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Residents urge Alameda County to track unincorporated spending and create an office after report finds persistent underspending
Summary
A resident-led analysis presented to the Unincorporated Services Committee found that county proposed budgets for unincorporated municipal services routinely exceed year-end spending, and advocates asked the board to implement department-level tracking, public notifications on rollovers, a community budget input process and a dedicated office.
A coalition of residents and community organizations told Alameda County supervisors on Tuesday that the county’s reporting on unincorporated-area municipal spending is insufficient and urged concrete steps to ensure funds reach neighborhoods.
Leo Escamado of MyEden Voice introduced research lead May Collins, who said the group compiled department-reported budget chapters and year-end actuals to reveal a pattern: proposed appropriations for unincorporated services have historically exceeded actual spending, sometimes by sizable amounts. Collins said the report found cumulative excess revenue totaling approximately $673 million (in 2023 dollars) across the years reviewed and highlighted that proposed spending for services and supplies is often far above actual year-end expenditures.
"In 2023, the county had proposed appropriations of $310,000,000 for the unincorporated area budget, but later reported actual spending of just $255,000,000," Collins said, emphasizing the need to know what planned services were not delivered and what happened to the unspent funds.
Community members following the report described tangible impacts: missing sidewalks, poor street lighting, trash and maintenance lapses. Multiple speakers suggested immediate remedies: establish department-level tracking to show which expenses are attributable to unincorporated ZIP codes or service areas, create an automatic public notification when department budgets have unspent balances or rollovers, and institute a formal community budget-input process for Eden-area residents. Many asked that the county create an Office of Unincorporated Services or at minimum a centralized coordinator to monitor projects, coordinate permits and serve as a visible point of contact for residents.
Supervisor Nate Miley and others acknowledged the long-running concerns and described next steps. Staff from the County Administrator’s Office said they are reviewing the report and the CAO and community leaders said they plan to incorporate additional context and data into the final budget book scheduled for July. Supervisors proposed taking the Office concept to the transformation/transportation planning committee and potentially forwarding a board letter for full-board consideration in the fall.
The presentation and public comment drew broad community turnout, including youth speakers and service providers, who said more transparent, timely information and a sustained partnership with county staff are essential to address infrastructure and service gaps.
Supervisors did not enact policy during the session but committed to a sequence of follow-ups, including further departmental reconciliation of reported numbers, a planned September committee review of progress, and coordination with MACs (Municipal Advisory Councils) on an evening meeting to broaden resident participation.
The coalition made its full report available online and urged residents and county staff to continue the conversation in the weeks ahead.
