Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Adopted Budget - County of Sonoma

A Guide to Reading the Budget
Welcome to the budget for the fiscal year 2011-2012, which begins July 1, 2011. This section of the budget document is
designed to help readers understand the purpose and content of the budget, as well as to locate data and/or information they
may be looking for.
The Purpose of the Budget
The budget is essentially an operating plan for the coming fiscal year that has been developed based upon policy direction
given by the Board of Supervisors to provide services to the public within available resources. It is a vehicle for presenting
plans and opportunities that will make Sonoma County an even better place to live and work. It includes a narrative from
each department that reports program successes in the prior year, as well as goals for the next year. In the latter case, new
approaches may be presented for more effective and relevant methods of delivering services to county residents.
The paramount goal of county government is to enhance or protect the quality of life for local residents. To that end, the
County of Sonoma acts as an administrative agent for three sets of services: municipal type services; countywide local
services; and countywide services provided on behalf of the state and federal governments.
Municipal services pertain mainly to unincorporated areas of the county and include fire protection, emergency services and
planning, Sheriff’s law enforcement, building and land use regulations, road maintenance, parks, lighting, water and sewer
utilities, etc.
Countywide local services are common to most counties in the state or country. These include services of the County Clerk,
Elections, Assessor, Auditor-Controller/Tax Collector, as well as criminal prosecution, public defense, probation, and
detention, etc.
Services provided on behalf of the state and federal governments, for the most part, impact all county residents and are
generally related to health and human services. These efforts are funded primarily by state and federal revenues sources.
Developing the Budget
Each year, the County of Sonoma goes through a collaborative development process to ensure the preparation of a balanced
budget for the coming fiscal year. All county departments compile and submit financial and program information to the
County Administrator’s Office where it is reconciled with other factors that may impact county operations. Examples of
such factors are: Board of Supervisors’ policy direction, available financing, state and federal policies, changes in the cost
of doing business, and capital asset needs. When the County Administrator is satisfied that the budget is a comprehensive
and sound plan, conforming to the constraints of available financing and policy, it is made available to the public and the
Board of Supervisors as the “Recommended Budget.” The budget document is provided at least two weeks before a series of
hearings by the Board of Supervisors.
The Board of Supervisors directs whatever modifications it sees fit to the Recommended Budget during their public
hearings and adopts the result as the Adopted Budget. Under state law, the Board of Supervisors has until October to adopt
the budget.
County of Sonoma Budget Cycle
Nov/
Dec
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Develop/Distribute Budget Instructions X
BOS Budget Policy Session(s) X X X X
Requested Budgets due to CAO X
CAO Budget Review with Depts. X X X X
Budget Hearings and Adoption X
Note: BOS = Board of Supervisors, CAO = County Administrator
County of Sonoma
FY 2011-2012 Adopted Budget
1
Overview