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Board withdraws December bills listing for presentation; adopts reserve policy and pursues a capital-asset fund
Summary
Supervisors agreed to withdraw the December invoice listing (CA 7) for a future presentation, approved changes to the county's reserve policy that lower the minimum target and revised the base for calculation, and adopted a capital asset management policy with an implementation start date of July 1, 2025.
Mariposa County supervisors on Tuesday agreed to pull the auditor’s December vendor report (CA 7) from the consent calendar for a full presentation and adopted revisions to the county’s financial policies intended to improve transparency and create a new capital funding stream.
The board voted unanimously to withdraw CA 7 from the consent agenda and directed the auditor to return with a regular-agenda presentation that explains invoice detail and CalCard entries. ‘‘There’s just a lot of questions that we might want to have a discussion about,’’ Supervisor Steven Manatray said; Auditor Luis Mercado agreed to prepare a legend and receipts on request.
While the bills item was withdrawn, the board approved the remainder of the consent agenda in a single motion. The consent motion carried 5-0 (Supervisor Toso moved; Supervisor Poe seconded). Items approved on consent included HHSA grants (CA 18, CA 19) and the sale of surplus property (CA 26), as noted on the consent list.
In a separate session the board adopted a revised reserve policy. County finance staff and the auditor explained the two main changes: (1) the reserve base will be calculated from expenditures with capital expenditures removed, rather than the prior method that subtracted transfers; and (2) the minimum reserve target will be lowered from 22.7% to 16.7% of the new base (approximately two months of operating expenditures), consistent with standard best-practice guidance. Lee Westerlund, interim finance director, said the change reflects that some transfers previously excluded should be treated as expenditures when estimating an operating reserve.
Supervisors approved the reserve policy change by a 5-0 vote; staff said the county already has replaced roughly $1 million of a larger drawdown made during last year’s budget process and discussed a plan to replenish the balance over the coming years.
The board also approved a capital asset management policy adopting higher capitalization thresholds and committing to create a capital asset inventory. The board amended the motion to make the policy effective July 1, 2025, to allow staff time to grandfather existing assets and prepare implementation steps. Supervisors said the county will pursue establishing a capital fund and hopes to set aside funding in future budgets to pay for prioritized infrastructure and vehicle replacements.
Votes at a glance - Consent agenda (minus CA 7): approved 5-0 (mover: Supervisor Toso; second: Supervisor Poe). - Reserve policy revisions: adopted 5-0. - Capital Asset Management Policy (effective July 1, 2025): adopted 5-0. - Minutes (Dec. 17; Jan. 7; Jan. 14): approved with one abstention (Supervisor Kaiser) 4–0–1.
Ending: County staff will return with a presentation on December invoices, a capital project prioritization plan and periodic updates as departments prepare inventories of capital needs.
