Sacramento County adopts $8.9 billion 2025‑26 budget, restores public‑safety and parkway funding after debate

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county's fiscal year 2025'26 recommended budget and five'year capital improvement plan at its June 4 meeting, adopting an $8.9 billion all'funds spending plan that officials say reduces, but does not eliminate, the county's reliance on one'time resources.

The vote followed nearly eight hours of staff presentations and public testimony in which residents, business groups and advocacy organizations pressed supervisors on cuts proposed earlier in the process to the sheriff's department and the district attorney's office, and asked the board to restore funding for parks, school field trips and community prosecution programs.

The adopted budget totals $8,900,000,000 in appropriations across all funds and includes a general fund spending plan of about $4.0 billion. Amanda Thomas, the county's chief fiscal officer, said the budget is balanced as required by state law but continues to rely on one'time fund balance. "To bring the budget into structural balance, we really must align our ongoing expenditures with ongoing revenues," Thomas told the board during her overview. She said available discretionary resources include an estimated $71 million in fund balance and that the county will not make a reserve deposit this year because the budget does not fully fund the base level of service.

Why it matters: the plan funds court-ordered obligations tied to the Mays consent decree for jail health and mental health services, preserves a set of public-safety programs that drew heavy public attention and keeps most city and county partnership initiatives on track while trimming other departmental spending. County Executive David Villanueva said balancing the budget required "difficult recommendations" but reflected board priorities including compliance with legal obligations, optimizing county resources and targeting new spending to the most urgent needs.

What the board did: The budget package the board adopted restores some reductions that had been proposed earlier in the process and moves one-time reserves into specific programs. Notable changes supervisors approved at the meeting include:

- Restoring a proposed reduction at the district attorney's office that would have deleted six positions in misdemeanor units; the board approved the restoration with $500,000 of one-time restricted revenue and additional salary-savings assumptions to cover the net county cost.

- Funding one principal criminal attorney in the district attorney's office for one year to establish a community prosecutor position focused on North Sacramento and Del Paso Heights; that position will be paid this year from a one-time allocation out of a reserve tied to American River Parkway homelessness impacts and requires a memorandum of understanding with the City of Sacramento about future-year funding expectations.

- Restoring the sheriff's Hot Team and POP (Problem-Oriented Policing) team funding that had been recommended for reduction; the board approved a combination of one-time reserves and departmental adjustments to restore those resources.

- Restoring a small marine detail allocation for law enforcement and approving one-time funding for restroom repairs and maintenance work at Discovery Park, Howe Avenue and Watt Avenue to respond to higher use and encampment impacts along the American River Parkway.

- Directing staff to return in September with revenue-enhancement options for the board to consider, including potential tax measures.

County obligations and Mays consent decree: Supervisors and staff repeatedly flagged the county's continuing obligations under the Mays consent decree, the federal settlement requiring improvements in jail medical and mental-health care. Amanda Thomas told the board that correctional health and behavioral-health growth related to Mays account for significant additions in the recommended budget and that, while the adopted plan reduces reliance on one-time funds compared with last year, the county remains at risk unless new revenue or structural changes are found. "We are not reflecting unknown jail system master-plan capital costs in the budget because those costs are not yet estimated," she said. County staff told the board jail-related remedial and operating costs have grown substantially over the last five years and could add materially to future budgets.

Public testimony and political context: More than 80 speakers addressed the board on the budget, with large turnouts from business groups, property-based improvement districts and retailers urging restoration of district attorney enforcement and prosecution resources as a response to retail theft and quality-of-life crime. The sheriff, Jim Cooper, urged that patrol staffing stay a top priority and warned that the department is understaffed for the county's size. District Attorney Tien Ho described steep caseload increases, staffing losses in recent years and new workload created by Proposition 36 (a voter-approved change to theft prosecution), and he asked the board to avoid cuts that would undermine public safety programs and victim services.

Supervisor debate and board direction: Board members stressed the legal requirement to adopt a balanced budget and the political realities of constrained revenues. Several supervisors said they backed restoring specific public-safety resources while others urged caution about one-time solutions and emphasized the continuing need to reduce reliance on fund balance. Supervisor Patrick Serna, the board chair, framed the budget vote as the board's responsibility to set priorities and instructed staff to return with measures to shore up reserves going forward.

Votes and formal actions: The board voted unanimously to: (1) approve the fiscal year 2025'26 recommended budget as revised on the floor, and (2) adopt the fiscal year 2025'26 five-year capital improvement plan as presented. Both actions passed 5-0.

Numbers to remember: - Total appropriations (all funds): $8.9 billion - General fund discretionary/net county cost: ~$1.021 billion (discretionary resources) with $71 million of estimated fund balance used in the adopted plan - CIP five-year total: $2.7 billion (FY25-26 projects approx. $891 million) - Mays consent-decree related costs cited by staff: roughly $90'100 million per year in recent years for jail health and related services (staff estimate)

What the board directed staff to do: The motion that adopted the budget included direction for staff to return in September with recommended revenue options and to present a refined revised budget and reserve recommendations as information on state and federal funding clarity emerges. The board also asked staff to document the one-time funding uses it approved today and to identify path(s) to reduce ongoing reliance on one-time funds.

Speakers (selected): David Villanueva, Sacramento County Executive; Amanda Thomas, Chief Fiscal Officer; Sheriff Jim Cooper; District Attorney Tien Ho; Supervisor Patrick Serna (Chair); Supervisor Phil Hume; Supervisor Kennedy; Supervisor Desmond; Supervisor Rodriguez.

Actions - Kind: budget_adoption motion: "Adopt the fiscal year 2025-26 recommended budget and the fiscal year 2025-26 five-year capital improvement plan as revised on the floor." mover: "Supervisor Desmond" second: "Supervisor Rodriguez" vote_record: [{"member":"Serna","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Hume","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Kennedy","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Rodriguez","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Desmond","vote":"yes"}] tally:{"yes":5,"no":0} legal_threshold:{"met":true,"notes":"Majority vote; budget adoption required by statute"} outcome:"approved" notes:"Board approved a series of one-time restorations and directed staff to pursue revenue options for future budgets."

Discussion_vs_Decision - discussion_points:["Structural imbalance: reliance on one-time fund balance to pay ongoing costs","Costs and obligations tied to the Mays consent decree for jail medical and behavioral health","Public safety staffing and response times","Community prosecution and partnerships with cities and business groups","Parkway impacts from encampments and needed maintenance"] - directions:["Staff to return in September with options for revenue enhancement and revised recommended budget and reserves","Staff to implement the one-time restorations and report back on metrics and MOU terms for the community prosecutor within the year"] - decisions:["Budget and CIP adopted unanimously; several one-time restorations approved"]

Clarifying_details:[{"category":"total_budget","detail":"Total county budget adoption for FY25-26","value":8900000000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Amanda Thomas"},{"category":"general_fund_net_county_cost","detail":"Net county cost/discretionary resources included in adopted budget","value":1021000000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Amanda Thomas"},{"category":"estimated_available_fund_balance","detail":"Estimated fund balance used in adopted budget","value":71000000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Amanda Thomas"},{"category":"mays_annual_cost_estimate","detail":"Correctional health and Mays-related annual spending in recent years","value":100000000,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Amanda Thomas"}]

Proper_names:[{"name":"Sacramento County","type":"agency"},{"name":"Mays consent decree","type":"court_case"},{"name":"American River Parkway","type":"location"},{"name":"Discovery Park","type":"location"},{"name":"UC Davis","type":"school"},{"name":"SMF Forward","type":"project"},{"name":"Metro Airpark","type":"location"}]

Topics:[{"name":"County budget","justification":"Covers adoption of the county FY25-26 budget and CIP; includes spending, reserves, and board actions","scoring":{"topic_relevance":1.00,"depth_score":0.95,"opinionatedness":0.05,"controversy":0.65,"civic_salience":1.00,"impactfulness":0.90,"geo_relevance":1.00}},{"name":"Public safety","justification":"Substantive debate and restorations for sheriff and district attorney budgets; Mays consent decree obligations","scoring":{"topic_relevance":0.93,"depth_score":0.85,"opinionatedness":0.10,"controversy":0.88,"civic_salience":1.00,"impactfulness":0.95,"geo_relevance":1.00}},{"name":"Parks and natural resources","justification":"Funding restored for American River Parkway maintenance, restroom repairs, and waterway cleanup contracts","scoring":{"topic_relevance":0.78,"depth_score":0.60,"opinionatedness":0.05,"controversy":0.40,"civic_salience":0.70,"impactfulness":0.65,"geo_relevance":1.00}}]

Searchable_tags:["budget","Mays consent decree","public safety","sheriff","district attorney","capital improvement plan","American River Parkway","Splash","community prosecutor"]

community_relevance:{"geographies":["US-CA-SAC","North Sacramento","Del Paso Heights","American River Parkway"],"funding_sources":["general_fund","CBO_capacity_building","one_time_reserves"],"impact_groups":["residents","businesses","homeless_individuals","juvenile_court_participants"]}

meeting_context:{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":86,"duration_minutes":780,"items_count":4},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2025-05-01","note":"Recommended budget published by County Executive"},{"date":"2025-06-04","note":"Board adopted budget and CIP"}]}

provenance:{},

salience:{"overall":0.95,"overall_justification":"Budget adoption and CIP set spending and policy priorities for the county; restores and reassigns funds tied to high-profile legal obligations and public-safety debate.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Budget affects county services, taxes, capital projects, and court-ordered obligations.","attention_level":"high","attention_level_justification":"Large turnout at public comment and extensive board deliberation; many community stakeholders involved.","novelty":0.30,"novelty_justification":"Annual budget adoption is routine though the restorations after public pressure and explicit MOU directions are notable.","timeliness_urgency":0.90,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Budget adoption is time-sensitive and establishes funding for the fiscal year starting July 1.","legal_significance":0.85,"legal_significance_justification":"Board action impacts legal compliance (Mays consent decree) and local statutory requirement to adopt a balanced budget.","budgetary_significance":0.95,"budgetary_significance_justification":"Large dollar sums and reserve decisions; CIP of $2.7B; affects many departments.","public_safety_risk":0.80,"public_safety_risk_justification":"Restorations to sheriff/DA budgets were central to public comment and could affect 911 response, jail operations, and enforcement.","affected_population_estimate":1500000,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Sacramento County population and direct service users across many programs.","budget_total_usd":8900000000}}