Crediting an influx of state and federal dollars along with higher-than-expected revenue and departmental cost savings, the county Board of Supervisors approved an amended $46.7 billion budget for the 2023-34 fiscal year on Tuesday, Oct. 3, adding hundreds of new positions.
The board unanimously approved a $3.4 billion supplemental budget plan, augmenting the initial $43.3 billion budget it approved for 2023-24 back in June.
In a presentation to the board, county CEO Fesia Davenport said more than half of the new funding, or about $1.8 billion, represented new funding from the state and federal governments. She noted that the bulk of that money is specifically “attached to particular programs or services,” meaning it mostly cannot be reallocated to other county programs.
The rest of the additional funding is the result of “operational savings” in various departments, including staff vacancies, cost savings in areas such as ongoing capital improvement projects and revenue collections that “exceeded what was anticipated,” primarily property tax revenue.
The new funding will be used to add 667 staff positions, bringing the county’s overall workforce to 115,324, Davenport said. Of the new positions, the largest number — 167 — will be allocated to the Department of Mental Health, largely to expand services to the homeless as the county works to clear encampments by moving people into housing and treatment. She noted that more than 30 positions will be spread across various departments to shift people with the highest mental-health needs out of jail and into treatment settings.
The county Department of Children and Family Services will get the second-highest number of new staff positions, at 123, in an effort to reduce caseloads for social workers while also supporting foster children and families. The Department of Parks and Recreation will see 33 new positions, supporting aquatics and recreation programs.
As they have in many previous public…
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