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• It's been a good year. <br /> • The budget process: produced a good product, protected safety <br /> services, kept it revenue-neutral; had good communication with the <br /> public <br /> • Group commitments: we stuck to the priorities and commitments we set <br /> • Willingness to make tough choices <br /> • Got two new good people <br /> • Protected 2,500 acres since April 2000. $5 million in grants <br /> • Good relationships with school systems and with other government bodies <br /> • Regional consensus about importance of transportation development <br /> • Stayed revenue-neutral <br /> • Board expanded from 5 to 7 smoothly <br /> • Opened 3 parks, new senior center, animal shelter, solid-waste facility, <br /> dedicated a park <br /> • Quality of life in Orange County <br /> • Board is coming to grips with change—willing to change, open to <br /> partnerships, keep things from being personal <br /> III. Current Financial Realities: <br /> Presentation from Gary Humphreys, Finance Department <br /> (PowerPoint handout included in retreat packet) <br /> Take-aways from the Gary's presentation and the discussion of financial <br /> realities: <br /> 1 . Importance of COMMUNICATION to the public: <br /> • What the county's revenue is and what it spends its money on. <br /> We need easy-to-access and easy-to-understand data on the <br /> website. <br /> • What "revenue-neutral" means. A good statistic to circulate: <br /> We cut the budget by $5.4 million. <br /> • Why the county doesn't have "extra money," after we did the <br /> revaluations <br /> 2. Current financial reality of Orange County: <br /> • County's fund balance is lower than is optimal considering that <br /> revenue collections are slower than `usual'. When budget time <br /> comes, we need to keep in mind the importance of <br /> maintaining a bigger reserve. <br /> • Debt ratio: The current policy only takes general obligation <br />