2017-2018 Santa Cruz County Budget

• Santa Cruz County’s projected 2017-2018 budget is expected to exceed its generated revenue, with expenditure currently estimated at $717 million, with only $662 million in expected revenue.
• Of this $717 million proposed expenditure, 42% is allotted for County spending on Salaries and Benefits, 33% for Services and Supplies and 20% for other charges, whereas 39% of expected revenue will come from state and federal funding, 24% from taxes, 27% from social services charges, and 2% from licenses and permits.
• This expected county expenditure of $717 million is $40 million less than the 2016-2017 county budget proposal as grant funded capital projects have been completed, yet nevertheless, the County has received a financial break from a key area; Governor Brown has decided not to follow through on a proposal to halt the funding of In Home Support Services, with the State budget to offer $400 million for In Home Support Services in the year of 2017-2018.
• Santa Cruz County administrative officer, Susan Mauriello anticipate additional amendments to the budget proposal in order to respond to the potential loss of Medicaid funding and the repealing of the Affordable Care Act, which occur  under the Trump administration. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which would potentially remove healthcare access for up to 13% of Santa Cruz County, would present a major budget obstacle that the County must be address.  Additional budgetary challenges outside of health care include; overdue infrastructure maintenance, rising pensions costs, pressure to increase wages and salaries, and storing county funding in preparation for economic recession. Budget hearings will begin on June 19th.

Some information in this post is based in a Santa Cruz Sentinel publication on May 25th. For details and more information please see the following links:

• http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/government-and-politics/20170525/santa-cruz-county-to-spend-less-next-year
• http://santacruzcountyca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=1579​​