This opinion was contributed by Hollister resident Catherine Eva Booth Vaughan. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. Lea este artículo en español aqui.
After watching San Benito County’s budget hearings Monday and Tuesday, I came away seriously concerned about how our county finances are being managed.
The Board adopted a $263.1 million budget while the county’s books are STILL NOT CLOSED. County officials acknowledged there were mistakes in the final submission that will require budget amendments. We are also operating without a full-time budget officer despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to fill the position.
What was especially troubling was watching supervisors question line items and numbers that often seemed uncertain, projected or difficult to explain. In some cases, items appeared to be listed under the wrong departments. At times, it felt like they were trying to figure out the budget during the hearing instead of reviewing a finished, reliable financial document.
We’re talking about $263 million of taxpayer money.
County leadership has acknowledged that budgeting problems have existed for years. So why has this been allowed to continue for so long?
And responsibility cannot stop with staff. In my view, the five members of the Board of Supervisors are responsible for providing oversight, and they need to answer for why these problems were allowed to continue without being corrected.
There is major smoke here, and taxpayers need to know where the fire is.
At the same time, we hear about limited resources for essential services such as fire and law enforcement. If the county is struggling to adequately fund critical departments while its own budget numbers, classifications and accounting remain unsettled, that should concern every taxpayer.
How much of that financial pressure is the result of years of poor budgeting and inadequate oversight?
To me, this represents mismanagement on a colossal level.
How can San Benito County adopt a “final” budget when the books are still open, significant questions remain about the numbers and classifications, and we still don’t have a full-time budget officer?
Taxpayers deserve accurate numbers, properly classified expenditures, closed books, qualified financial leadership and real accountability from the Board of Supervisors.
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