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Sierra County presents balanced 2025–26 budget after staff savings, adds positions and promotions
Summary
County staff reported a balanced draft final budget for 2025–26 after a mix of position eliminations, retirement savings and selective promotions; several department requests were deferred for follow-up.
Sierra County officials presented a balanced draft final budget for fiscal year 2025–26 at the Board of Supervisors’ public hearing, after department managers, finance committee members and auditors identified savings and prioritized employee promotions.
Roberta Salman, the county auditor, told the board the budget incorporates several changes since the preliminary version: pay adjustments for mid‑management and department heads, removal of an assistant treasurer position, and a number of job reclassifications and promotions across departments to be funded without increasing the county’s net deficit. "We have a balanced budget with all of that," Salman said.
The board instructed staff to follow up on two behavioral-health personnel requests and a social‑services promotion that lacked sufficient detail in the packet. Salman said those requests appear affordable in the current revenue outlook but required personnel details before formal inclusion.
Major changes described by staff include: removing one assistant‑treasurer slot (saving roughly $175,000); increasing overtime budgets in the sheriff’s office to reflect actual spending; and adding several technical and clerical positions in assessor, treasury and public‑works offices. Public‑works director Brian Davis described internal adjustments that shift one planned office manager position to fund several in‑department promotions at no net increase to the department’s budget.
The finance committee praised departmental efforts to find savings and supported a staged review of promotions, noting some are time‑and‑grade steps while others require further departmental justification. The board scheduled a follow‑up finance committee meeting before final adoption to review outstanding promotions and confirm position details.
The public hearing on the final budget was opened and closed with no public speakers. The board will return the final budget for adoption at its next scheduled meeting after the finance committee completes remaining follow‑up.
