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Eyeing a massive budget deficit, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors gathered during a Sept. 8 special meeting to discuss its options for closing the gap, ultimately giving County Administrative Officer Esperanza Collio Warren two weeks to come up with a plan.
After an external audit report revealed a $25 million deficit, Warren had proposed about $23 million in cuts to the general fund, which department leaders said would cripple basic operations. But Warren said they were necessary.
“We don’t have much room to stop the cuts,” Warren said, “because if we don’t make them, next year we’ll be in deficit again. Not only that, we won’t have a cushion anymore for reserves.”
The plan is to bring the $95 million budget approved in June down to $71 million. That June budget was approved after weeks of debate and was always meant to be amended, as county officials wrestled with years of revenues lagging behind spending and a reliance on one-time state and federal funds. To fill the gap in the budget, Warren and department heads have already worked for weeks to identify reductions.
On Sept. 5 at midnight, Warren received the numbers from all departments, but they only added up to about $14 million, leaving her with an $8 million shortfall before the Sept. 8 meeting.
To close the gap, Warren told the board that she and her team developed a “formula” based on each department’s number of employees and budget. For example, she suggested an $832,000 reduction in her own department, one of the better-funded ones in the county.
“I do want to say that some departments will find it very difficult to reach those cuts,” she said. “I want to acknowledge that it will be very difficult for me as a department head to cut $832,000 from my department, but I put myself in the same position.”
Department heads expressed their concerns over the more severe cuts.
Clerk Recorder and Registrar of Voters Francisco Diaz said that the $550,000 cut proposed wouldn’t even be met if he laid off eight of the nine employees working with him, including himself.
“Based on the numbers, I will need to lay off 60% of my staff and eliminate drop boxes, vault centers, security, video camera surveillance, outreach, and postcards,” he said. “Poll workers will need to have a 60% pay cut. I will also need to eliminate our fraud protection program, the lobbyist program, enforcement programs, our notary services program, and potentially reduce our overall operations. This is not an exaggeration. This is the only way I can make my number.”
Assessor Tom Slavich, District Attorney Joel Buckingham, and Tax Collector Melinda Casillas expressed similar concerns.
Casillas and Slavich pointed out that the cuts would impact property tax collection, which is the county’s main source of revenue. “You’re really cutting off your foot,” Slavich said.
“Unless I lay off all my employees, and we have no property tax collection, I don’t know how else to address the amount that’s being asked to be cut from my department,” Casillas said.
In response, the board unanimously approved Warren’s request for 14 more days to work with departments to figure out the final budget cuts and to negotiate with unions.
Board Chair Kollin Kosmicki said there would likely be another special meeting on labor talks before Sept. 22, when the supervisors are set to approve the final budget.
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