Sonoma County launches preliminary budget workshops as officials warn of federal and state funding uncertainty

Sonoma County leaders on Tuesday opened three days of preliminary budget workshops with a call for fiscal restraint and planning for sizable external risks.

County Executive Rivera told the Board of Supervisors the county must “sustain essential services” rather than try to expand programs amid rising costs and uncertain state and federal funding. County budget staff said the county’s preliminary spending plan includes a modest near-term gap in discretionary resources and several areas where fiscal decisions will wait until more information is available in May and October.

The budget team presented the county’s preliminary numbers and schedule: a recommended budget will be published in May, budget hearings will be held in June, and final decisions will follow after the state May Revision and the fall federal budget cycle. The staff stressed many figures are “preliminary” and subject to…