Reopening a sheriff’s substation may be in Stanislaus County budget despite COVID pandemic
Stanislaus County leaders approved a $1.46 billion budget Tuesday for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which represents a $6.2 million increase over the spending plan for the previous year.
Supervisors approved the budget after a staff presentation showed the county is on solid financial ground, despite dealing with the coronavirus pandemic for more than a year.
The county will use $39 million in fund balance to even out the spending plan. The budget for the year starting July 1 calls for $396 million in general fund spending for daily operations and public services.
“The revenue ended up better than we anticipated,” Supervisor Terry Withrow said. “The severity of the storm was not what we anticipated.”
Withrow said there was room in the budget for reopening a Sheriff’s Department substation in Salida. The unincorporated town of almost 15,000 residents lost its substation because of county spending cuts following the Great Recession.
Withrow said the county previously didn’t have the money or personnel for restoring the substation. Reopening the substation is not in the current budget proposal, but the supervisor is trying to work it into the final budget that comes out in September.
The proposed county budget approved Tuesday is for the second year of a 24-month budgeting process.
According to budget reports, county departments such as the District Attorney and Probation will spend the year dealing with staff vacancies.
In addition, the county plans to spend money replacing 27 vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department, buying radios for probation staff and making improvements at Fink Road Landfill.
County staff said a reorganization in county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services will decrease spending by $4.4 million. The restructuring approved in March came after several years in which costs for services were higher than anticipated revenue.
BHRS was drawing down fund balance to cover a widening deficit. The restructuring puts a priority on critical treatment services for those most in need. According to staff reports, demand remains high for adult residential mental health services and psychiatric hospital treatment for residents who are on Medi-Cal or are uninsured.
The 2021-22 budget will provide an increased general fund contribution of $2.5 million to public guardian services. The increase in appropriations is for a public guardian coordination team to ensure appropriate care for conservatees in residential mental health facilities and to help them re-enter the community after rehabilitation.
The Public Works budget was reduced by eliminating the transit division and creation of the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority.
Board Chairman Vito Chiesa said he was pleased with property tax and sales tax revenue. He said that receipts for the Measure L transportation tax are running $4 million to $5 million ahead of last year.
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
