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Auditor presents Dec. 31 financial snapshot as county braces for program funding shifts
Summary
Auditor-Controller Krista Peterson told the Tehama County Board of Supervisors the county spent about 39.9% of its $280.9 million budget through Dec. 31, 2025, and highlighted a $25 million internal loan to Health Services to sustain cash flow; she warned revenue recognition timing and state policy changes could affect future budgets.
Krista Peterson, Tehama County auditor-controller, presented the quarter-ending Dec. 31, 2025 financial report, telling the Board of Supervisors that total expenditures were $168,801,000 of a $280,881,000 budget (approximately 39.9% spent) and describing shifts in revenue recognition that complicate year-to-date comparisons.
Peterson attributed a sharp year-over-year decline in "aid from other agencies" to one-time Park Fire reimbursements recognized in the prior year and to the completion of several road projects that lowered both related revenue and expenditures. She said property and sales tax combined rose due to assessed-value increases and that charges for services were down in part because the Health Services Agency had ‘‘caught up’’ on billing the prior year.
The auditor outlined notable program-level details: the general fund had received about 19.3% of its budgeted revenues as of Dec. 31, and public-safety operations showed a higher reliance on general-fund transfers because recognition of internal interfund revenues lags; she said public-safety total revenue including general-fund contribution was about 47% but without the general-fund augmentation was roughly 23.3%.
Peterson reviewed vacancy-contingency practices and the county’s use of a PARS 115 trust to mitigate PERS unfunded liabilities. She said the county currently has about $2.5 million in the PARS 115 trust and described the board policy that directs contributions of a portion of excess fund balance into that vehicle.
On Health Services, Peterson said the county maintained an internal Treasury loan to support cash flow — $30 million the prior year, reduced to $25 million for the current year — structured so the health agency is charged interest and the loan is reauthorized by resolution each fiscal year. She noted the county relies heavily on aid from other government agencies for health and human services revenue and that state-level changes (for example, reductions tied to HR 1 were raised during discussion) could materially affect county finances.
Supervisors asked follow-up questions about timing of state policy impacts, the use of salary-savings for one-time purchases (the district attorney’s reported software purchase was discussed as an example), and whether more frequent or different-format financial dashboards would be helpful; Peterson offered access to read-only financial software and discussed quarterly report cadence. The board asked Health Services Agency to prepare an informational update on exposure related to HR 1.
The presentation concluded with the chair thanking the auditor and noting the report is intended to prompt timely oversight and questions from the full board.
