Mendocino County CEO Darcie Antle used this title phrase in answer to Supervisor Williams to explain why she and her well-paid staff don’t provide ordinary budget versus actual reports to the Supervisors. She went on to say that the problem has to do with revenues that don’t come in on a regular basis, but expenses do, possibly producing an apparent overrun to her financially challenged public when there is none.
With this, Antle, like her predecessor, Carmel Angelo, demonstrated her fundamental ignorance of basic budgeting. (Before Ms. Antle was promoted to the exalted title of CEO she was Carmel Angelo’s “budget specialist.”
In an ordinary budget report you track actual expenses against projected expenses, not against revenue. Revenue has its own budget and is tracked against its own projections. If revenues vary from budgeted (and, as in Mendo, nobody takes action to fix it), then budget revisions are made mid-year. This is basic Budgeting 101.
So saying that revenue variations are the reason for not producing budget reports is more proof that the person claiming that should not be allowed near any budgets.
To repeat, you track actual expenses against budgeted expenses; you track actual revenue against budgeted revenue. It’s quite simple. It’s pathetic that anyone in a responsible budgeting position would claim different.
As far as CEO Antle’s “we were criticized” remark… That’s dumb too.
Antle doesn’t say who allegedly criticized her or her staff (“we”), but since yours truly is the only person in the County who criticizes County admin about anything (with the relatively recent addition of former Supes candidate Carrie Shattuck), we can safely assume we know who and what she’s talking about.
But what does criticism have to do with anything about budget reporting? Is the possibility of criticism a reason for not doing ordinary budget reports, much less your job? Who even thinks like that?
Back in July of 2021 the CEO’s office provided the Board with the only departmental budget to actual report in recent history. We quickly sent in a few ordinary questions to then-CEO Carmel Angelo asking about the variations. In the introduction to her reply Ms. Angelo said:
“The very nature of your questions is the reason the County budget team has been hesitant to present a ‘budget to actual.’ County Government is dependent on State, Federal, and grant revenue funding, which typically is billed quarterly or annually, and reimbursement is not received until at least 30 days after billing. This cycle of billing and reimbursement causes a delay in posting revenue, which impacts ‘budget to actual’ reports produced on a monthly basis.”
This is the origin of Antle’s irrelevant revenue variation excuse that she continues to cite.
For the record, here’s a link to the July 2021 item with our questions and the CEO’s complete reply.
https://theava.com/archives/158387#9
All we did was post the CEO’s answers, uncommented-on, so readers could judge for themselves how incomplete the answers were.
There was nothing remotely “critical” in these questions. We simply and politely asked for explanations for the variances — and we only did that because none of the Supervisors did. Nor did we criticize the CEO’s oh-so criticizable response. (Of course, we have since criticized the CEO’s position that asking questions of the ultra-thin-skinned CEO about the budget is “criticism.”) But our questions were clearly NOT criticism — unless you’re an imperious CEO and you arrogantly don’t want anyone asking pesky questions about what you consider to be your own personal budget.
Since that one budget vs. actual report in 2021 — which by the way proves at minimum that they can generate such reports — and our questions, there has never been another departmental budget vs. actual report.
Why not? “We were criticized.”
* * *
We would be remiss if we didn’t include Carrie Shattuck’s comments about Tuesday’s rambling budget discussion:
Shattuck: “I am not trying to be facetious here. But this budget conversation is the same conversation I heard last year. We don't have reports, we don't have updates, Supervisor Williams can't get his numbers, 2022-23 is not closed. Ms. Cubbison was ousted six months ago. Who are we blaming now for not having updated information and reports? It's just the same thing, back and forth. And the Opengov [the County's fancy financial system] — I've been talking about this for more than a year. It's still from 2021-22. We say we are being more transparent and accountable and we cannot even update this opengov system to show where our current budget is? It's really frustrating from a citizen’s perspective.”
* * *
When the Board reconvened in the afternoon after closed session, Chair Mulheren quickly announced that “Item 4d has been pulled by staff,” conveniently neglecting to mention what Item 4d was, hoping that no one would notice. We looked it up. Item 4d was the appointment of CEO Antle’s roommate and significant other, Dr. Theron Chan as County Public Health Officer. Mulheren didn’t offer any explanation.
* * *
Williams at least asked the CEO for a monthly budget vs. actual report, asking CEO Antle, “What would it take to get actual vs. budget, at least for previous years?”
After whining that “we were criticized,” as discussed above, Antle replied, “That is a report we can generate for prior years. We’ve had a delay in closing out years. 22-23 is still in draft. I’d say we could go back three to five years prior. We should have it by end of the week.”
Not.
Nor was “it” defined.
Williams also asked for copies of the budgets vs. actual from the departments after CEO Antle had blurted out that the Departments keep their own internal spreadsheets.
After again whining that “we were criticized,” Antle replied that “It’s all about timing. Invoices may be late. … It’s not straightforward. … Property taxes only come in once a year. I’m not afraid to do it. But it causes undue stress on the board. So we pulled it back.”
Undue stress on the Board… Oh Gawd. This person is CEO?
In the end the Board vaguely agreed that quarterly budget to actual reports from the departments would be nice. Obviously, they won’t have anything of the sort ready by next week, much less ever. And as long as the Board continues to blather without making specific demands with specific dates, Ms. Antle, a past master at non-committal indefinite postponement, will successfully keep the board in the financial dark and the County will sink further and further into the red.
* * *
Supervisor John Haschak asked whether the CEO report will include what Supervisor Gjerde asked for a couple of weeks ago: a tally of newly added, or “discovery,” properties to the tax rolls.
Instead of letting the CEO answer for herself, Supervisor/Board Chair Mulheren declared, “The discovery data will be in the CEO report on May 7.”
We’re taking bets on that one. At the moment odds are about 100-1 against.
* * *
VSO Still In Siberia
CEO Antle, after skimming through her info-free CEO report, told the Board that returning the Veterans Service Office (VSO) to their original cottage on Observatory Avenue is still not done. Apparently the Air Quality office is having trouble making arrangements to move their office out of the VSO’s Observatory cottage where they were unceremoniously dropped and the VSO moved out. Apparently, the landlord for Air Quality’s new target location is not being responsive. Antle noted, “Air Quality is calling [the landlord] on a regular basis to get that move done.”
So, despite the Board’s directive to return the VSO to the Observatory cottage, the VSO and its clients continue to wait while the Air Quality Office tries to arrange for their own move. The Air Quality office is in no hurry to do that, and why would they be? They’re quite happy occupying the VSO’s rightful place.
The vets may have to storm the chambers again to get this moving. It’s on the verge of stagnation as is. Nobody on the Board asked why the Executive office is letting Air Quality move themselves in their own sweet time.
This is typical Mendo. No one steps up to the plate to see that what the Board orders done gets done. And the Board never follows up or demands an explanations or holds anyone accountable.
Since the CEO is allergic to criticism and thinks that “we were criticized” (even when they were not) is a reason not to produce an ordinary budget vs. actual report, why would anyone expect any different?
The problem here is the CEO is running the supervisors not the other way around. This started with Big Mike and the supervisors have never regained control. It time they do or we need to clean house.
I agree. The BOS cuckold themselves when they switched from the previous title to a CEO, giving up their constituted duties. The CEO should respond to the board, perhaps with a class in civic economics. THE BOS MAIN JOB IS TO ADMINISTER THE PUBLIC BUDGET. They seem lost on the subject. Maybe the Board should to take the time and transition back to a COUNTY CAO and regain the respect of getting answers when they ask questions. The perfect time would have been when Baroness Angelo retired but that opportunity is past. Is there a leader among them? (I am liking Shattuck’s voice at each each meeting)
Reporting budget vs. actual revenues for a particular month (or for year-to-date periods) can be misleading. As noted, revenues are often not received evenly throughout the year. Budgets for revenues are developed on an annual basis, but budgets for a given month simply use one-twelfth of the annual amount. For example, the property tax revenue for the month of July will show a budgeted amount equaling one-twelfth of the annual budget, while actual collections will equal only a small fraction of that amount. The budget vs. actual projection is not useful, because it may mislead some to think property tax collections are tanking. It is possible to develop realistic budget projections for each month of the year, but that would require considerable additional work, and the County simply does not have enough accountants to perform that work. It is far more efficient to use budget projections that estimate the total revenue that will be received or accrued by the end of the year based on the most recent information, and compare that amount to the annual budgeted amount. In this way, you can inform interested parties of changes in anticipated revenues that became known after the adoption of the annual budget. Explanation of significant changes from original estimates should be provided (e.g. changes in economic conditions, addition of new revenues or cuts to existing revenues, and other unexpected differences).
There are also expenses for which these timing differences exist, and the benefit of using updated projections applies to those, as well.
Good points that need to be explained. when/if there is a question. A line with Forecast as the heading would be helpful as well. This line can change as the year progresses. At the beginning. of the year Forecast and Budget would. be the same, but as budgetary situations change, the Forecast has to change as well.
Exactly. :-)
It’s disappointing to read Norm Thurston say that reporting acrtual revenue to budgeted revenue is “misleading.”
The County knows when to epect revenue and they should be tracking it based on when it’s expected, not month over month. If it’s late, that should be followed up on and explained and corrective action taken if applicable. Same if it’s below projections. Revenue is not and should not be projected based on monthly averages because that would indeed be misleading. It should be budgeted and tracked based on when it’s due.
On the expense side, actual expenses should be tracked monthly (because most of the expenses are for staffing which is very predictable). And in that case variations should be explained whenever they differ from budget by a significant amount.
I’m pretty sure the departments already do monthly expense tracking as is. The Auditor-Controller should be doing revenue budgeting, tracking and reporting.
At mid-year there should be a budget adjustment with explanations and spending plans should be adjusted by department as needed.
Mendo also needs to track the various major special funds on at least a quarterly basis: Teeter Plan, Road Fund, Mental Health, Cannabis, and any other funds where Mendo has to pay out first and then request reimbursement later. Major projects should have their own budgets and tracking as well. The PHF and the Jail Expansion, for example.
Mendo should not need “additional accountants,” they need to do ordinary budgeting and reporting like every other government organization does.
Hi Mark – I don’t think we’re that far apart on the goal: accurate and timely budget analyses. If you move to looking at each month as its own sub-budget that reflects the timing of revenues and expenditures, it will create a tremendous amount of additional work. It’s hard to find the personnel that are skilled in that work, and even if you find them the extra cost will be an issue. It’s a question every entity wrestles with: at what point does the cost of producing complete and timely information outweigh the benefits derived? During my time with the County, that threshold was pretty low. But if that has changed, I will be among those in support of hiring more accountants. And not just in the ACTTC Office, but in other departments where is a significant amount of budgeting and other fiscal work. My comments on budgeting reflect the actual practice I used in submitting quarterly budget reports which were compiled by the CEO and presented to the Board. I started with the actual revenues and expenditures as of the last day of the quarter, then computed the anticipated amounts for the remainder of the year based on the most current information. Those two amounts were added together to project the year-end totals, and that total was compared to the annual budget. Material variances were analyzed, and explained. So, basically, I was addressing your areas of concern following the first 3 fiscal quarters in comprehensive way, and at times that allowed for adjustments to be made, using a process that was much more efficient than your proposal. If I had to provide the same information every month without additional help, well I would not have stayed long. And no system will work well if you don’t have personnel that understand budgeting and accounting, and who do not have a very good understanding of their department’s major revenues and expenditures. And finally I will say that I think your proposal would significantly increase the workload for departmental fiscal personnel, and I can tell you that most of those folks already have a full plate. Significant increases in workloads on an ongoing basis should not be done without consideration for the possible need of additional staffing. What if the AVA were to go from a weekly print edition, to a schedule of producing a daily paper, without additional personnel and resources? (Yes, I know the print edition is ending.)
I find it hard to believe that Mendo doesn’t know when it’s general fund revenues are expected to come in and whether they do, nor that it would take “a tremendous amount of work” to see that it does. There are three main sources of those revenues: property taxes, sales taxes, and bed taxes. History should say what revenues should come in when. Keeping tabs on quarterly totals is straightforward. Not to mention that it’s important to know if you are getting revenues that you’re supposed to get. As far as departments keeping track of their expenditures: Let’s start with what they’re doing now (Ms. Antle says they keep their own spreadsheets) and work from there. The “too much work” excuse doesn’t fly. If you aren’t keeping track of your budgeted revenues and expenses why budget at all? You seem to be saying that Mendo has to fly blind because they don’t have anybody to clean the windshield.
PS. Need I remind you that CEO Angelo produced a budget to actual expense budget report once proving they can do it, but then quit doing it because a few ordinary questions were asked? She didn’t say it would be too much work then. Of course they can.
The quarterly projections required a deep dive and reporting out to the Board and public through the CEO in Oct, Jan, and April. Going through that process 11 times instead of 3 takes a lot more time. It is repetition that takes time and is not necessary. I can’t speak for others, but I was responsible for a lot more than just the budget.
I’ll settle for quarterly. Thanks for the exchange,
Ditto
A Budget…Ha!!!
At this point, what difference does it make? When the United States creates nearly a Trillion dollars of debt every hundred days (CNBC Mar 1, 2024), how long does the Republic have?
Mental health has failed, homelessness is uncontrollable, the county roads are crumbling, the weed has completely tanked for the small licensed growers, and the County BOS Chair is line dancing. What a County!
The wages are low, and the prices are high.
The money loans for 7 to 8 percent, which makes owning a home impossible for most.
Just another day at the office for the BOS, CEO, and their likes.
They’ll drink from the trough until it’s gone. And if you think the State or Federal Government will be here to save you, think again.
As always,
Laz
So these budget reports that Bowtie Ted complained about were suppose to be done by Antle? Why did he blame Cubbison for them? Oh, Teddy Boy your plan is that of a child. And the more the budget gets talked about, it becomes apparent that Antle or Stupidvisors are not equipped to deal with it.
I’m surprised that the AVA didn’t make it a big deal about it being May Day today. May Day comes from Marxist roots.
MAGA Marmon
As usual Maga has it wrong. May Day celebrations started out in Europe as a celebration of Spring with the exchanging of cut flowers and dancing around a Maypole. It later took on significant labor and political meaning when it became a day to honor working people. It is the largest holiday in the world being celebrated in all of Europe and Russia and China.The communist countries make a big deal out of it because it connects nicely with their “workers of the world unite” motto. Ironically though, the holiday originated in the United States to recognize a sad incident that happened in Chicago at a labor rally in Haymarket Square in 1898. They were demanding an eight hour work day. A labor union was on strike and staging a rally in Haymarket Square when someone threw a home made bomb. It Killed 6 or 7 policemen and several other people. Eight of the union leaders were charged with murder even though there was no evidence they were involved in the bombing. In fact, six of them were not even there at the rally. Never-the -less about six of them were found guilty and hung. I have found it ironic that the biggest holiday in the world, and one that is most significant in the communist countries, started with a labor clash in the United States where very few people know of its beginnings. If you work a 5 day week and 8 hours a day, take a few minutes on May Day to give thanks to those union men who died for you.