Stanislaus County to reduce workforce positions after years of solid growth
Stanislaus County could cut 143 allocated local government positions from its budget, based on a midyear financial assessment.
The midyear report points out that 135 of those employee positions are vacant and not funded.
If county supervisors approve the budget adjustments Tuesday, 111 of the vacant positions will be cut in the Community Services Agency, which administers social services for county residents.
The 2025-26 county budget approved Sept. 30 was a $1.89 billion spending plan, an increase of 1.7% over the previous year. It’s one of the more anemic county budgets in years.
Officials planned to use $1.68 billion in revenue and $208.3 million in fund reserves to even out the bottom line. The budget included 4,905 allocated positions, or 22 fewer than the previous year.
The proposed midyear adjustments include one additional position and cuts to 143 positions to reduce the potential county workforce to 4,763 positions. The county had 3,607 positions during the nation’s economic downturn in 2011.
The 2025-26 budget incorporated a staffing strategy to remove long-vacant positions and be more realistic with workforce budgeting.
The county released a statement Monday: “At mid-year, the county’s financial position remains stable and consistent with the assumptions adopted in the 2026 budget. The report does not reflect layoffs or reductions to the County’s current workforce. Instead, it recommends removing long-standing vacant positions, most of which were not funded in the adopted budget and have remained unfilled for extended periods.”
A budget report for Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting says the midyear adjustments are to ensure continuity of department operations through June 30. The assessment raises the total county budget to $1.98 billion, supported by $1.75 million in revenue and use of more fund balance than was initially anticipated.
County staff will present more details on the budget situation to supervisors at Tuesday’s meeting. According to a staff report:
- A dozen vacant positions are on the chopping block in county Workforce Development.
- The Sheriff’s Department could delete four vacant deputy positions because of a reduction in cannabis revenue.
- Child Support Services could eliminate seven vacant positions and the Health Services Agency may cut eight currently vacant positions.
In January, county leaders approved 3.5% extra pay for attorneys represented by the County Attorney’s Association bargaining group when they are working on complex cases. The mid-year budget review recommends the same complex litigation pay for management attorneys in Child Support Services, the District Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office who are not represented by bargaining groups.
The county Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, at 1010 10th St., Modesto.
