County on solid fiscal ground

Butte County officials recently announced they’d obtained a short-term cash-flow loan from U.S. Bank. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is. The county might not have been able to function without the money.

The loan, called a tax and revenue anticipation note, or TRAN, is in the amount of $23,495,000 and will enable the county to pay its bills during periods when revenues are low. When money comes in, following April and December property-tax filings, the county will pay off the loan.

During budget deliberations earlier this year, interim Chief Adminstrative Officer Greg Iturria warned county supervisors that, unless they got their fiscal house in order, they might not be able to obtain a TRAN. The consequences would be dire, he warned. To their credit, the supervisors listened and did what they had to do, making a series of difficult cuts, including to fire services, to balance the budget. The TRAN loan is evidence that they did the right thing.