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Budget Justice Coalition and county present budget‑equity tool to Board of Supervisors; pilot planned
Summary
Budget Justice Coalition and the county's Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice described a Budget Equity Tool designed to help departments evaluate budget proposals for racial and economic equity; the board and staff discussed piloting the tool with several departments.
At a Feb. 4 meeting, representatives of the Budget Justice Coalition and the Bay Area Equity Atlas presented a draft county Budget Equity Tool and requested that the board adopt a pilot to integrate equity considerations into departmental budget development.
Ryan Fukumori of the Bay Area Equity Atlas described publicly available data resources and urged greater disaggregation to make tradeoffs visible to policy makers and the public. "An informed citizenry is really important for good governance," Fukumori said, and the atlas provides maps and datasets that aid local decision‑making.
Sarah Gerdian, program manager for the Budget Justice Coalition, and representatives from the county’s Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice explained that the tool is a series of reflective questions departments can use to assess how budget proposals affect communities across race, income and other characteristics. The tool asks departments to identify funding gaps, describe community‑engagement practices and set transparent performance metrics tied to equity outcomes.
Board members and staff discussion
Supervisors asked how the tool would be applied in practice and how departments with different sizes and capacities would be included in the pilot. The Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice said it had already socialized the tool with a cross‑departmental work group and proposed a staggered pilot across six departments (two large, two mid‑size and two small) to test and refine the approach. The county administrator's office said the pilot would be coordinated with the 2025‑26 budget calendar and that the coalition and county staff would provide technical assistance.
Support from community groups
Numerous community groups on the call and in chambers urged that the county adopt the tool and apply it broadly, arguing that the budget is a moral document and that transparent, disaggregated data should guide spending decisions. The Budget Justice Coalition asked to continue participating in the county’s retreat process and to be included in future budget planning and public engagement.
Next steps
County staff said they would finalize a soft launch schedule and work with the Budget Justice Coalition and ORESJ to pilot the tool. Supervisors expressed support for testing the tool with departments and continuing community engagement as the county develops its 2025‑26 budget guidance.
