Sonoma County adopts $2.3 billion budget

“This is a good news budget,” said Supervisor Chris Coursey, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “While it does not solve all our problems, without extravagance it meets our needs. It takes care of our employees, safeguards core public services and ongoing county operations, addresses department requests and infrastructure needs, and promotes good governance by bolstering the county’s rainy-day fund.”

The adopted budget is largely consistent with the prior fiscal year budget and avoids any reductions to core county services. Additionally, the Board of Supervisors allocated $46.7 million in one-time funds.

The county pointed out these highlights of allocation of one-time funds:

• $7.678 million toward infrastructure for the Tierra de Rosas development, a Sonoma County former redevelopment area mixed-use project in the Roseland area of Santa Rosa that includes affordable housing and a neighborhood center.
• $5.18 million to relocate the county health lab and morgue currently located on the Chanate Road campus. The 71-acre Chanate campus, the site of the former Sutter Hospital, was sold to a private developer in December 2021 for $15 million.
• $5 million toward immediate road infrastructure needs as identified by Public Infrastructure department staff.
• $4 million each to Supervisorial Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5 for priority district-based infrastructure projects. Individual county departments or agencies will work with supervisors to bring projects and program funds back to the full board for approval.
• Approximately $5 million to bolster county General Fund reserves, which now stand at 10 percent of the General Fund budget. The Board of Supervisors has set a goal of 16.7 percent, or two months’ General Fund operating revenue.
• $1.3 million to the FEMA Audit Reserve should any disaster claims be deemed ineligible by the federal agency.
• $200,000 contribution to the Sonoma County Secure Families Collaborative, which provides pro-bono legal services, wraparound social services and mental health support for the county’s immigrant community.
• $150,000 contribution supporting the Sonoma County Museum permanent history exhibition: “Through the Power of Story Telling.”

In addition to the board’s allocation of one-time funds for the Tierra de Rosas project, Chair Coursey agreed to dedicate an additional $2 million of discretionary District 3 funds to bring the total project funding allocation to $9.7 million. The funds will be used to pay for streets, sewer lines, sidewalks and other backbone infrastructure needed for the mixed-use project on a 7.4-acre site along Sebastopol Road.

Meanwhile, the county will continue to work with city, state and federal officials to close the remaining $8.8 million funding gap for the Tierra de Rosas project before the county Community Development Commission can begin infrastructure improvements to the property. The long-planned project is designed to build a community hub in one of the county’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods with a goal of creating 175 housing units, a one-acre public plaza, retail shops, a business incubator and community activity hall.

Overall, the one-time funds come from a combination of sources including $29.4 million from the General Fund year-end balance for this fiscal year and $5.6 million from surplus from the Reinvestment and Revitalization Fund. Other sources include the Community Investment Fund balance of $5.6 million, PG&E settlement funds in the amount of $1.5 million, and $4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Fiscal Year 2023-24 Adopted Budget also includes $7.5 million in ongoing discretionary funding, including $3 million to restore department budgets that were reduced in the baseline recommended budget, and $4.5 million in support of department program change requests to offer new or enhanced services.

If any additional savings materialize at year end, these funds will be divided in equal shares to prepay unfunded pension liabilities, increase General Fund reserves, and bolster funding for a new county government center. Additionally, the county is continuing its policy of paying down unfunded pension liabilities by pre-paying an extra 0.5 percent of payroll above the required contributions.  In total, the county has contributed $17.6 million since 2015-16 to help decrease the cost of future pension contributions.

As part of Sonoma County’s commitment to transparency, open government, and citizen engagement, an online view of the county’s annual operating budget is available at https://sonomacounty.budget.socrata.com/. This interactive website allows the public to click on various charts and lists to drill down for more detailed information on the county’s spending plan.

All County of Sonoma budget reports and materials are available here:
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports.