Research by the Pew Charitable Trusts found it was both unusual for states to prohibit counties from creating their own rainy-day fund and that Oklahoma counties’ reliance on sales tax would make them more susceptible than the average county to larger revenue declines.
The bill passed unanimously in both chambers and Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed it in April.
“The only hesitancy we heard from the Legislature was asking if this would be a slush fund for the county,” said Jacob McHughes, assistant commissioner for Cleveland County. “It’s exactly the opposite because it standardizes budgeting.”
“The state used its rainy-day fund a few years ago to cover shortfalls, so that really demonstrated why counties needed the same tool.”
Cleveland County suffered a damaging hailstorm two weeks after the bill was signed.
“We had tried working through the state auditor’s office, but a new statute made it more clear,” said Rod Cleveland, a Cleveland County commissioner. “We could save money in a capital improvement fund, but it had to be tied to a future expense. It just wasn’t the way we wanted to do things. We wanted an actual statutory savings plan.”
Although counties are reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for federally declared disasters, they have to front the money to pay for repairs and recovery. So too must counties cover their operating expenses between the start of their fiscal years in July and when they collect property taxes in December. Read More at NACo.org