Five Things You May Not Know About Placer County

Placer County's revenues have shrunk by 15 percent in just a few short years, County CEO David Boesch said in a 'State of the County' address to Roseville business owners Friday, but the county still boasts tremendous unrealized potential.

A former County Manager for San Mateo County, Boesch took the reins in June, at a time when local governments across the country face serious financial strains. Nevertheless, Boesch said he's "totally bullish" about the county's future.

"We're fortunate that Placer County is as financially strong as it is," he told a crowd of about 150 at a Roseville Chamber of Commerce luncheon. "There are a lot of local jurisdictions that are really teetering on the edge."

Here are some interesting facts about Placer County from Boesch's speech.

1) Two-thirds of the county's 352,380 residents live in cities, with 32 percent making their homes in Roseville. Placer is the 22nd-largest of California's 58 counties.

2) The county's three largest employers are Kaiser Permanente, Hewlett-Packard and Placer County government. The county has put in place a hiring freeze since the recession started in 2007, along with 21 days of mandatory time off for employees.

3) Placer County's proposed budget for 2012-2013 is 19 percent smaller than the previous year's. "The dilemma for government, of course, in a time like this is just as our revenues are declining, the demand for our services is increasing," Boesch said, citing the need for job training and food assistance for the county's down-and-out residents.

4) In 2008, the county received $87 of property tax revenue per capita; that's projected to shrink to $64 in 2013. "We've been able to do more with less and we've been pretty successful at doing that," said Boesch. "I don't think we're going to be able to do that much longer. Our near-term future is figuring out how we can do less with less."

5) The county will receive about 300 to 400 new jail inmates annually for the next two years under the state's realignment policy—offenders formerly under state custody. Where will they all be housed? It's unclear: The county just built a state-of-the-art new jail, but may lack the funds to operate it, Boesch said.

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