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Santa Cruz County board accepts proposed $1.29 billion budget, sets June hearings
Summary
County CEO Nicole Coburn presented a $1.29 billion proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 that relies on $43 million in one-time funds and no layoffs; the Board voted 5-0 to accept and file the proposal and scheduled department-level hearings in June.
Santa Cruz County officials on Tuesday accepted the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget and scheduled a series of departmental hearings in June. The board voted 5-0 to accept and file the spending plan, which county leaders said balances a $23 million shortfall reported earlier this year.
The proposal, presented by CEO Nicole Coburn with budget manager Marcus Pimementel, totals $1.29 billion across all funds and an $844 million general fund. "This budget that we present today protects the workforce," Coburn said, summarizing the administration's approach to preserving services amid fiscal pressures.
The plan closes the midyear gap through a mix of measures: targeted new revenues, organizational adjustments and $43 million in one-time resources, including roughly $31 million drawn from health and human services reserves. Pimementel said the budget relies on a combination of short-term measures and structural changes that will be developed over the coming year.
Pimementel described the county's fiscal risks in detail: a constrained property-tax allocation, the impacts of recent state policy changes (referred to in the hearing as "HR1"), rising salary and benefits costs, and a backlog of disaster-related expenses. The budget reduces reserve levels to an estimated 10.4 percent of general-fund spending, below the county's 15 percent target, and assumes modest revenue growth: about 4.5 percent in property and sales tax.
The board and public asked about reserve use and implications for roads and disaster response. Coburn and Pimementel said paying near-term obligations and avoiding layoffs are priorities, and that they will return with additional proposals as state actions and the May revise clarify the outlook.
What happens next: the board set public departmental budget hearings for June 10 and 11 (including a session to be held in Watsonville) and a final hearing on June 24, with adoption scheduled later this summer. Coburn and Pimementel said they will continue to refine revenue options and seek state relief for the impact of the policy changes.
Actions: The Board voted to accept and file the proposed FY 2026-27 budget and to hold the scheduled June hearings. The vote was 5-0.
