Supervisors approve the $526M budget

2021-22 budget includes increase of about $1.8 million

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors approved the recommended budget for fiscal year 2021-22.

The budget, which totals about $526 million, will serve as an interim spending plan before the official budget is adopted in September.

“This time last year there were many unknowns, given COVID, there was a lot of fiscal uncertainty,” said Interim County Administrator, Daniel Kim, during

Tuesday’s budget hearing. “Fortunately, a lot of the fears that we had last year didn’t happen and we’re in a much better place than we thought we would be. That means that we have sufficient funds to maintain current operations.”

The COVID-19 pandemic did not damage the county’s cash flow, rather, the recommended budget includes an increase of $1.8 million from the year before.

In his presentation to supervisors, Kim highlighted the following budgeted funds: $74.5 million for general fund departments, $47.9 for behavioral health services, $31.4 for the road/ transportation fund, $114 million for public safety departments, $18.2 million for public health services and $123 million for employment and social services.

In addition to the operating budget, the county also has a $46.6 million capital improvement program budget, including $510,00 in funding for the Monroe Detention Center as it winds down its expansion, and $31.4 million for the replacement of the Leinberger Expansion. Both expansions were partially funded by a capital improvement bond issued in 2017.

Additionally, the county has budgeted $9.3 million to repair the levee in Knights Landing, $3 million for the Yolo Library, $143,000 for the improvement of the Esparto Park, and $2.2 million for facilities capital projects.

In addition to the traditional county budget, Tom Haynes, the chief budget official with the county, went over the funds being provided

to the county within the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion federal spending bill that includes $350 billion that will go to state and local governments, including an estimated $42.8 million in Yolo County.

“Very broadly this funding is intended to help local governments respond to and recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency,” Haynes said.

Half the monies were distributed in May, and the other half will be distributed in May 2022. The county has the ability to use the funds before Dec. 21, 2024.

Haynes explained that the money can be used on: pandemic response and economic recovery, revenue replacement, premium pay, and infrastructure, such as water, sewer and broadband.

The funds have not been included in the recommended budget, due to the fact that the county is still deciding how to spend it. The county plans to hold community workshops on

the American Rescue Plan in mid-July, check-in with supervisors in mid-August, and include the funds into the final budget approved in September.

During board discussions, Supervisor Angel Barajas highlighted the need for more funding for fire districts in rural areas, which multiple people brought up during public comment at the beginning of the meeting. The board chose to discuss the issue further at a later date.

At the end of the meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the budget with Supervisor Don Saylor asking that an additional $50,000 be added on to an existing $50,000 allocated to climate action work to hire a staff member and start the commission.

“We did declare a climate emergency,” Supervisor Jim Provenza said in agreement with Saylor. “This is an emergency. Something that’s life and death in the future, so we do see a need to get it off the ground.”