County employees, public and civil grand jury urge supervisors to preserve counsel, PIO and behavioral health roles
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Summary
Dozens of employees, department heads and members of the public urged San Benito County supervisors on June 9 to preserve county counsel, public information, civil grand jury and behavioral health staff as the board weighs FY2025‑26 budget reductions.
Public comment at the June 9 San Benito County budget hearing focused heavily on staffing proposals in the recommended budget and on the potential effects of cutting certain county positions.
Deputy County Counsel Shirley Murphy urged the board not to eliminate county counsel positions or to replace legal services with a private‑law contract as a cost‑saving measure. Murphy said the county’s hybrid in‑house/contract model had preserved institutional knowledge and that eliminating local counsel positions would not necessarily save money once transition and contract costs were considered.
Members of the county council staff and the county’s public‑defense oversight and invoicing staff described how their roles support other departments; one staff member said she handles 300–500 invoices a year and that losing the position would create payment and reimbursement problems that outside counsel could not perform because of limited system access.
A number of speakers asked the board to preserve the public information officer (PIO) position. County communications staff and community members warned that eliminating the PIO role would reduce the county’s capacity to deliver emergency and public‑health messages, pointing to wildfire, flood and pandemic risks as reasons to keep consistent communications capacity in house.
Representatives of the civil grand jury and the superior court asked the board not to slash the grand jury budget. Speakers said the civil grand jury performs independent oversight that benefits the public and produces reports that identify savings and improvements across county government.
Behavioral health leadership asked the board to preserve clinical positions. Behavioral Health Director Dana Edgel said staffing shortages for clinicians create risks to service continuity for people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders, and that reductions could put the county at risk of failing state network adequacy or triggering financial sanctions.
Assessor Tom Slavich and other department heads urged caution before eliminating positions in areas that directly affect revenue collection and statutory duties, noting that cutting critical staff could reduce long‑term revenue and increase costs.
Several supervisors and staff acknowledged the comments and asked for additional meetings with affected departments to get more detail before final decisions.
