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Board renews three‑year contract with Monterey County for veteran services after staff report on benefits secured
Summary
Supervisors approved a three‑year contract (not to exceed $480,000) with Monterey County's Veterans Affairs office to provide representation and benefits assistance; the director said services to date returned roughly $2.7 million in compensation for local veterans and $278,000 in tuition waivers.
San Benito supervisors voted 5-0 on May 26 to renew a three‑year contract with Monterey County’s Military and Veteran Affairs Division to continue providing veteran‑service representation and benefits assistance to San Benito County residents.
Dula Alonso, principal administrative analyst, explained the contract renewal and said the county has contracted with Monterey County for these services for more than two decades. "Before you today is a three‑year contract with Monterey County for consideration for military and veteran services," Alonso said.
Jack Murphy, director of the Monterey County military and veteran affairs office, summarized the office’s activity for the current fiscal year (through April): 429 appointments or walk‑ins, 920 claim actions on behalf of 293 unique veterans, 250 VA disability compensation awards resulting in about $1.83 million in retroactive payments and about $825,000 in recurring monthly payments, and 33 college tuition waivers equaling approximately $278,000 in savings for dependents.
Murphy noted the program also generates subvention payments to the county — he cited an expected subvention payment of $68,455 for the current fiscal year — which offsets part of the net county cost. Monterey staff described their office as largely revenue‑generating through benefits secured for veterans and survivors.
The board thanked the presenter and approved the contract renewal by roll call. The agreement renews an existing relationship the county described as having a strong return on investment in benefits secured for local veterans.
What’s next: The registrar of veterans services will continue delivering on‑the‑ground casework and providing monthly reports; staff said procurement and subvention receipts will be tracked through the budget process.
