County proposes $5.5 billion budget

By Chris Campos Staff Writer

MARTINEZ Do you know how much your county government plans on spending next year?

Most of your fellow taxpayers don’t. Don’t think in millions.

Contra Costa County’s proposed 2023-24 budget totals $5.5 billion. For two days this week, the county Board of Supervisors listened to a parade of department heads outlining their financial needs for the upcoming fiscal year that starts on July 1.

John Gioia, Board chairman, said at the start of the budget review, “The budget is more than numbers on a page. It’s the embodiment of our values.”

Among the recommended budget highlights:

• Adds 26 positions in the Employment and Human Services Department to improve children and family services; youth programming and workforce development; In-Home Supportive Services case management; senior nutrition programs; CalAIM implementation; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and associated pro grams.

• Adds three fulltime Animal Services Officers to increase beat coverage and improve response times to dangerous ani mal cases and an additional two full-time positions focused on transfer partner and adoption programs and lost and found programs

• A $10 million alloca- tion toward developing a new Bay Point Library branch. The branch is a new 10,000-20,000 square-foot space constructed in partnership with an affordable housing project. County Librarian Alison McKee told the supervisors that the total cost of the finished project will be about $28 million. County staff are still searching for more funding sources and grants.

• $10 million in capital funding to provide a local match for grants that would allow the County to leverage state and federal money for large infrastructure projects, such as roads and bridges, as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. see Budget page 18

The proposed budget includes funding for 11,127.6 full-time equivalent positions (FTE), of which 6,836.4 are paid for through the county General Fund. The recommendation includes 85.4 new positions to be added for the fiscal year 20232024. To structurally balance the budget, a number of our General Fund departments continue to have vacancy factors built into their recommended budget allocations.

The supervisors will make a final vote on the budget in May.

During the development of the budget, there were 2,013 vacant FTE positions, totaling $305 million, of which 1,395 FTE totaling $204.9 million are General Fund supported.