OMB director flags structural deficit, outlines 5‑year plan and options

Daniel Ramos (Director, Office of Management and Budget) presented OMB’s FY25 process and a five‑year financial plan that projects structural pressures absent revenue changes.

Ramos said OMB has pushed departments to document enhancement requests with strategic alignment and measurable outcomes and published position counts for the first time to increase transparency. He described analysis used to vet enhancement requests (completeness, alignment with legal mandates, vacancy reviews) and said OMB has identified roughly $26 million in potential savings and options this cycle. "We really looked at what could you articulate, what the county gets out of it, and could you articulate an alignment with the strategic plan," Ramos said.

Questions focused on fiscal tradeoffs: commissioners pressed how OMB accounts for inflation, vacancy savings, and the proposed 8% disaster tax rate that could generate roughly $260 million in one‑time space for priorities. Ramos described a scenario‑based five‑year model that showed indigent defense, jail medical costs and outsourcing as top long‑term budget pressures and said OMB is balancing recommendations against court priorities.

Why this matters: Ramos said the county is in a structural deficit and recommended conservative choices about one‑time revenue: use part of any disaster‑rate windfall to shore up the county’s pick (self‑insurance) and reserves rather than layering in new recurring programs. “We are in a structural deficit,” he told commissioners; he also recommended a phased pay‑equity approach rather than single‑year solutions.

Next steps: OMB will present policy options for September 10 court action (indirect rates, grant overhead, permit fee studies) and continue working with precinct offices to align spending with court priorities.