/28/2020 Press Release)

A searchable version of the entire Fiscal Year 2020-2021 CAO Recommended Budget document is now available online at the County’s webpage, offering the public an opportunity to review the proposed $129,448,093 spending plan being presented for adoption in September. Budget Hearings are scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, and will continue as necessary for consideration of adoption of the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 County Budget.

Publication of the budget was made possible by many weeks of analysis, calculation, research, meetings, planning, writing, and review by staff Countywide, and in particular the painstaking efforts of the Inyo County Budget Team consisting of Auditor-Controller Amy Shepherd, Senior Budget Analyst Denelle Carrington, and County Administrator Clint Quilter, who serves as the County’s Budget Officer.

The Recommended Budget written and presented by Quilter details the anticipated revenue and proposed expenditures for each of the County’s 19 departments and 130-plus budget units for the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year, which runs from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. (On June 16, the Board of Supervisors adopted a modified version of the 2019-2018 Board Approved Budget to serve as the Preliminary 2020-2021 Fiscal Year Budget until a final version could be presented and approved this fall.)

The entire budget clocks in at approximately 550 pages. For lighter reading, Quilter’s 60-page Budget Message offers a comprehensive breakdown of the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 CAO Recommended Budget, within the context of the “big-picture” fiscal difficulties faced by and opportunities presented to the County this fiscal year. Of critical importance is the Budget Message’s discussion of the unprecedented challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced bed tax revenue, dramatically altered schedules for the county’s workforce, and various changes to normal protocol in order to keep employees and the public safe.

Quilter was also sure to highlight opportunities that have come out of the last six months, including the chance to improve organizational resilience and provide additional aid to residents and the business community. He praises staff countywide for rising to the occasion – adapting to ongoing uncertainty, employing innovative solutions, and generally going above and beyond to keep the County functioning. Quilter additionally notes the need to continue important projects in the face of the pandemic.

“As you will see, this budget seeks to keep in mind that in the midst of newly minted challenges, the goals and objectives of six months ago will be no less, and are likely to be more, important a year from now,”Quilter writes.

“Clearly it is vital that intense short-term difficulties we are experiencing be dealt with aggressively and resolutely. However, we have an equal responsibility to recognize that this time shall pass and that we can’t afford to have left worthwhile initiatives by the wayside.”

The Budget Message describes these initiatives and their intended benefits, and also includes
discussion of the why’s and how’s of requested expenditures, and whether department requests have made it to the CAO Recommended Budget unchanged, with modifications, or not at all – the differences between the Department Requested Budget and the CAO Recommended Budget are highlighted in detail.

The Budget Message also includes concise information about the County’s income (from taxes, fees, and other sources), a breakdown of expenses by function (i.e., Public Safety, Roads, Public Assistance, Public Health, General Services, etc.), and notes the continuing hard work of many Department Heads to reduce expenses and make the most of available revenue sources.

The public is encouraged to take part in the upcoming Budget Hearings. Per Executive Order N-25-20, the Board Chambers are closed to the public but the public hearing will be broadcast live online via a Zoom webinar at https://zoom.us/j/868254781. Individuals will be asked to provide their name and an email address in order to access the videoconference.

Anyone who does not want to provide their email address may use the following generic, non-functioning address to gain access: donotreply@ inyocounty.us.

Anyone wishing to comment on the FY 2020-21 proposed budget prior to the meeting, or during the public hearing, may do so either in writing, or by utilizing the “hand-waving” feature when appropriate in the Zoom meeting (the Board Chair will call on those who wish to speak).

Written public comment, limited to 250 words or less, may be emailed to the Assistant Clerk of the Board at [email protected].

Your emailed comments may or may not be read aloud, but all comments will be made a part of the record.

Copies of the proposed budget documents are available in the Clerk of the Board’s Office, 224 N. Edwards St., Independence, and the May Street Office, 163 May St., Bishop, for review by the members of the public.

For more information, contact the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, P.O. Drawer N, Independence, CA 93526, [email protected], and (760) 878-0373.

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