HomeMy WebLinkAboutVLF Prioritization Background
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Date: April 10, 2013
To: Deschutes County Board of Commissioners
From: Judith Ure, Management Analyst
Subject: Video Lottery Fund Prioritization Process
During the past year, the Board of Commissioners has discussed various options to restructure
the process in which funds received from the state video lottery program are distributed. In
January 2013, the Board agreed to take the following steps to allocate video lottery funds,
beginning with the 2013-14 fiscal year:
1. The Board of Commissioners will meet annually to establish funding priorities and funding
allocations for categories that include economic development, one-time initiatives, service
partners, and the discretionary grant program.
2. The amounts established by the Board for these categories will be deducted from the total
amount projected to be available in the County’s Video Lottery Fund for the upcoming fiscal
year.
3. The Board of Commissioners will then dedicate any remaining balance to the County’s
community grant program. The Board will further direct the distribution of community grant
funds by determining what percentage of the balance will be dedicated to a) emergency food,
clothing, and shelter, b) health, mental health, and addition services, c) protection for the
abused and neglected, and d) other essential services.
The prioritization process to allocate video lottery funds is scheduled to take place at the Board’s
April 15, 2013 work session. Staff has projected that $650,000 will be available in the FY 2013-
14 Video Lottery Fund. Attached are three documents to assist you in preparing for the meeting:
A worksheet* that details the funding categories with the previous amounts spent and
amounts requested (when applicable). The worksheet includes space to fill in tentative
dollar amounts for fiscal year 2013-14 if you choose to do so prior to the meeting.
A list of funds spent in each of the various categories during the past three years for
informational purposes and comparison.
A copy of the proposal submitted by Economic Development for Central Oregon
(EDCO) dated March 20, 2013 which outlines how additional funding could be used for
economic development initiatives.
As the Board makes decisions during the meeting, staff will keep a running total of the fund
balance using an auto-calculating version of the worksheet which will be projected on the
conference room wall screen.
Please let me know if you have any questions concerning the Video Lottery Fund prioritization
process or the attached documents.
* Please note that the worksheet includes a category titled “Juvenile Crime Prevention” which has been supported by
a General Fund transfer into the Video Lottery Fund in prior years. The General Fund transfer is not included in the
$650,000 projected amount available in the Video Lottery Fund for FY 2013 -14. There are various options for
handling this category that will be presented to the Board at the April 15 meeting.