![\"Sutter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SAC_20240910_PK_YUBA_0293.JPG\" "\\"Sutter")
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Sutter County Supervisor Mike Ziegenmeyer speaks during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Yuba City. Supervisors on Tuesday begrudgingly agreed to return $80 million to the state after an apparent spreadsheet error earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Paul Kitagaki Jr.<\/p>\n
pkitagaki@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
None of the Sutter County supervisors wanted to make the motion.<\/p>\n
To do so was to send $80 million back to California coffers, rectifying a mistake made by the state controller\u2019s office that mixed up the monthly K-12 education payments sent to 11 counties.<\/p>\n
Some counties were, at least temporarily, short-changed by tens of millions of dollars. Others, such as Sutter County, earned interest on an extra $80 million for about a month, netting more than $200,000, county officials estimated, funds the county could use<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the dumbfounded supervisors complied with the state\u2019s request, begrudgingly voting Tuesday to return the bread.<\/p>\n \u201cWith one caveat,\u201d said supervisor Mike Ziegenmeyer. \u201cPut a note in there that says, \u2018Do a better job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018This is a weird one\u2019<\/p>\n Sutter County, which normally receives a monthly payment of about $25.8 million to distribute to its schools and districts, received nearly $106 million for that purpose in late January.<\/p>\n That funding was intended for Stanislaus County, said Nicholas Valencia, Sutter County treasurer-tax collector. In turn, Stanislaus County received funding meant for Sonoma County, causing it to have a roughly $60 million shortfall, Valencia said.<\/p>\n Hundreds of millions of dollars were erroneously wired across the state, apparently due to a subtle technical error.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a weird one,\u201d Sutter County auditor-controller Nathan Black told supervisors. \u201cThe state controller\u2019s office accidentally added a row in their distribution work sheet, which meant that a bunch of counties got other counties\u2019 monies.\u201d<\/p>\n The apparent spreadsheet error caused an alphabetical payment shift, with counties receiving the monthly payment intended for the county before it alphabetically.<\/p>\n The mistaken payments involved San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Sutter counties, Bismarck Obando, a controller\u2019s office spokesperson, said in a statement received after this story first published.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wonder how many mistakes like this the state is making across the board. Very concerning,\u201d Dan Flores, Sutter County supervisor, said. \u201cI know that\u2019s going into the record, but I want it to be there, because it\u2019s embarrassing, honestly. I mean, great for us, for a while, but what if they\u2019re doing this with other counties?\u201d<\/p>\n The state controller\u2019s office said the payment issue was identified Jan. 28, and underpaid counties received their correct amounts Jan. 30.<\/p>\n The state controller\u2019s office, in a letter dated Feb. 19, acknowledged the mistake and asked for the money back.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a result of a bank account misalignment in our payment system, Sutter County received an overpayment of $80,073,372.70,\u201d reads the letter to the Sutter County superintendent of schools.<\/p>\n The letter requested the funds be returned by check to the state controller\u2019s office. Black, the county auditor-controller, flagged the transaction, a nontax refund, as needing approval from supervisors.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you imagine that? $80 million on a warrant, on a check,\u201d Black said.<\/p>\n Sutter County to keep the interest<\/p>\n The county will send back the money via secured ACH transfer, rather than check or wire transfer, he added.<\/p>\n Sutter County officials plan to keep the more than $200,000 of interest accrued on the $80 million while the mistake was sorted out. The county has maintained a lean budget for years, cutting costs and freezing positions while paying some of its workers below the median rate compared to similar counties.<\/p>\n Soon to no longer collect interest on the unexpected windfall, supervisor Jeff Boone made a cheeky request before initiating the eight-figure payment back to the state.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we make payments?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To guard against the mistake happening again, the state fund distributor made internal changes, such as strengthening its review and approval processes, and updating procedures to \u201cstrengthen payment safeguards,\u201d Obando said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe SCO views the relationship with our county partners as one grounded in collaboration, transparency, and mutual respect and we look forward to continuing our partnership so that we can move California forward,\u201d Obando said.<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 11:10 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Sutter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SAC_20240910_PK_YUBA_0098.JPG\" "\\"SAC_20240910_PK_YUBA_0098.JPG\\"")
Sutter County Supervisor Dan Flores listens during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Yuba City. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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