Proposition 172 Funds

The current method of budgeting the distribution of Proposition 172 funds to County government public safety is not transparent, either to the public or to the County agencies eligible to receive these funds. The Auditor-Controller disagrees partially with this finding. The current method of budgeting the Prop 172 revenue funds works well in our County and has been in place for over 20 years. To make it easier for the public to follow, I would support changing the format in the County’s budget book to clearly identify the four public safety departments that receive Prop 172 funding.

This lack of transparency violates the spirit of the original proposition and could be easily rectified by a simple alteration to the format of the County budget. The Auditor-Controller disagrees partially with this finding. To make it easier for the public to follow, I would support changing the format in the County’s budget book to clearly identify the four public safety departments that receive Prop 172 funding.

The Auditor-Controller has been able to demonstrate the appropriate distribution of Proposition 172 Funds to municipalities within the County. However, the Auditor-Controller has been unable to demonstrate that the remaining Proposition 172 revenues have been entirely distributed to County public safety agencies as required. The Auditor-Controller partially disagrees with this finding. This was demonstrated to the Grand Jury through the County’s Net County Cost (NCC) method of budgeting. The remaining Prop 172 revenue funds are deposited into Budget Unit 1000 Non Departmental Revenues. From here they are distributed to the four public safety departments through their annual NCC assignments. The MOE calculation confirms that the Prop 172 funds have been properly distributed.

The failure to update the MOE calculation annually as required, has placed the County in a position of non-compliance with State requirements. The Auditor-Controller disagrees with this finding. The MOE calculations have been prepared as required. Each and every MOE calculation has clearly shown the County is in compliance with State Requirements. .