Board of Supervisors adopts $2.5 billion 2024-25 Budget

“This is a balanced budget that maintains quality, essential services for Sonoma County families, individuals and communities,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “State and federal funding make up the majority of the County’s budget. The fiscal decisions in the County’s budget will take care of our employees, safeguard public services and allow us to better navigate any future economic uncertainty.”

The Fiscal Year 2024-25 Adopted Budget supplements the Recommended budget with $4 million in ongoing discretionary funding to support department requests for program restorations and improvements, including:

• $923,000 for the Department of Emergency Management to provide funding to add two employees to support community preparedness and planning, and for expenses to ensure that the Emergency Operations Center is ready in the event of an emergency.
• $651,000 for the Office of Equity to add three staff to execute the Board-approved language access plan and community engagement improvements, as well as implement the internal-facing Racial Equity Action Plan intended to carry out strategies that reflect the Board’s commitment to equity and inclusion.
• $834,000 to support justice services, including funding for the Family Justice Center overseen by the District Attorney’s Office, funding for an additional deputy public defender, and funding for a telecommunications analyst in the Sheriff’s Office to assist in upgrading and maintaining emergency communications networks.
• Funding for other priorities, including support for the Assessor’s Office, the Community Development Commission, the Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures, the Economic Development Board business diversity program, and the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach.

Additionally, the Board allocated $27.6 million in one-time funding for departmental initiatives and Board priorities including:

• $11.5 million to support relocation of the county’s Public Health Lab and morgue from the former Chanate Road property to the main County campus.
• $6.3 million to support Sheriff Office operations by funding a contract with Solano County to ensure sufficient capacity for inmates; to provide funding to establish a narcotics pilot program; to support the existing hiring incentive program, and to provide essential telecommunications upgrades.
• $2.1 million for contracts with community partners to provide support for equitable health and wellness, housing, support, and immigrant rights, and environmental cleanup.
• $1 million to increase FEMA audit reserves.
• $788,794 to increase County General Fund reserves.

Other funding allocations that complement the recommended budget include financial support to consolidate Probation Department leased office space; support for satellite Sonoma County service centers; funding for emergency response and engagement with underserved communities through Community Organizations Active in Disaster; housing program support for Legal Aid of Sonoma County; funding for a NAACP / Health Action Together community wellness hub; funding for the Russian Riverkeeper watershed cleanup; and financial support for the Samuel L. Jones Hall Emergency Shelter and the homeless shelter at the Guerneville Veterans building.

If any additional savings materialize at year end, priority will be given to elevating General Fund reserves from 10.2 percent to 11.2 percent of the operating budget, to ensure the County is in a strong position to respond to disasters or state/federal budget impacts or economic downturns.  Any remaining funds will be divided in equal shares to prepay unfunded pension liabilities, increase General Fund reserves, and continue to accumulate resources towards financing a new County Government Center.

This fiscal prudence is especially important given uncertainty around future revenues. Tax revenue, which makes up the largest share of the discretionary General Fund, has slowed following the immediate post-Covid period. Property tax revenue makes up almost 90 percent of General Fund tax revenue and more than two-thirds of all tax revenue received by the County.

Property tax growth is heavily dependent on property sales, as growth is otherwise capped at 2 percent under the state constitution. With the rise in interest rates, property sales have significantly decreased, resulting in a 35 percent reduction in documentary transfer tax revenue between FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23, which indicates that future property tax growth will also slow.

As part of the County’s commitment to transparency, open government, and citizen engagement, more detailed information on the annual operating budget is available at this interactive website:
https://sonomacounty.budget.socrata.com/. 

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.