Storm Damage: $30 Million (Plus $70 Million for Covid & Fire)

By Bruce McPherson, Supervisor, Fifth District

We are heading into budget season at the County, which is always a time to reflect on our priorities and focus attention on emerging needs.

As we roll toward a new fiscal year, we must acknowledge the deep financial impact of the County’s response to natural disasters, both the atmospheric river storms of 2023 and the unreimbursed expenses from Covid and CZU Fire responses starting in 2020.

The cost to address road repairs and other hazards as a result of this year’s storms will exceed $30 million, which when added to $70 million in costs for Covid and the CZU Fire have created a $100 million gap we are hoping the federal government will eventually cover. That amount equates to nearly 14% of our proposed $731.5 million General Fund for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.

Fortunately, the County has been cautious in our spending for many years, allowing us to restore a 10% reserve, though some of that funding is dedicated for health services. We are not proposing drastic cuts and can cover our anticipated increases for employee compen sation and benefits. But, as always, we will closely monitor state and national economic trends to inform future budget decisions.

Meanwhile, our overall $1.1 billion budget includes investments in key initiatives, including the South County Government Center, Project Homekey sites to address homelessness, a new Children’s Crisis center and restored Sheriff’s Recovery Center, and improvements at Juvenile Hall. Additionally, we continue to be grateful for voter support of past tax measures that help fund our roads, libraries, parks and other core services.

The Board will review our budget during hearings May 30 and 31 before a final review June 13. We look forward to public input on our financial plan, which is available at santacruzcounty.us.

I also wanted to share developments with two issues concerning water. First, the state informed the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency in late April that it has approved the organization’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan, which has been in development for several years by Scotts Valley Water, San Lorenzo Valley Water, the County and private well owners in collaboration with the cities of Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. The plan will help us guide decision-making about our groundwater basin for years to come.

Secondly, my office has been working closely with state agencies on charting a better future for customers of Big Basin Water Co. in Boulder Creek. Both the State Water Resources Control Board and the Regional Water Quality Control Board are separately pursuing enforcement measures against the company due to a history of unreliable and potentially unsafe service related to drinking water and a small wastewater plant, respectively.

As the state pursues receivership for the drinking water side of the business — and potentially for the wastewater treatment plant — my office continues to urge local public ownership. Big Basin Water has announced a signed purchase agreement with an out-of-state company, though any such sale must be approved by the state once the buyer is determined to be capable of bringing the system into compliance.

I want to thank San Lorenzo Valley Water District for its excellent partnership and generosity shown to Big Basin Water and its customers for many years. At this time, the District is not pursuing consolidation with Big Basin Water, but we will collectively monitor the proposed sale to see if consolidation could be a possibility for the future.

Lastly, there have been some exciting developments on the Highway 9 Complete Streets Plan, which is a comprehensive plan managed by the Regional Transportation Commission to improve our main thoroughfare in the Valley.

The RTC and Caltrans have developed a great partnership with the County, the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District and METRO with an eye toward safety for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, as well as better circulation around the combined school campuses in Felton. A draft report of the SLV Schools Access Study is now available at SCCRTC. org. Also exciting is the Boulder Creek Complete Streets Improvement project, for which we are seeking state and federal funding to address sidewalk and bike lane improvements. n

As always, if my office can be of assistance, please contact us at fifth.district@santacruzcounty. us or 831-454-2200.