How Budgets Work

FICTION

At the Aug. 5, 2025, Jackson County Commissioners meeting*, Keith Blaine, head of the Jackson County GOP, claimed that the Fontana Regional Library has “$2.5 million that has been accumulating for 80 years.” He claimed it was an “overpayment” in just “one of their checking accounts.” 

Take a look at the source material (to the right) for this confusing interpretation. Whether unintentionally or by design, the facts have been twisted or completely changed to serve a particular agenda. At the very least, Blaine demonstrates a concerning ignorance of how budgets work.

*https://tinyurl.com/mtxz7vr7 (46:52)

FACTS

At the July 8, 2025, Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees meeting*, Lynn Cody, then finance officer for the FRL, stated that, at the closing of the fiscal year in August, $2.5 million still remained in the FRL’s one and only checking account, from the $4.09 million annual budget. To close out the fiscal year, all of this money is paid out for renewal of the coming year’s software licensing, contracts and services, insurance, bonds, worker’s compensation, and the first bills for health insurance and retirement system payments. To insure accuracy, this account is audited annually.

This allows the library to continue operating without interruption of services as the new fiscal year begins. It is NOT, as claimed at the commissioners meeting, an overpayment or money that had been accumulating for 80 years. It's just how budgets work.

*https://tinyurl.com/32kjtzxa (16.41)