Proposed budget would expand Stanislaus County’s government workforce

Stanislaus County proposes to add 72 employee positions in a $1.12 billion budget for the year that begins July 1.

The county projects general fund growth to $288 million, a $9 million increase, thanks to stronger property and sales tax revenue as the economy improves. Officials also expect an additional $6.2 million from the state legislation last year that corrected a decades-old tax inequity called the “negative bailout.”

The budget plan would give the county a total of 4,243 allocated employee positions.

The Board of Supervisors could approve the budget plan following a public hearing Tuesday. The board puts the final wrap on the annual budget in September.

Jody Hayes, assistant executive officer, said the county remains cautious about the economic outlook and assumes the recovery will flatten out in the next four to five years.

County leaders could authorize 16 new positions for different programs under Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and approve 13 positions for Probation, 12 for the Sheriff’s Department, seven for Health Services and smaller increases for other county departments.

Sheriff Adam Christianson plans to add deputies to improve response times, hire two assistant cooks for jails and a manager for administration. He hopes to fully deploy the Sheriff’s Team Investigating Narcotics and Gangs in the coming year, restore community resource deputies and assign more detectives for criminal investigations, the budget report says.

Hayes said the Probation Department will use a block grant to fund seven positions for juvenile detention and will bolster staffing for the Day Reporting Center on Hackett Road.

Probation also needs to deal with an increased domestic violence caseload.

County officials have not decided what to do with the annual $6.2 million from the negative bailout remedy, but more details could emerge as the county works on the final budget this summer, Hayes said.

County roads have not benefited from the improved economic picture in California. Local revenue from the state gasoline tax dropped $3.4 million this year because of lower gas prices and the larger number of fuel-efficient vehicles on the highway.

“This loss of revenue continues to be a huge impact on our county and we will closely watch how voters respond to the upcoming half-cent sales tax for transportation going to the ballot in November,” the budget report says.

The county is facing a $4.2 million impact next year, including $1.6 million to the general fund, because it needs to pay more into the system that funds employee retirement benefits.

Taxpayer costs for pension benefits are rising for a couple of reasons: retirees are living longer and the Stanislaus County Employees’ Retirement Association is lowering its assumptions on annual investment returns. The county and other member agencies in StanCERA are expected to increase their contributions in phases over the next three years.

The county’s proposed budget sets aside $2.25 million for additional technology innovations to improve services and put more county services online for residents.

For the second straight year, the county will spend more to restore parks and recreation through staff increases, equipment purchases, better maintenance and funding for the Police Activities League.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the budget at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the basement chamber of Tenth Street Place, at 1010 10th St. in downtown Modesto.

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Proposed budget would expand Stanislaus County’s government workforce."