Alameda County supervisors accept proposed $3.4bn fiscal year budget, but warn of dire times ahead
Oakland councilmember pushes back on OPD's claim about zero bail and city's rise in gun crimes
COUNTY NEWS
—COUNTY FUNDING GAP—Alameda County’s proposed $3.4 billion fiscal year budget includes a $49 million funding gap, the county administrator said on Tuesday. While the budget shortfall is relatively small compared to recent deficits in Alameda County—bolstered by a windfall of state and federal relief—some county supervisors described a dire fiscal future ahead.
—The fiscal year budget proposed by Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi contains no cuts to county services and no reduction in staffing. This was done so through an heavy influx of federal and state relief funds, she said. The budget also includes a $132 million increase in the county’s general fund.
—During the pandemic, the county received and spent all of a total of $333.2 million in federal CARES Act funds, and received $326.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, although just $162 million has been allocated, Muranishi said.
—A total of $762.9 million is slated in the proposed budget for the county’s 246 community-based organizations. This includes $93.6 million for the struggling Alameda Health System, which operates Highland Hospital in Oakland, and several other health care facilities in the county.
—But like some county supervisors, Muranishi described a number of worrisome economic signs ahead. “The county faces new challenges with rising interest rates, a strained supply chain, and a stalling economic recovery,” she said.
—By nature, a fiscal year budget is about the future. But while the local economy has bounced back strongly from the depths of the pandemic—unemployment is low, for example, sales-tax receipts are robust, and the median home price in Alameda County is up 11 percent to $1.2 million—county supervisors said they are preparing for the worst in the near and long-term.
—“There is no economic forecaster that is not forecasting difficult times ahead,” Alameda County Keith Carson said. “While people are relishing the State of California is flush with cash today, even [Gov.] Gavin Newsom cautioned the fact that may be short-lived. All of this is mixed up with an international pandemic, a war, a pandemic of uncertainty, inflation.”
**PROGRAM NOTE: Expect a second newsletter in your inbox this evening that includes an election results update. The bonus newsletter will be published after the Alameda County Registrar of Voters releases its new numbers after 5 p.m. today.
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