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County to unfund 41 vacant positions as public‑safety spending remains primary discretionary priority
Summary
County administration told the board the FY25‑26 recommendation unfunds 41 vacant positions to reduce net county costs while allocating roughly 73% of discretionary funding to public safety; staff flagged LATCF funds as a flexible source to plug remaining shortfalls.
Madera County’s recommended 2025–26 budget includes the unfunding of 41 positions and a net decrease of 22.25 funded positions, county administration said during the budget hearing.
Jay Varney, Madera County chief administrative officer, and Joel Begay, County Administrative Office staff, told the board the positions recommended for unfunding are vacant and that no layoffs will be triggered. Begay said the proposed total funded positions are 1,754.75. Officials stressed the board’s long‑standing priority for public safety: roughly 73% of discretionary revenue is allocated to public‑safety functions, a share that decreased by one percentage point from the prior year due in part to position adjustments.
Budget pressures and offsets: Staff said the county reduced departmental net county costs by about $3 million through targeted reductions and that retiree‑health premium increases — driven in part by federal changes — added roughly $1.1 million in cost pressure. County administration projects a $1.2 million operating deficit in the proposed budget and a projected year‑end deficit of about $748,000 using a conservative 1% salary‑savings assumption.
LATCF flexibility: Begay and Varney discussed $4.1 million in LATCF funds (American Rescue Plan Act 2021 related) that the county is holding as a special‑revenue fund; Begay said those funds can be used for a broad set of government purposes except lobbying and could be recommended later to offset deficits. Staff emphasized that LATCF is accounted for separately from the general‑fund reserve and any use to backfill county operations would be an explicit board action.
Why it matters: The unfunding of vacant positions reduces expected payroll obligations without triggering layoffs this year but narrows hiring flexibility if revenues do not grow. Supervisors and staff discussed continuing a targeted hiring freeze, strategic reorganization and possible conversion of some functions to subvented or grant funding.
Sources: Remarks by Jay Varney and Joel Begay during the Madera County Board of Supervisors budget hearing, June 9, 2025.
