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Alpine County adopts preliminary 2026-27 budget amid rising PERS and tax-delinquency concerns
Summary
County staff presented a preliminary FY 2026-27 general-fund budget showing a projected $930,000 deficit driven by rising pension and medical costs and increased property-tax delinquencies; board approved the preliminary budget and directed ongoing work to close the gap ahead of Sept. 1 hearings.
The Alpine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a preliminary general-fund budget for fiscal year 2026–27 after a detailed presentation by the county's budget and finance teams.
Matt McSorley, director of budget and procurement, said the draft shows a roughly $930,000 shortfall when current estimates for salaries, benefits and other costs are included. He identified CalPERS unfunded liability contributions and rising medical-insurance rates as major drivers. Finance director Klaus Leidenbauer told the board the county will send an approximately $1 million CalPERS payment this summer toward the unfunded liability and that the county's PARS pension trust has a balance that could be used strategically.
The presentation also highlighted a growing property-tax delinquency rate that moved from about 4.8% to roughly 8.1% in the most recent year. Leidenbauer explained that the increase in delinquencies and the county's receivable balance reduce near-term cash flow; he and McSorley said their current revenue projection is conservative to avoid overstating available funds.
Board and staff discussion focused on closing the remaining gap. County CEO Sam Booth and finance staff said they would continue meetings with department heads to find service-and-supplies reductions and to refrain from adding positions while the fiscal picture is uncertain. The preliminary budget includes a $100,000 planned transfer to the capital-improvement fund and a contingency that the county treats as a forced savings account if not spent.
Supervisors noted one-time receipts the county recently received—insurance/risk-pool reimbursements tied to prior capital projects—and discussed the prudence of routing such one-time funds into reserves rather than recurring spending. The board asked staff to return regular updates between now and the public budget hearings on Sept. 1.
The supervisors voted to adopt the preliminary budget and set the schedule for the final hearings; no specific staffing cuts or program eliminations were adopted at Tuesday's meeting.
