Butte County Supervisors recommend a $1 BILLION budget for 2024-25. This is an increase of $192 MILLION over 2023-24. Revenues include another $25 MILLION in Camp Fire Settlement funds. [PLEASE NOTE: The settlement money is coming from increased rates, the ratepayers, many of whose houses were burnt, are paying this settlement, not PG&E management or stock holders].
A neighbor asked, where does the county’s current funding go?
According to the budget, available online, salaries and benefits take 47% (=HALF A BILLION $$$) What does this mean for the county’s pension deficit?
“In June 2024, the Chico Enterprise-Record reported that Butte County’s pension deficit was growing and that the budgeted payment for the year was about $18 million. The deficit grew by $28 million over the 2021-22 period.”
“In gross dollars, the contribution would more than double, from $24.9 million in FY 2018-19 to $57 million in FY 2030-31.”
Employees are not being asked to pay higher contributions – “The County will accumulate funds by collecting additional amounts from Departmental budgets through the payroll process. ” Meaning, they budget more money to payroll to pay for the deficit, instead of hiring more employees as needed. There you see it – the POB they took out in 2004 ISN’T WORKING. The POB costs are in the millions, IN ADDITION to the MILLIONS they are paying to CalPERS.
Debt service on Pension Obligation Bonds established 2004 – $3.8 MILLION, with increasing payments through 2034. According to this report
https://www.buttecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/1552/Pension-Strategy-PDF
“The Strategy” saves the county $350,000 a year. They spend millions in money that should be going to infrastructure and they only save $350,000/year?
Budget projections through 2029 show overall salary increases of $5 MILLION or more per year. You do the math, right? Every salary increase has a exponential effect on the pension deficit.
This is where the money is going – it’s like feeding blue jays.
NO on Butte County one cent sales tax measure H.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Well, if you are right about Measure H being a squeaker that’s the county supervisors’ fault, especially that idiot Kimmelshue. He decided to only spend $168,000 on the consulting firm for Measure H. That is not even chump change for getting a cool 😎 $44 million extra from the taxpayers every year. They should have spent a couple million. How could they forget the sky is the limit when you are spending other people’s money? Heck, they passed a billion dollar budget for little ol’ Butte County. In a single year our county government became a billionaire 😎 And there’s more where that came from. 😎