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Permit Sonoma asks board to weigh staffing cuts, FEMA/BRIC uncertainty and housing‑element workload
Summary
Permit Sonoma presented a $55.5 million preliminary budget and warned that federal grant shifts — including questions about BRIC/BRIC‑phase replacement funding — and multiple mandated General Plan updates will strain staffing; the department proposed restoring several planning positions.
Permit Sonoma leaders told supervisors Wednesday that the department’s preliminary 2025–26 operating budget is $55.5 million and that funding uncertainty at the federal level and an expanding list of state mandates will cut into policy and permitting capacity unless key positions are restored.
Director Dennis Wicht and his management team outlined the department’s six functional areas — engineering and construction (building, wells and septic), code enforcement, planning, natural resources, fire prevention/hazardous materials and administration — and said the FY25–26 budget rose about 18% from the prior year due mainly to FEMA and BRIC grant activity. The department also said it eliminated 12 permanent positions and offset some spending to balance the budget; Permit Sonoma requested seven of those positions be restored because they support mandated updates and critical program work.
Key federal grant work includes FEMA hazard mitigation and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) projects for vegetation management and structural hardening related to wildfire recovery. The department said phase‑1 grant activities (staffing and design) have closed and the county is awaiting federal environmental review required before phase‑2 funds for homeowner mitigation could flow.
Wicht said recent federal actions have disrupted BRIC expectations: the federal BRIC program has been restructured and the administration has signaled phase‑2 approaches may change; Permit Sonoma staff said they are pursuing hazard mitigation grant alternatives to accomplish similar outcomes.
Land‑use and budget implications: Permit Sonoma said the county must complete updates to the housing element and related elements (environmental justice, safety) and that the department’s workload for mandatory plan updates, the Sonoma Developmental Center specific plan, and a forthcoming airport area specific plan will strain reduced staffing. The department also listed several fee and grant revenue sources and warned that a $2.9 million programmed use of fund balance and transfers from grants and reimbursements are significant parts of the revenue mix.
Supervisors and public commenters raised enforcement and implementation questions. Labor and living‑wage advocates urged active enforcement of the county’s living‑wage ordinance; department staff said enforcement requires dedicated capacity and the current budget did not include an enforcement position. Permit Sonoma said it supports ongoing cooperation with partner agencies to implement hazard mitigation, flood mapping corrections and objective design standards to accelerate housing production via ministerial review.
No vote was taken; the department requested the board consider restoring several positions and approved program extensions during the budget process.
