To: Board of Supervisors /Board of Directors or the Sonoma County Water Agency and Zones; Occidental, Russian River, Sonoma Valley, and South Park Sanitation Districts; Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District; In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority; Rio Nido Geologic Hazard Abatement District / Board of Commissioners of the Community Development Commission
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: M. Christina Rivera, County Executive and Peter Bruland, Deputy County Administrator 707-565-2431
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Hearings
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Conduct a Hearing and:
A) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution adopting the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget, including the Position Allocation Listing and final Board direction for all entities governed by the Board of Supervisors/Directors/Commissioners (Tab 12)
B) Adopt a Resolution approving the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget for the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District (Tab 12) (2/3 vote)
C) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution establishing Fiscal Year 2025-26 appropriations limits for the County and Board of Supervisors-governed special districts, County Services Areas, and the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Tab 11)
D) Authorize Departments, in coordination with and oversight by the Human Resources Department, to, if needed, administer layoff proceedings in accordance with Civil Service Rule 11: Layoffs, and authorize Human Resources to implement strategies to mitigate layoffs to the extent possible if necessary (Tab 09)
end
Executive Summary:
Annually, the County and all Board of Supervisors governed special districts must adopt a budget, following the process outlined in the County Budget Act (Cal Gov Code 29000, et seq.), which includes holding a public hearing on the recommended budget. Public hearings on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 Recommended Budget will begin on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, and will continue each day as needed, not to exceed fourteen (14) calendar days, until the budget is adopted. In addition, the Board will establish appropriations limits in compliance with Article XIII B of the State Constitution for FY 2025-26.
The Recommended Budget book and additional materials for budget hearings (Binder) available online (<https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports>) since May 30, provide in-depth information and administrative details associated with the budget. Key elements of the Recommended Budget are highlighted in the Discussion below.
The schedule for the budget hearings and a detailed description of the Binder contents can be found in Tab 01 of the above-mentioned Binder.
Discussion:
Key highlights from the FY 25/26 Recommended Budget include: The total recommended uses (excluding operating transfers) for FY 2025-26 is $2.71 billion. This is financed by $2.41 billion in sources and $306 million in use of fund balance. Use of fund balance includes use of accumulated revenues or bond funding for capital projects and other one-time costs.
Details regarding the overall recommended budget can be found in the Executive Overview of the FY 2025-26 Recommended Budget book (pages 17 - 30). Details associated with departments’ budgets can be found within that book, and also online at https://sonomacounty.budget.socrata.com/#!/year/default <https://sonomacounty.budget.socrata.com/>
In addition to the Recommended Budget, the County Administrator’s Office staff compiles information for Budget Hearings for the Board of Supervisors and the public to explain staff recommendations to adjust the budget before final adoption. The information (commonly referred to as the “Budget Hearing Materials Binder”) can be found on the County’s Budget Reports webpage: <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/county-administrators-office/budget-and-operations/budget-reports>.
Budget Hearings were preceded by Spring Budget Workshops (April 28-30, 2025) in which departments presented an overview of their FY 2025-26 Preliminary Budgets. The workshop materials and departmental PowerPoint presentations are available here:<https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7352832&GUID=0AB7CB5F-7C0C-4796-B23C-59B592BC3BF8>.
Information available in the Budget Hearing Materials Binder includes:
1) A brief overview of the budget and an overview of materials in the Binder and schedule for budget hearings;
2) A memo outlining Available Revenue Sources that the Board may program at Budget Hearings;
3) The County Executive’s funding recommendations and Budget Hearing Deliberation tool which illustrates various budget requests;
4) Reports providing details on Add-Back and Program Change Requests submitted by departments;
5) A memo discussing the General Fund Reserves;
6) Requests for funding submitted by Board members and responses from staff;
7) Board requests for additional information on various topics related to the budget and responses from staff;
8) Supplemental Adjustments to the FY 2025-26 Recommended budget;
9) A summary of position changes from the FY 2024-25 Revised Budget compared to the FY 2025-26 Recommended Budget and supplemental adjustments;
10) Updates to County Financial Policies;
11) Resolution establishing the Proposition 4 Appropriations (Gann) Limit for FY 2025-26; and
12) Resolutions adopting the FY 2025-26 budget, which will establish the appropriations and positions approved for fiscal year starting on July 1, 2025.
Layoff Administration and Mitigation Strategies
The recommended budget includes potential layoffs of 22.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, consisting of 11.5 time-limited positions that are set to expire and 11.0 permanent positions. Departments have submitted requests for extension of 10.5 filled time-limited positions and 8.0 permanent positions. One filled time-limited position set to expire on June 30 was previously authorized for layoff mitigation. If the adoption of the FY 2025-26 County budget results in the reduction of any additional allocated positions that are currently encumbered, Human Resources seeks authorization from the Board to work with departments to, if needed, administer layoff proceedings, effective September 29, 2025, in accordance with the Sonoma County Civil Service Rules, specifically Rule 11: Layoffs. This includes the extension of any filled time-limited allocations set to expire on June 30, 2025, to the new date of September 28, 2025.
Further, Human Resources seeks approval to implement strategies, effective between now and October, to mitigate employee impacts and minimize the number of potential job losses to the extent reasonably possible.
Public notice of the budget hearings and materials was published in the Press Democrat on May 24, 2025.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 1: Strengthen operational effectiveness, fiscal reliability, and accountability
Objective: Objective 3: Ensure County budget process and information are understandable, accessible, and in a format that enables the public to identify County investments and funding for major initiatives and services.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
Spring Budget Workshops were conducted from April 28-30, 2025. Workshops were informational only.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Please refer to the Executive Summary Budget Overview (pages 17 - 30) of the FY 2025-26 Recommended Budget book for financial details.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Please refer to Exhibit D of the Sonoma County Budget Resolution (Tab 12) for position allocation details included in the Recommended Budget. Refer to the supplemental budget adjustments (Tab 08) position summary (Tab 09) memorandums for additional staffing impacts not factored in the Recommended Budget.
Attachments:
Budget Adoption Resolutions and Exhibits (Refer to above links to online materials tab 12)
Budget Hearings Materials (Refer to above links to online materials)
Budget Overview Presentations
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
FY 2025-26 Recommended Budget Book
Fund Balance Directory