Nevada County outlines balanced $466.5M budget with $29M one-time uses; sanitation, fees approved

Nevada County officials on June 9 presented a balanced proposed budget of $466.5 million for fiscal 2026-27 and scheduled formal adoption for June 16.

"The recommended fiscal 2026-27 operating budget is balanced," Deputy County Executive Officer and CFO Aaron Metler told the board during a two-hour presentation on the budget framework, revenues and expenditures. He said the proposal relies on a planned use of approximately $29 million in fund balance, mostly for one-time capital projects including behavioral health facility work and the sheriff's regional training center.

Metler said 48% of the county's budgeted dollars come from state and federal sources and that property tax remains the largest discretionary local revenue. He presented staffing totals of roughly 931.75 full-time equivalents across the county and highlighted an expected 12% increase in overall revenues compared with the prior year, driven mainly by intergovernmental and miscellaneous receipts.

The presentation explained that some departments will use reserves to fund one-time capital projects and noted policies to limit recurring expenditures. "When we recommend using fund balance, we use the budget policy as well as the fund balance policy guidance to determine whether the use of fund balance is sustainable," Metler said.

Board members questioned staff about the county's pension strategy, the mix of intergovernmental funds, and the cost-allocation ("cost plan") methodology that drives overhead charges across departments. Metler said the budget includes an added 1% pension contribution (about $800,000 across funds) intended to be held for a future discretionary payment toward the unfunded liability, and that the county will continue to prepay its annual required CalPERS contribution in July to save interest.

Public commenters at the hearing pressed the board on several lines of concern. Multiple speakers urged greater transparency and disclosure about the county's contract with Flock Safety, a vendor that operates automated license-plate readers; one commenter asked the board to "defund the Flock Safety line item in the next budget cycle" and to release withheld search logs. Other members of the public criticized the scale of sheriff's spending, including the training center project funded partly by an earmark, and called for rebalancing toward social services.

The board also conducted related budget business at the same meeting. The Nevada County Sanitation District presented a separate proposed budget (revenues projected about $10.66 million; expenses about $12.1 million) and adopted its FY26-27 budget; staff flagged Cascade Shores as a zone of concern for reserves and said a district fee study is planned. Separately, the board adopted a consolidated user fee schedule prepared by the county's User Fee Review Group. That action applies a 3.11% CPI adjustment to certain departmental hourly rates and completes the final year of a previously authorized phased catch-up for Community Development Agency fees; the registrar of voters also added several statutory fees.

What happens next: the board will return June 16 to take final action on the county operating budget. The sanitation district will proceed with its fee study to evaluate long-term rate needs for zones with low reserves.