{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Financial crisis: \"We just don't know how bad it is.\"","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":389,"description":"August 3, 2022 — A Board of Supervisors discussion about cost overruns for the new jail construction project veered into a cry for help from the state, as county leadership admitted that it does not have a clear idea what its financial situation is.\r\n\r\n“I would like to ask my colleagues for support on direction to the CEO’s office to reach out to the state controller’s office to help us get our books in order,” Supervisor Ted Williams announced, about a half hour into the meeting.\r\n\r\nA few minutes after hearing that state review of construction documents is causing months-long delays and that cost estimates for the new jail are now $7-8 million over budget, Williams told his colleagues how frustrated he is by the lack of financial information, even after a budgeting process that started months ago. \r\n\r\n“I’m three and half years into a term,” he said. “I worry, I'm coming up on the point where I can no longer use the excuse, I’m new here. And yet in the three and a half years, I haven’t been able to get a credible financial report. I understand we have three different sets of books. They all differ. Why?”\r\n\r\nCEO Darcie Antle corroborated the main point. “I would agree with you. I’m not quite sure,” she acknowledged. “I think a lot of the reason we have asked for a pause in the labor negotiations is that we don’t know. We don’t have a clear vision on what the books are, and where the finances are. And those discussions need to continue with the new auditor-controller.” \r\n\r\nIt doesn’t seem like anyone has a clear idea, and that’s a problem for rank and file workers and the public as well as the leadership. SEIU Local 1021, the union that represents the bulk of the county’s employees, filed a complaint with the Public Employees Relations Board last month, detailing the information they’ve requested as they negotiate their contract. The union wants a 5% Cost of Living Adjustment, which Field Representative Patrick Hickey estimates would cost the county $3.2 million....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}