Minutes 06-09-2022 Budget Work Session

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5 management of how they are evaluated is worth considering because it has implications far broader than just $500,000. She said that even if she agreed that schools are in crisis, she said they has to be very careful about where they take it from. She said that she did not agree that this was a fiscally sound decision. Chair Price said they have a responsibility to the people who have worked for the county. She said she wants to avoid setting the county up for a bad reputation on how they manage their finances. She said that she would prefer to find the funds elsewhere. She said she does not feel that taking from one to give to another. Commissioner Fowler said she was a very conservative person, and originally had concerns about the proposed amendment. She agreed that the schools are in crisis and lacking a teacher is a crisis. She suggested taking only $250,000 for the schools and leaving $250,000 for the OPEB Trust Fund. Commissioner Bedford said she would accept that amendment. Chair Price asked the County Manager if ARPA funds could be used for a teacher retention program. Gary Donaldson said under revenue replacement there is some cushion, and it could be done. Bonnie Hammersley said she thought it was an eligible use. She said when the county gives ARPA funds to other entities, the county signs an agreement with the entity that they will do all of the reporting. She said the county does not budget funds for the schools by line item, and that the county cannot tell the school districts how to use the funds. Commissioner Bedford asked if ARPA funds could be used to supplant SRO or nurse funds for school resource officers and other positions and then use the funds for the schools. Bonnie Hammersley said she did not think it would be an eligible use because those positions did not come up as a need during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the county cannot supplant ongoing expenses with ARPA. Chair Price asked if it were a teacher retention program would it work. Bonnie Hammersley said that salaries would be a current expense and she did not think that would be an eligible use. She said that she would be very cautious about that. She said that she does not want to get into a mess in 2024 over ARPA funding and management. Commissioner Hamilton said that Gary Donaldson's report made it clear that there is no threat to their bond rating. Gary Donaldson said it has not been a concern at the rating agencies. He said the other part of that is that jurisdictions are beginning to do a multi-tiered approach and prefunding an irrevocable trust. He said that is the reason for a slow and incremental approach. He said the actuary may show a higher rate of return when they do their report. Commissioner Hamilton said right now it will not affect our bond rating. Commissioner Richards said she did not read it that way. Commissioner Hamilton said it is something in the future that might affect the bond rating. She said that it is not something we need to be concerned about now. Commissioner Richards said that this could create a bigger gap to fill in the future and that will have to be addressed. She said that anything they do for the schools this year will be part of their budget in future years and will continue. She said by adding additional funds they would be creating a situation where there will be less to put into the fund in the future. She said that schools would start out in a higher place than where they are now. Commissioner McKee said it is easy to create funding for worthy projects. He said that they create precedents and expectations. He said they create programs that take on a life of its own. He said that they have set the precedent of not funding OPEB and allowing the liability to grow from $60 million to $160 million in 10 years. He said that he does not think that the additional funding of $500,000 will affect the schools. He said they have the #1 and #3 school