Budget Documents for Public Viewing
For more information please contact the Budget Officer via Email.
BUDGET MESSAGE FROM THE BUDGET OFFICER
The Budget Document is a financial plan, containing estimates of revenues and expenditures for the 2 upcoming fiscal years, which begin July 1, 2026 and end June 30, 2028. Oregon Budget Law allows the creation of a biennial budget and has specific guidelines for preparing, adopting and using the budget. Ash Creek Water Control District first utilized a biennial budget for the period July 1, 2004-June 30, 2006.
The budget is assembled by the appointed Budget Officer, who then prepares a budget message and delivers the message and document to the Budget Committee at an advertised meeting open to the public. The District Board appointed Marilyn Morton as the Budget Officer, who then prepared a Budget Calendar. The meeting was published twice in the Polk Itemizer-Observer.
According to Budget Law, the Budget Message must, at a minimum:
1. Explain the budget document;
2. Include a brief description of the proposed financial policies of the district for the coming fiscal year;
3. Describe the important features of the budget document in connection with the financial policies of the district;
4. Explain reasons for changes from the previous year in appropriations and revenues;
5. Explain major changes in financial policy.
Once the budget has been examined and any changes have been made, the Budget Committee votes to approve the budget. This document will then be published in the format required under Budget Law, and the District will hold a final hearing to adopt the budget. Once the budget has been approved by this budget committee, the District Board may make limited changes to the budget – the Board can decrease the budget by any amount, but it cannot increase the budget expenditures by more than $5,000 or 10%. If the Board desires to increase expenditures by more than this amount, then the budget must be republished, keeping in mind the June 30th adoption deadline.
The Ash Creek Water Control District was formed August 16, 1951, by petition and order, and also falls under Oregon Revised Statutes, Section 553.
The budget for the Ash Creek Water Control District is composed of the General Fund, which is sufficient to carry out the purposes as adopted by local order and state law and a Reserve Fund, which was established to fund large-scale projects within the district.
Financial policy will not substantially change in the new fiscal year: internal cash controls will remain in place; excess’ cash will be deposited in the Local Government Investment Pool until required; and expenditures are allotted to projects within the District boundary, or for projects outside the boundary that affect the District. The District operates on a cash basis of accounting and will continue to do so.
An accounting firm (Ascension Accounting) was hired to assist the District with bookkeeping and accounts payable; continued and possible additional use of the firm’s expertise is anticipated.
General Fund
Significant budgeting in this fiscal biennium includes amounts to cover potential projects in:
10-year Plan:
1. Knowledge Based: $10,000
2. Physical/Dedicated: $ 200,000
3. Physical/Other: $15,000
Projects – Other: $25,000
1. Education Grants - $10,000
2. Outreach - $2,000
3. Garbage Cans - $1,500
4. Nutria - 1,500
5. Spray - $10,000
A Project Reserve Fund was established by the Board resolution in June 2020, where funds are transferred from the General Fund and reserved for future specified projects. No projects are anticipated to be identified for use by the reserve fund in this fiscal year.
However, the reserve has been allocated to contingency, should a need arise in the next budget biennium. This would require a supplemental budget to access. Also, as done in the previous budget biennium, the proposed budget includes a contingency amount and no unappropriated ending fund balance.
I would like to thank the Budget Committee members for their time and effort in participating in this important process.
Respectfully Submitted,
Marilyn Morton, Budget Officer