$6 M Budget Issue Highlights Lack of Financial Expertise at Shasta County’s Health and Human Services Agency
County CEO David Rickert says HHSA is building the resources needed to make good financial decisions. A new chief financial officer has just been hired.
5.31.24 2:36 pm: We have updated the story to correct a departmental reference.
6.4.24 9:46 pm: We have updated the story to clarify when Burch became the head of HHSA.
On May 21, Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency staff asked county supervisors to retroactively approve $6 million in unapproved prior fiscal year spending. The spending was initially paid from HHSA fund balances, without the required board permission.
The county’s Health and Human Services’ budget makes up a significant part of overall County spending. Much of HHSA’s funding comes from California, not the County’s general fund, and is used to provide state-mandated services for the vulnerable, including food aid and mental health and housing support.
Laura Burch was appointed as Shasta County’s HHSA Director in November 2022, by a unanimous vote of county supervisors. She held the position as an interim for eight months before that. The issue occurred after Burch’s appointment when two budget categories under her management, Social Services and Welfare & Cash Aid, documented combined spending of almost $6 million more from fund balances than had been previously approved by the Board.
April memos sent to Burch by elected County Auditor Nolda Short, highlighted the budget issue with a reminder that County policies require department heads to “periodically review each budget unit and adjust each budget throughout the year.”
And, if expenses exceed revenue, Short pointed out to Burch, also seek permission from supervisors to use funds from internal departmental savings accounts.
Short confirmed for Shasta Scout that the process of monitoring budgets and asking county supervisors for additional fund use when needed is something that should normally occur within the same fiscal year. But until this month, Burch had done neither, despite the budget issue occurring more than a year ago.
Speaking to Shasta Scout before the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 21, Burch said she first learned of the budget problem in October from a staff member. HHSA budgets, Burch explained, are complex, and often issues with budgets become more clear after the books close for the fiscal year, something that happens each September.
Burch blamed the unapproved spending on inaccurate financial reporting by former staff but did not specify which former staffers she was implicating.
“It’s not an uncommon thing,” Burch told Shasta Scout, “for a budget to go over . . . What was uncommon was the practice of monitoring, which was inaccurate, and that the revenue was over-projected.”
In response to a question about whether it was her responsibility as HHSA Director to ensure accurate accounting in HHSA’s departments, Burch said “You’re right . . . the monitoring . . . could have been much tighter.”
Last week, supervisors approved Burch’s request to move money from internal HHSA saving accounts to cover spending in the previous fiscal year. They also approved her request to move $2.4 million in mental health savings to one of the budgets impacts by the spending. But supervisors did not question her or her staff about how the issues occurred or why they weren’t brought to the board’s attention in a timely manner.
Burch told Shasta Scout the reason she didn’t inform supervisors about the budget discrepancies that she learned of seven months ago was because she didn’t know what she needed to do to do rectify the problem.
“I’ve never been through this exact process before, never as a department head,” Burch explained. “So I actually didn’t even know what the mechanism was (for correcting the issue.)”
She said she’s now put a lot of “stop-gaps” in place to help ensure accurate accounting moving forward, explaining that she’s taken over the process of making revenue estimates and is working with her new Administrative Branch Department Head, Erin Watts, who’s assisting her by closely following month-to-month accounting trends.
“There is an accountability structure that’s very different,” Burch said. “And there is monthly monitoring (of the actual entries in the accounting software) by me.”
Speaking to Shasta Scout after the meeting, Supervisor Tim Garman chose not to comment on the budget issue, while Supervisor Kevin Crye said Burch had to trust her staff.
“But this is the problem with HHSA,” Crye explained, “you’re having to trust eight layers of people that are making big decisions. And so you’re not (just trusting) Christy (Coleman), because ‘you’re my right hand person’ or Trisha (Boss because) ‘you’re my person, cherry picked because I’ve known you.’ It’s seven layers (of staffing) deep.”
Since being appointed about eighteen months ago, Burch has overseen the resignation or retirements of a number of top departmental positions. She’s also created several new key positions in the Agency.
The newly-formed role of Assistant Director of HHSA went to Christy Coleman, a former coworker of Burch’s at Child Support Services where Coleman most recently held the role of Interim Director. Burch’s new Administrative Branch Director, Erinn Watts, is also a former Child Support Services staffer where she was most recently a program manager.
County CEO David Rickert explained the budget issue by saying that HHSA is a “very large, complex department” and that HHSA finances are “a work in progress.”
“We’re not quite where I want to be with the (HHSA) finances . . . There’s been a lot of turnover, especially with middle-level management and making sure they have the financial expertise they need to make good financial decisions . . . but we’ve hired an HHSA CFO and we’re gonna build the resources we need to make those good financial decisions.
Burch confirmed this week that HHSA’s first CFO will be Rahsaan Dean.
Rickert also explained that changes in the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1 will be important.
“It’s a change in philosophy and process. Our budget hearings this year are going to be a three-day affair,” Rickert said.
“I want every department head to be able to not only explain their budget to the board, but be able to defend their budget to the board and answer the tough questions . . . they’re going to have to come in here and answer those questions in front of the board and in front of the public.”
“And if they can’t,” CEO Rickert continued, “we have a problem. Because the whole engine that drives government is financing. We can’t pay for programs, we can’t pay for personnel, we can’t do anything unless we have the money accounted for and the efficiency of how we’re using that money. And these are things we’re focusing on.”
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Current employees in HHSA – I’m calling all you out. Speak up and report what you KNOW to be true! Don’t let fear keep you down. NOW is the time to act and report the the issues you have been having.
So many are afraid of the bullying that comes from the Regime. Though I haven’t personally experienced, I have witnessed them come after top employees many times. People are taking demotions or lateral transfers in order to get out of HHSA and the chaos.
Exactly. I myself have begun applying for other positions and there are multiple teams falling apart. Unfortunately even after the unions have delivered more than a dozen complaints against the current admin branch leadership to personnel, nothing seems to be happening. Everyone is so afraid of retaliation that they don’t want to give their names and so personnel uses that as an excuse to ignore the complaints. However support services staff are well aware of the admin branch problems, particularly the ongoing bullying and retaliation against employees by the branch director and her deputy. I wonder what it will take for them to finally act.
WOW !!!! Just wow. I know I should not be so shocked that Laura would blatantly lie like this BUT I AM.
I have been in HHSA fiscal for quite a few year now and it was only when Laura Burch became interim that we in fiscal started to have problems. She created positions that were never needed and hired her friends. Then ran out all upper management and most fiscal supervisors who knew ANYTHING to replace them with HER FRIENDS. She put them in charge of Fiscal dispite them not having ANY KNOWLEDGE of fiscal. Then to make the situation worse the top 4 ( in admin ) started to randomly make changes to budgets despite what we told them needed to be done and why it needed to be done.
Again I have been doing my job for quite a few years, I am just a worker bee but I know what I am doing and I do it well. I have never had a problem until they all took over. Yes, lots of our county ran programs in Mental Health, Public Health and Social Services are reimbursed from State and Federal funds. But with that comes certain stipulations of how we are supposed to run the program and spend the money. Despite me telling the top 4 what the rules and regulations so we can RECEIVE all the funding available, they CUT midyear budgets and mandated positions therefore causing a ripped effect. We didn’t do all we were supposed to so we can’t get all the funds.
So this 6 M is quite frankly their fault for not listing to us who do have experience. Plus running out fiscal supervisors and managers who had the experience.
Don’t let her / them try to put this down on us worker bees who have been doing this for years and doing it well.
Don’t let them fool you into thinking “they didn’t know” also! All us worker bees could see stuff was off we only have little parts of the big picture the the Queen Bee sees all.
It was appaling to hear the Board and CEO thank Laura so profusely for the great job she has done making fiscal improvements in HHSA at the end of her budget presentation.
I never once heard any mention of the $6 million error that was undisclosed to those same admirers for so long. Guess they are so impressed with how many positions she cut while increasing salary costs they don’t mind overlooking that overspend. Oops! Oh well. You have a hard job Laura, were just gonna let that one go.
Has anyone asked if there were additional millions overspent in the following fiscal year?
ICan’tEven: We can ask.
This is why employees with issues aren’t bringing them forward. The Board praises the person who lost $6 million dollars, blames the prior administration and then hires more Management while removing spots for line staff. Mixed up priorities.
It’s almost like they intentionally want HHSA to go under.
As a current employee. The morale is extremely low here at 2600 Park Marina.
I’m glad someone exposed the perfectly placed individuals just totally randomly being given massive opportunities, while more qualified employees are looked over.
Burch and Coleman are not transparent with staff. Managers often have no idea what the next move is.
The Toast debacle isn’t helping.
Staff just bide their time to greener pastures.
The workers are the ones holding this place together. Not the high paid honchos.
Back in my day the county was a great place to work. While my team can eat toast I feel bad for those who cannot.
That’s all I have to say for now. Thank you Annelise.
Well it’s official. HHSA has officially dived off the deep end.
Trish Boss has decided TOAST for ME but not for the.
Trisha refuses to share carbohydrate with all HHSA staff.
ADMIN ONLY.
Way to exclude 25 people.
And they wonder.
please sir may we have a crumb?
TOAST FOR ALL OR TOAST FOR NONE.
This is literally what’s happening.
Toast Tuesday to boost morale. But only if you’re admin!!
There will be no loaves and fishes miracles to feed the masses.
NO TOAST FOR YOU!
Laura Burch is in over her head. At one of her last presentations, she simply took too long, held her head down like she was unsure why she was there and could not explain a number of inquiries. This is poor management, cronyism at its worst. Ms. Boss should not be elevated as she’s into bullying staff, that’s an open issue. A house cleaning is in order, but wait for the new Sups so transparency and good ole boy-ism doesn’t reign.
Finally someone has mentioned the glaring problem facing HHSA. Laura getting rid of most employees from the prior administration and bringing in her own Regime. There is not ONE Branch Director left from before her reign. They have quit or been let go. There are few experienced employees left.
She created a position for Christy Coleman, who followed her from Housing, to Child Support, then HHSA. Boss is Deputy Director who also came from Housing and went from an Executive Assistant, to a created Program Manager position (over only a couple employees) to a Deputy in under 18 months.
Another Program Manager, also a Child Support import, oversees only 1 supervisor and zero employees. But they are cutting line staff positions.
Crye did not hire Laura Burch. He was not even elected yet.
Her excuse for not doing literally anything about a $6,000,000+ shortfall (in a 12 month period) was to claim “she didn’t know who or how to report the issue”???
Kidding me with that?
What kind of accountability does the director have if she can just say “I dunno” and walk away?
That’s insane, immature, unprofessional, and inept behavior.
Unbelievable that the citizens of Shasta keep on paying her to do….what?
Thank you, Shasta Scout for following through on this. One thing – you stated that Laura Burch was hired into her position 18 months ago. It should be mentioned that she was the Interim Director for 18 months previously to being appointed to the position full time. You would think that 3 years would have been enough for her to learn her job. Wishful thinking, I guess. She also expected the hands-on employees to do double work by not filling the positions that were empty.
I think Laura was only interim for about 6 months before being appointed.
ICan’tEven: According to reporting from the Record Searchlight, you’re correct about the length of Burch’s interim appoitnment. We’ve updated the article to include this addition.
Just not a good look for mamy unexplained mistakes. Six million is a large error, suposedly discovered 7 months ago?!
HHSA has been experiencing ongoing internal leadership strife and staff turnover since 2007 when they decided to force mandatory transfers within Children and Family Services with many Social Workers resigning or taking other jobs elsewhere. People don’t leave because of pay and benefits (unless out of necessity); they leave because of toxic work environments and inept leadership. When I retired from Mental Health, four of my clinical staff colleagues (licensed therapists) resigned or took other jobs, some which paid less than the $95k/yr we were earning the same month I did. Top heavy leadership is a financial liability to the taxpayers, and I don’t like the way all levels of present government is spending our money so recklessly and with impunity.
Yes, CEO Rickert. There needs to be accountability and transparency.
This also applies to the board members. Remember that letter that exonerated our DA that was somehow forgotten about before an election??
Unfortunately, the CEO answers to the Board – they hire and fire him. Hard to hold your boss accountable. As we can clearly see here on many levels.
If the public has all of these questions and concerns, how do you think the employees feel? That’s all we’ve heard is how messed up prior management was, and everything they did was wrong and they’re going to fix it. All we’ve seen are unqualified individuals hired in management positions all from Child Support while overlooking qualified current employees and yes, they’re cherry picked. They don’t know what they’re doing so they continuously create chaos to keep control of everybody. Why is a board member and CEO defending Laura? Now you’re going to ask, why haven’t employees filed complaints? To whom? If the board and CEO are going to defend and make excuses, who does the employee trust?
I’d still like to know why they withheld
the money for helping with homelessness in Shasta County for over a year. And why they tried to deny public records requests on the matter. I am glad that they are being forced by the state to account for this. In the meantime, what has happened to these records? Doesn’t promote much trust in our local government. It looks like combining housing and mental health departments didn’t do much to save money in the long run. Leaving all of these positions unfilled was not a wise decision either. Nobody can do the job of two people efficiently and there are no checks and balances on the few people that do still have a job.
Burch shoukd never have been promoted. This was due to the Board’s inept and anti employee reign that there wasn’t anyone left standing so they said: hell, let’s put her in. She’s obedient to the Crye wing. She misses the mark on management of her staff placing EWs in line for raises ahead of the front line public facing staff. She doesn’t listen to her people. Turn over is insane. A recruitment drive should be done for her position.
The unethical and poor business management behavior of hiring friends over experience has meant the top 4 HHSA leaders are over paid and under qualified. To compensate for that inadequate leadership and at the cost of taxpayers a CFO position was created and funded to do what these 4 have at nearly a million in salaries already could not. CEO Rickert would do well to evaluate Burch, Coleman, Watts, and Boss’s poorly management and unethical hiring practices before they mismanage budgets further and lose more staff. It is so noticeable that agency leadership wants to throw their staff under the buss to cover their own ineptitude… not surprised.
I completely agree with you! The agency leadership are the issue and with no one questioning them, the agency will continue to crumble. What a waste of tax payer dollars, especially using it to pay the 4 leaders salaries. Sad times for Shasta County HHSA.
I 1000% agree. Now that they’ve hired a CFO at HHSA, they don’t need an HHSA Assistant Director (Coleman), HHSA Admin Director (Watts), HHSA Admin Deputy Director (Boss). These positions were supposed to do the work of the CFO. So now we continue to waste tax dollars by creating brand new positions. To do the work I’m not willing to learn and comprehend. I continue to disrespect staff and blame them for my incompetence. Make work so miserable they’re crying in their offices and decide to leave because of a hostile work environment. Then tell staff they the person left to take on a promotional opportunity. This is a small town. Ties runs deep. Staff don’t trust reporting to internal departments.
Absolutely! Every day. Your comments are fact and not an exaggeration.
All of this is true and accurate. BOS has had a partnership with her and with no check and balance. The treatment of their staff is demonstrative and abusive. Personnel is very aware of this and does nothing or is not allowed to do anything with the current BOS at the dias. There will always be someone to place blame and fire when things go south. If you are not a part of the inner circle good luck, including their new CFO. He will need it.
absolutely