County Board Approves Revised 2019-20 Budget

From the Sacramento County Government:

September 4 2019

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted today to revise the Approved Budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The Approved Budget in June totaled $4.4 billion. With the completion of the County’s FY 2018-19 year-end financial closing activities and updated information, an increase of $138 million was proposed, bringing the Budget Recommended for Adoption to $4.5 billion in appropriations. Most of this increase involved re-budgeting funds for capital projects due to shifts in timing for those projects.

In June, to close a general shortfall of $55 million, Sacramento County made $43 million in reductions in General Fund Departments and reduced $12 million in General Fund reserves to bridge the gap.

General Fund departments identified a number of targeted program and position reductions. The reductions included the elimination of 181.3 FTE positions that were either vacant or, in a few cases, filled by employees who were shifted to other positions in the same class. No layoffs were necessary.

The June Approved Budget also included budget increases in a number of areas, including:

• $21.7 million to make improvements to the County’s jails as part of continuing efforts to resolve conditions of confinement concerns identified in a recent lawsuit;
• $2.3 million in state and federal revenue to add 25 FTE positions in Child Support Services;
• $1.2 million in 2011 Realignment Local Innovation funds to add seven positions in Probation to establish a Pre-Trial Assessment and Monitoring Pilot Program;
• $1 million set aside for costs related to the Hardesty/Schneider lawsuit against the County;
• $3.5 million to add 29 FTE positions in Airports Department to handle the impact of increasing passenger and freight volume; and
• $668,000 to cover the cost of postcards and postage for the March 2020 Primary Election, as required by state law.

The Board is scheduled to formally adopt the Budget Recommended for Adoption on Sep. 24.

For details, read the Budget Letter to the Board of Supervisors or view all budget documents on the Office of Budget and Debt Management website.

This press release was produced by the Sacramento County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.