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An Ordinance establishing an Allegheny County “Rainy Day” Fund and providing for the administration of revenues placed into such fund.
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WHEREAS, Allegheny County has not created a formalized reserve fund in order to provide funding to be held in reserve in case of unforeseen circumstances that could cause the depletion of the County’s general fund; and
WHEREAS, the creation of such a special reserve fund has been recommended by multiple Members of County Council over the last several years, as well as by former Allegheny County Controller Mark Flaherty; and
WHEREAS, federal and state funding to the County has decreased consistently and the County’s operating expenditures have increased consistently for the last several budget years; and
WHEREAS, the County has historically demonstrated a tendency to rely upon one-time revenue adjustments such as tax receivable and property sales in order to balance its budget even as the County’s structural operating deficit grew and its unrestricted operating cash position deteriorated; and
WHEREAS, the County’s general fund balance was depleted to under $6 million at the conclusion of 2011, reflecting the expenditure of approximately $14 million in reserve funding simply to meet the County’s financial obligations for 2011; and
WHEREAS, given the trends noted above, it is the desire of Council to create an Allegheny County Reserve fund in order to provide the County with a means of meeting unforeseen expenses without placing additional demands on its already stressed budget; and
WHEREAS, the Council of Allegheny County is of the belief that the creation of such a fund will inure to the benefit of the citizens of the County, and it is the desire of the Council to fund such a fund through any future revenues derived from natural gas or other resource leasing or extraction activities;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Incorporation of Preamble.
The provi...
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