The county administration's budget plan drew a salute from supervisors Tuesday as they cut the county's pension debt by $32 million and added new wrinkles to the fiscal mix.
County Administrator Matthew Hymel announced that plans are being developed for a "hybrid" pension program for consideration by miscellaneous employees. It will include aspects of private retirement plans favored by a younger, mobile workforce.
Hymel provided no details, but noted such a program would require special legislation to enact, and added it may be ready for preliminary discussion next month.
The board also seemed in concert with a request by Supervisor Steve Kinsey that Hymel's staff analyze public pension programs across the county to determine "per capita risks" or unfunded liabilities and related issues facing Marin's public agencies.
Kinsey, noting an Independent Journal report indicating the county's pension funding program was more aggressive than San Rafael's, said a study refining and analyzing information already collected by a countywide panel of city leaders could "create a context and provide leadership" as agencies tackle fiscal issues.
Supervisor Katie Rice suggested the county present the idea to city managers, but Kinsey said the county should proceed with an independent analysis of local funding risks regardless of municipal reaction.
"If they are apoplectic or not apoplectic, we should proceed," he said.
In a key move,
supervisors, as expected, unanimously allocated $32 million to a reserve fund to pay down pension debt, cutting unfunded liability to $340 million ? assuming robust stock market investments. Officials next month will consider plans to pump $14 million into another reserve fund to reduce the county's additional retiree heath care liability, which now stands at $320 million.The action boosts the funding of the Civic Center's pension program to 76.4 percent, nearing the 80 percent ratio that most analysts say is the minimum percentage needed.
In contrast, San Rafael, a member of the county pension program, has a funding ratio of less than 63 percent.
The hefty county allocation will reduce minimal contributions it is required to make to the program, cutting annual payments by $2.4 million within two years, a big help in efforts to close a continuing but narrowing budget "gap" that next year is estimated at $4.3 million.
Budget analyst Dan Eilerman, a deputy county administrator, noted the gap, which could grow to more than $7.3 million in four years if nothing is done, is not as daunting as the four-year, $50 million shortfall estimated four years ago, before a "restructuring" process that cut the county workforce 11 percent.
"That shows you how far we've come," he said, noting "our financial outlook is improving."
Other budget planning proposals approved Tuesday included generating $600,000 in new general fund revenue next year from leases at the Marin Commons public safety building. Previously, officials envisioned using lease revenues to pay for private financing of improvements for tenants, but now will cut costs by using $3.9 million in reserve funds to make pay-as-you-go upgrades.
Supervisor Rice balked at locking in plans to dedicate to roads improvements half of any year-end balance funding that exceeds $20 million ? a policy that could generate as much as $5 million more each year to fix roads.
Rice said she preferred building up a "good size nest egg" for use if state and federal budget cuts are too deep.
No decision on the policy proposal was made as Kinsey noted that county roads need more than $200 million in upgrades ? and that officials must remain "disciplined" to make ends meet.
In other budget moves, the board asked the Marin Economic Forum to provide a forecast of real estate values so that officials have a better idea of how much property tax revenue to expect over the next several years.
Contact Nels Johnson via email at ij.civiccenter@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/nelsjohnsonnews
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