SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — El Dorado County Supervisors on Monday are expected to get their first full look at the recommended budget for fiscal year 2021-22.

Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton was to present the budget as the first step in a four-month process which, under state law, must be completed on or before Sept. 30 of each year. At that time the county must approve an “adopted budget” for the coming year.

The budget is arranged in two elements, total appropriations by expenditure class and total appropriations by functional group. Expenditure class includes six sections:

Salaries and benefits ($240.8 million); services, supplies and other charges ($193.5 M); fixed assets ($43.1 M); transfers ($123.3 M); contingencies ($74.7 M); reserves/designations ($45.9 M). The recommended total is $681.3 million.

The total represents a 5% decrease of $37.1 million from fiscal year 2020-21’s $718.4 million.

Functional group appropriations include the four broad areas of county government: General government ($54.8 M); Law and Justice ($139.9 M); Land Use and Development Services ($109.6 M); Health and Human Services ($177.8 M).

Total appropriations for the functional group are $482.1 million. The numbers show a decrease of $16.6 million or 3% compared to the 2020-21 budget of $498.6 million. The largest category decrease is Land Use and Development at ($24.4 M), down from $134.1 million last year.

County leaders and staff traditionally spend a significant amount of time over the summer refining their programs and budget projections. The board will reassemble in early September to continue the adoption process.