To start with some top-level highlights, the adopted FY 2024-2025 budget includes: increases to General Fund reserves and FEMA audit reserves; funding for the relocation of the Public Health Lab; two positions with the Department of Emergency Management to support community emergency preparedness and planning; three positions with the Office of Equity to support the implementation of the language access plan, community engagement improvements, and the internal-facing Racial Equity Action Plan; and funding for justice services in the District Attorney, Public Defender, and Sheriff’s offices. Additionally, in the realm of individual board member requests, I was able to get support from my board colleagues to provide funding for the housing program at Legal Aid, who since the pandemic have taken on an increased case load of tenants at-risk of losing their housing. I also gained the support of my colleagues to increase a part-time staff member in the First District office to a full-time position. This role is particularly focused on Spanish-language outreach and engagement in the Sonoma Valley, and it was abundantly clear to me that the part-time schedule was not enough for this important work in my district. Lastly, I was happy to work with my board colleagues to secure support for continued upgrades to our satellite Sonoma County services centers, including technological upgrades to the East Sonoma County Services Center in Sonoma to better facilitate community meetings and improve service delivery.
Of the budget items I proposed that were not funded, I am most disappointed to have not secured funding for an evacuation study of the Los Guilicos campus, which includes the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home, the Juvenile Hall, and the Los Guilicos Village homeless shelter site. While the campus is located within the First District, I see Los Guilicos as a countywide asset serving vulnerable populations from every corner of our county, and one that has been impacted by wildfires in 2017 and 2020. Additionally, I was disappointed we were not able to find funding for a community planning and infrastructure study in Glen Ellen. I submitted the request in anticipation of the eventual development coming to the Glen Ellen area at both the Sonoma Developmental Center and the Hanna Center, and out of concern of the ability of the current infrastructure to support an increase in vehicle, bike, and pedestrian travel in the area. While we were unable to fund these requests, I remain optimistic that these ideas remain on the radar of county staff and my fellow Supervisors moving forward, and that we may be able to find creative solutions to address these issues.
A theme that emerged across our Budget Hearings this year was “getting to yes” – with limited resources and competing priorities, it can be challenging to effectively compromise and find creative solutions to fund as much of the meaningful work that comes before us as possible. In particular, I want to thank our County Executive, Christina Rivera, for her excellent guidance and budget wizardry, as well as her tireless staff, who demonstrate remarkable effort and nimbleness in their work this year. I can say now that it was a suitably eventful budget year for my final go-around, and while it’s never possible to meet every single need, I’m very happy with what we approved.
To review the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget Materials, visit the link below.
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