Stanislaus County hiring, investing in former Crows Landing airfield as finances improve

Stanislaus County’s final budget for this year reflects a solid financial position as county government deals with challenges including homelessness, employee retention and the need for employment opportunities.

The Board of Supervisors could approve the $1.36 billion budget following a public hearing Tuesday evening. The spending plan for the fiscal year that began in July is a 7.4 percent increase over the previous year and a slight increase over the 2018-19 preliminary budget approved in June.

County officials decided to add $12 million in general fund spending items to the final budget, including $3 million for developing the business park at the former Navy airfield in Crows Landing, $6.8 million for unmet needs in county departments, and $2.5 million in contributions to other agencies, the budget report says.

Earlier this year, the county released an environmental review on the plan to create thousands of jobs at the 1,528-acre site near Crows Landing. Board Chairman Jim DeMartini has said the county is close to clearing the environmental hurdles for the project.

According to the budget report, the county could ultimately invest $20 million in developing the jobs center in western Stanislaus County. The planning calls for a combination of light manufacturing, distribution centers, office space and aviation facilities.

The county budget also reflects a small increase in the county government workforce. The 11 additional staff members would push the number of authorized county staff positions to 4,496. The county has recovered 889 positions since the post-recession cuts that reduced staffing to 3,607 in 2011.

At a peak in 2007, the county had 4,603 authorized positions, or 107 more than current staffing. The county provides services for a growing number of residents, with the current population of 555,600 projected to swell to 572,000 in 2020.

Patrice Dietrich, an assistant executive officer who coordinates the budget, said about 10 percent of the funded county positions are vacant, owing to difficulties in recruiting and keeping quality staff. “I suspect the challenges in hiring and recruitment are evident in counties throughout the state,” Dietrich said.

County human resources is working to expand training and bolster activities to hire talented employees and retain them, the budget report says.

Salary and benefit increases tied to recent negotiated contracts with labor groups will cost an additional $8.8 million.

The county will allocate $4.1 million from the general fund to 18 county departments affected by higher labor cost, including $2 million for the Sheriff’s Department. Other revenue sources will cover the remaining $4.7 million in extra costs for salaries and benefits.

As a sign of fiscal health, stronger-than-expected property tax revenue will push discretionary revenue to $223 million for the county, which is $6.5 million more than projected in the initial budget in June. County leaders value discretionary revenue because they’re free to allocate those funds for law enforcement, parks, health care and other services.

Discretionary revenue stood at $224 million last year compared with a low point of $141 million in the economic doldrums of 2009. When the county approved the preliminary budget in June, it looked like the revenue category might backslide significantly this year.

“The good news is the property assessment roll came in with a 6.2 percent increase,” Dietrich said. “We didn’t know that number when the proposed budget was adopted.”

The county also will incur some costs this year in developing a 60-bed low-barrier shelter for the homeless and paying for maintenance of aging government facilities.

The Board of Supervisors meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the basement chamber of Tenth Street Place, at 1010 10th Street, Modesto.

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 4:23 PM.