The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on June 4 to approve the $8.9 billion Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26.
This year’s $8.9 billion spending consists of $3.4 billion in Enterprise and Special Revenue Fund appropriations (utility rates, fees and other dedicated revenue), $4 billion in General Fund appropriations (funded with $1 billion in discretionary resources, $1.6 billion in reimbursements from restricted funds, and the remaining $1.4 billion in Federal, State and fee revenue dedicated to specific purposes), and $1.6 billion in Restricted Funds (amounts transferred to the General Fund to reimburse eligible expenditures in General Fund departments).
“This year’s budget process brought its share of challenges, but through meaningful collaboration, thoughtful input from the community, and the leadership of the Board of Supervisors, we arrived at a balanced budget that reflects our shared priorities,” said County Executive David Villanueva.
“I'm particularly grateful to all the County staff, department heads, and the team in Budget and Debt Management for the hard work they put into building this budget. It took a lot of time, teamwork, and tough decisions, and I appreciate their commitment to the process. All of us fully support the Board’s final decision and are committed to the budget’s successful implementation.”
“Approving the FY 2025-26 budget was a challenging task, with numerous obstacles to overcome,” said Chair of the Board and First District Supervisor Phil Serna. “Despite these challenges, we were able to allocate funds for much-needed enhancements to the American River Parkway. We were also able to navigate the budget intricacies to ensure that critical services provided by the District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Offices were restored and supported.
“This budget reflects our commitment to balancing fiscal responsibility with meeting the needs of our community.”
Budget Growth
The Recommended Budget recognized new or enhanced areas of growth in the General Fund totaling $43 million, with $9 million funded with Net County Cost, with the addition of 52 FTE positions. Significant growth included:
Correctional Health Services: $9.0 million ($6.3 million Net County Cost) primarily to support the County’s obligations under the Mays Consent Decree Remedial Plan.
Sheriff – $2.1 million total ($1.0 million Net County Cost), including $600,000 Net County Cost for 3.0 FTE Deputy Sheriff positions to escort inmates to and from medical and dental appointments and $500,000 Net County Cost to provide 3 months of funding for 9.0 FTE to support the Acute Psychiatric Unit expansion, both of which support the County’s obligations under the Mays Consent Decree.
Health Services: $11.8 million total, including $6.5 million for a new Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center to support the Mays Consent Decree and funded with Patient Care Revenue.
Homeless Services and Housing: $4.3 million total ($0.6 million Net County Cost) including $3.1 million to support the Watt Safe Stay Campus shelter, operational, and facilities costs, funded with State Homeless Housing and Prevention (HHAP) funding and Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) reimbursement from Health Services.
Human Assistance – Administration – $12.8 million total, including $10.0 million for childcare payments for CalWORKs participants funded through the CalWORKs program, $1.5 million for CalWORKs Expanded Subsidized Employment contract expenditures, and $1.3 million for additional CalWORKs staffing.
Budget Reductions
General Fund Budget reductions totaled $18 million, which resulted in the deletion of 73 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. No filled positions were recommended for deletion.
Significant reductions, identified by departments, include:
Human Assistance: Due to a reduction in the State CalFresh allocation, 13 FTE with total appropriations of $1.7 million are recommended for reduction.
Public Defender: $1.0 million reduction in total appropriations and Net County Cost representing a 1.8% reduction to the department’s requested base budget.
Regional Parks: $1.6 million reduction in total appropriations and Net County Cost representing an 8.4% reduction to the department’s requested base budget.
Board Appropriation Changes
The Board of Supervisors made the following revisions to the Recommended Budget:
- Added a Principal Criminal Attorney position to serve as a community prosecutor in North Sacramento, funded for one year with American River Parkway Reserve Funding;
- Restored funding to the District Attorney’s Misdemeanor Unit with salary savings, one-time State revenue and CBO Capacity Building Reserve funding;
- Restored the Sheriff’s Office HOT and POP Team reductions with CBO Capacity Building, American River Parkway Reserve funding, and by instead reducing the Sheriff’s Youth Services Unit;
- Restored the Sheriff’s Concealed Carry Weapons Program reduction, funded by increased fee revenue;
- Restored the Sheriff’s Marine Unit reduction with one-time CBO Capacity Building Reserve funding;
- Reduced 5 vacant FTE positions in the Sheriff’s Youth Services Unit;
- Restored Regional Parks’ waterway support contract reduction and Park Maintenance Worker position with American River Parkway Reserve funding;
- Provided funding for Regional Parks for Discovery Park, Howe Avenue and Watt Avenue restroom repairs with American River Parkway Reserve funding;
- Restored Regional Parks’ reduction of contribution for the Splash science education program with one-time funding from the CBO Capacity Building Reserve;
- Partially restored Child, Family and Adult Services’ reduction of contracted services with the Sacramento County Office of Education with one-time funding from the CBO Capacity Building Reserve;
- Partially restored Human Assistance’s reduction of a contract with South County Services for resident assistance in rural parts of the south county with one-time funding from the CBO Capacity Building Reserve; and
- Added funding for CalFresh benefits at farmers markets with one-time CBO Capacity Building Reserve funding.
By the Numbers:
Total Budget: $8.9 billion
General Fund: $4 billion
Enterprise and Special Revenue: $3.4 billion
Restricted Funds: $1.6 billion
Number of Employees: 12,896