Last round to final County budget
By Debra Tash
This is the final stretch in a long process where the County’s 26 departments have met and hashed out their own expenses/needs for the upcoming year. At today’s June 20, 2016 meeting, the Board of Supervisors heard the final 2.166 billion dollar budget for 2016-2017.
County CEO Michael Powers introduced County CFO, Katherine Rodriguez to do the presentation to the Board.
State and Federal funds make up the bulk of the revenue fueling the County budget with its 8,782 full time employees. Labor costs are up contributing to the 5.9% increase in spending. Health and human services, a 21% increase in that sector have also hiked out going funds along with more expenditures for public safety. The added cost of law enforcement is due, in part, to the State’s push to send low level offenders back to local municipalities. PRO’s, Post Release Offenders have contributed to an uptick in crime across the County, and most especially in Oxnard.
This pie chart below shows these two sectors taking up the lion’s share of the General Fund.
Of course property tax revenues offset expenses, having remained steady over the last few years.
Supervisor Peter Foy addressed the increase in hires for certain departments. Child Welfare by twenty, an additional fourteen for Animal Services (since they became “no kill’ shelters) and two for Public Works just as examples. Yet other part-time positions have been eliminated and some of these new hires are because the County is taking on Regional administration of certain services.
Yet despite the increase in spending and personnel County officials claim the budget is balanced.
The public will have the opportunity to voice their opinions at this evening’s hearing at 6PM at the government center.
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Debra Tash is Editor-in-Chief of Citizensjournal.us, past president for Citizens Alliance for Property Rights, business executive and award-winning author, residing in Somis.
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