Budget: Stanislaus County expects to run into issues with inflation, slow revenue growth
Stanislaus County is heading into a new fiscal year with a $1.62 billion preliminary budget, which is a 2.3% decrease from the budget this year.
The county will continue dealing with costs of recruiting and retaining personnel in the next 12 months and adding staff to address what officials call a behavioral health crisis.
The plan for the year starting July 1 includes $477 million in general fund spending, compared to $499 million this year, but the county plans to update the general fund estimate when the final budget is approved in September.
County staff explained in a budget presentation Tuesday that a sharp rise in general fund spending in 2022-23 included pay raises and other recruitment and retention costs to stabilize the county workforce, along with community service and infrastructure investments.
The final budget for 2023-24 will incorporate additional employee costs in the general fund and a second year of investments in parks, libraries and county facilities. The general fund includes spending on public safety, criminal justice, parks and other services.
Budget gap projected
The county’s long-range modeling shows funding sources, such as property and sales taxes, matching up with general fund expenditures in 2024. But general fund spending is projected to climb above $500 million annually through 2028 while funding sources are expected to lag behind.
The projected budget gap is attributed to slow growth in revenue, state budget concerns, inflation and the county’s use of fund balances for strategic initiatives.
County leaders will need to be cautious, according to Chief Executive Officer Jody Hayes’ budget message to the board.
“Combined, the resulting indication is that we are now moving in a slightly different direction, one that deserves a cautious approach and prudent mindset when evaluating spending,” Hayes wrote.
In the coming year, the county plans a net increase of 34 authorized staff positions, pushing the total to 4,821.
Behavioral Health and Recovery Services was approved for 28 additional positions as it implements state mandates, such as the CALAIM effort to transform the Medi-Cal program. County BHRS also is expanding mobile crisis services.
The county Health Services Agency was approved for a net gain of two positions to support demolition of old buildings at the Scenic Drive campus and deployment of an emergency response truck.
The county also is sustaining a $522,000 budget hit from a decrease in court funding. The losses include a $280,000 shortfall in recording fees due to slumping home sales and mortgage refinancing and a $200,000 loss because of court fines repealed by state legislation.
The county has relied on a state backfill to help mitigate the impact.
This story was originally published June 26, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
