Lake County delays final budget vote after supervisors, residents flag errors and contingency use

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 29 voted unanimously to continue the final FY 2026–27 budget hearing to Oct. 1 after multiple supervisors and members of the public raised concerns about last-minute numerical changes, missing documentation and the proposed use of contingency funds.

Deputy County Administrative Officer Casey Moreno presented the final recommended budget and a series of verbal adjustments, telling the board: "So before you, I have the final recommended budget." Supervisors pressed for clarity after what several described as confusing fund-balance available (FBA) figures. Supervisor Sabatier warned against using reserves to plug ongoing shortfalls, saying, "To me, using our contingency funds to balance a budget...that's a red line, and I can't approve today's budget because of that." The board also cited late posting of materials and software/conversion issues that contributed to last-minute changes.

Assistant Auditor-Controller Dakota Hawke told the board the late revisions resulted from staff shortages and the Workday financial-system conversion, and that an unexpectedly large set of "uncompleted contracts" required accrual adjustments that changed the reported FBA. Hawke said accruals were submitted but that the timing and volume of contract liabilities caught staff off guard.

Public commenters urged delay to allow time for review. Tom Lasik said the public should be given a full, inspectable record before approval, arguing that line-item discrepancies and more than 70 changes merited further scrutiny. Health services and other department heads also warned that delaying final adoption could jeopardize reimbursements tied to tight grant deadlines, prompting supervisors to weigh operational harms of deferral against the need for accuracy.

After debate about whether the board could legally continue the hearing beyond the statutory deadline, the board motioned, seconded and approved moving the hearing to Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. The clerk recorded the motion as carrying 5–0. The board directed staff to publish the revised slides and to return with the requested clarifications (updated FBAs, corrected schedules and department-level impacts) before reconvening.