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Subcommittee trims and forwards several overtime reappropriations; DPH seeks large supplemental to cover revenue and salary shortfalls
Summary
Members approved analyst-recommended reductions to requested overtime reappropriations for the Fire and Police departments, forwarded items 7 and 8 as requested, continued an item on nurse salaries for one week, and discussed a Department of Public Health supplemental that uses SB 1128 funds and a $27M reserve to cover state revenue losses and debt service.
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee considered multiple budget ordinances (items 5–9) that would reallocate salary and fringe lines to cover projected overtime increases in Fire, Police and Public Utilities and would address Department of Public Health revenue and salary shortfalls.
Key outcomes: • Fire Department (Item 5): The Fire Department originally requested an $8.5 million reallocation from salaries/fringe into overtime. Chief Joanne Hayes‑White and the controller presented an alternate seasonal projection that reduced the need; the committee amended the request to $6,672,963 to reflect that seasonality and sent the item forward as amended.
• Police Department (Item 6): The budget analyst recommended a reduction to the police request; the committee adopted the budget analyst’s recommendation (reducing the requested reappropriation) and sent the item forward with the revised amount.
• Public Utilities (Item 7): The Public Utilities Commission confirmed overtime is a small part of its overall budget; the committee sent the ordinance forward as requested.
• Department of Public Health (Items 8 and 9): DPH presented a larger supplemental that responds to a projected revenue shortfall (including a delay in a state plan amendment affecting mental‑health reimbursements and a reduction in Medi‑Cal reimbursement rates at Laguna Honda). The supplemental relies on multiple sources: roughly $67.6 million in reimbursement revenues associated with SB 1128 (a one‑time catch‑up payment tied to Laguna Honda construction-related reimbursements), approximately $25 million in surplus general hospital revenues, and a proposed $6.6 million draw from a state‑revenue‑loss reserve, producing an overall supplemental appropriation to cover roughly $41 million in projected salary/fringe and operating shortfalls across DPH. Budget staff recommended placing $27 million of the SB 1128 receipts into a debt‑service reserve to avoid future general‑fund contributions for Laguna Honda debt service. The committee continued a separate item (nurse salary appropriations, item 9) for one week to allow a budget analyst report to be completed.
Budget analysts repeatedly urged conservative estimation and closer monitoring of recurring patterns: DPH has historically returned with late supplementals at this point in the fiscal year and the analysts recommended more realistic baseline budgeting for future cycles.
The committee sent items 5–8 forward (item 5 as amended), continued item 9 for one week, and asked departments for additional follow‑up and documentation.
