Department chiefs ask for funds
SALINAS » One by one, the heads of Monterey County departments on Wednesday pleaded their cases for additional funding in the new fiscal year's budget set to take effect July 1.
After each department pitch for additional funding, called augmentations to the recommended budget, the Board of Supervisors worked to reach a consensus on the requests on Wednesday, giving direction to County Budget Director Ezequiel Vega who will then come back with a final recommended budget later this month.
The decisions are important because they will affect the level of services provided to every resident in the unincorporated areas of the county, from the Carmel Valley to the Salinas Valley, and encompass everything from health care services to law enforcement.
A saving grace for many departments' budgets for the upcoming fiscal year 2022-23 is one-time infusions of money from sources such as the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that Congress approved to assist local governments dealing with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county's total allocation from the federal law is $84.3 million. It plans to use these funds over 40 months spanning across four fiscal years ending in fiscal year 2023-24. Much of that funding for the 2022-23 fiscal year is being used to plug gaps between revenue and expenditures.
About $18.2 million in the federal funding is being recommended for augmentations in the upcoming fiscal year, according to the 641-page county budget, which is recommending a $1.8 billion spending plan.
COVID-19 took center stage in the county's Human Resources Department as director Irma Ramirez-Bough sought direction from elected officials on options for the cost of ongoing testing for county employees, funded by unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds. She provided supervisors with three options: to continue with polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing that would need a $150,000 augmentation, switch to a rapid antigen testing onsite at an augmented cost of $130,000 or at-home antigen testing with no additional cost.
Supervisors opted for the athome option where county employees will be on an honor system for reporting positive test results.
Concerning law enforcement budgeting, Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal requested additional funding in several areas, including overtime, maintenance and jail infrastructure. Staffing, a perineal issue in the Sheriff's Office, leaves five deputy positions unfunded in addition to seven positions that were eliminated last fiscal year.
“The current staffing levels do and will continue to impact how the Sheriff's Office can service the communities of Monterey County,” according to the recommended budget. “Low level crimes like illegal dumping, loud noise and illegal parking, along with non-crimes like homeless en
campments, will be the lowest priority and will receive little to no enforcement attention until patrol staffing begins to increase.”
Increased gas prices caused by global pressures are also affecting patrols in the county. Bernal noted that the recommended budget does not consider the impact of higher fuel costs, which he said if prices continue to hover north of $6 a gallon, then the added fuel costs could run more than $1.5 million.
Various supervisors questioned Bernal's requests. Supervisor Mary Adams said she believed the overtime was excessive. Bernal said it was excessive because of all the unfilled positions that needed to be staffed by deputies working overtime.
Supervisor Wendy Root Askew asked why Bernal couldn't use the money saved from positions that are funded but unfilled for some of the augmentation requests. Vega, the budget director, said it is within the sheriff's authority to use that kind of savings to cover other department costs. Undersheriff John Mineau replied that some of that savings are being used elsewhere.
Root Askew noted the Sheriff's Office budget has already been increased by $11 million for the upcoming fiscal year.
The one thing all supervisors agreed on was the need to fund the replacement of the department's automated emergency defibrillators, or AEDs, that deputies carry in their cars that are used to shock a failing heart back into a normal rhythm. Deputies are often the first responders to incidents where a defibrillator is needed, the supervisors said.
Other department heads also asked for more money than what is provided in the recommended budget. Nothing is final until supervisors vote later this month.