Shasta County air board probes $1.8M deficit; staff to seek fee increases and review restricted funds

The Shasta County Air Pollution Control Board on April 22 learned that the district’s unassigned general purpose fund has gone negative and that restricted grant funds were masking a cumulative shortfall staff estimates at about $1.8 million to $2.0 million dating back to fiscal year 2013–14.

“It has recently come to my attention that the unassigned funds within the general purpose fund have gone negative and were being offset by restricted funds,” said Sean Ewing, director of Resource Management and the Air Quality Management District’s air pollution control officer, summarizing the finance review at the special meeting.

The shortfall matters because the district’s remaining operating gap will be covered through assessments on member jurisdictions — the county and the cities that participate on the board — unless staff can justify additional use of restricted funds or find other revenue. Ewing told the board staff is reviewing prior-year time accounting and grant administration to determine whether more restricted funds can be legitimately applied retroactively and said staff will bring proposed fee increases to the board during the June budget cycle.

Ewing outlined the district’s typical funding sources — state pass-through grants for nonstationary-source…