Lede
Butte County approved a recommended FY 2025‑26 budget on June 24, adopting a $1.1 billion all‑funds plan that includes $305.2 million in general‑fund operations and an estimated $44 million in Measure H local revenues to restore public‑safety staffing and expand library hours.

Nut graf
County administrators told the Board of Supervisors the recommended budget balances projected revenues and costs while preserving a $16 million general reserve and a $10.1 million contingency target. Measure H proceeds were presented as the primary enabler for restoring positions and services in the sheriff’s office, fire departments and libraries; the board voted unanimously to adopt the package and nine related procedural resolutions and directions.

Body
Chief Administrative Officer Andy Pickett and Deputy Administrative Officer Kevin Taggart presented the county’s financial plan. Taggart summarized the core figures: “The recommendations before you provide for a balanced $1,100,000,000 budget.” He said the all‑funds total represents a roughly $53.4 million increase over the prior year and that the general fund operating plan is $305.2 million. The recommended budget relies on $34.9 million of estimated beginning fund balance and maintains a $16 million general reserve.

Taggart described revenue composition: about 62% of governmental funds are state or federal dollars, while local discretionary revenue — including property and the Measure H sales tax — accounts for roughly 19% of governmental receipts. The Measure H projection in the recommended budget was $44 million in new revenue plus $5.8 million in carryover; staff showed Measure H allocations grouped by function, with about 59% of Measure H directed to county public‑safety departments and another 21% to public‑safety capital outlays, 9% to libraries and the remainder to stabilization reserves.

Department highlights in the adopted plan included: a $92.9 million sheriff’s budget (with about $12.2 million of Measure H paying the equivalent of 74 positions, including positions added in November and positions that would have otherwise been cut); a $39.2 million fire budget (roughly $11.6 million of Measure H supporting 45 positions and enabling three‑person engine staffing); and a $5.6 million library budget (Measure H funds supported reopening branches and restoring hours). Deputies also outlined pandemic‑era and federal grant cuts affecting public health and behavioral‑health programs; staff warned the county is monitoring potential additional state and federal reductions that could require midyear adjustments.

Board action and procedural items
Pickett and Taggart presented nine discrete actions for the board — adopting the recommended budget (with Schedule A adjustments), direction on contingency reductions if actual beginning balances differ, formation of a public‑safety capital reserve, authorization of a district priority fund ($10,000 per supervisor), and several technical fund closures and carryovers. Following public comment, the board took a single consolidated motion to adopt items 1 through 9; the motion passed unanimously.

Public comment and context
A public commenter asked the board to be cautious about using one‑time disaster and grant dollars for ongoing maintenance and operations and urged a conservative reserve posture in case of future state or federal reductions. Multiple supervisors thanked voters and staff for Measure H and stressed the measure’s role in restoring staffing and services after years of constrained county budgets.

Ending
County staff said they will continue to monitor state and federal budget developments and will return to the board if significant reductions require midyear revisions. The approved budget funds operational priorities for the coming year and establishes the contingency and reserve rules administrators will use if actual beginning balances differ from estimates.