San Mateo County budget focused on recovery

Compared to the $3.3 billion adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22, the revised budget has only slightly increased to $3.8 billion, partly due to a reduction in property tax rates and an increase in spending.

Contributing to the increased spending are federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act. The county has received $74.4 million through the COVID-19 relief bill, only half of its total allocation that will be distributed at a later date.

The funds will go toward multiple initiatives including $20 million for a new navigation center or to purchase additional hotels to turn into homeless housing, $20 million to reimburse losses from responding to the pandemic, $15.5 million for business support efforts, $10 million for equity and recovery initiatives and $5 million to cover vaccine outreach, events and mass vaccination plans.

“We are putting difference-making dollars to work countywide in three significant ways,” Canepa said. “First, by supporting small businesses through grants and fee waivers; second, by investing in housing solutions to end homelessness and; three, by setting up a framework that advances equity to ensure no one in our community gets left behind.”

Chief of Health Louise Rogers also spoke to progress being made on cutting down a County Health budget shortfall. Once facing a gap of $57 million, the department has reduced the hole to $10 million through reductions in staffing, reassigning contracts, modifying services and acquiring new revenue streams.

Health officials presented a balanced budget for FY 2021-22 and are developing additional plans for addressing the remaining shortfall.

“Right now, the budget is balanced and we have a lot of gratitude for all the support that we received from you all,” said Rogers, who also pointed to the dollars spent on the COVID-19 response, a major focus of County Health.

The county’s general fund reserve is also up from the 13.9% anticipated in the FY 2021-22 Recommended Budget, at 14.2%. But County Manager Mike Callagy noted this year saw the smallest increase in reserves in recent years.

Officials are also preparing for a vehicle license fee shortfall of $96.1 million, more than half of which belongs to the county. The county Controller’s Office has filed a reimbursement claim with the state but county officials were forced to use reserve funds to cover the revenue shortfall given that reimbursements are often delayed.

The budget also reflects a decrease of 15 staffing positions, 10 of which are permanent. Most of the positions came from the Revenue Services Department which provides debt collection services to the courts and the Department of Child Support Services.

Ultimately, the board approved the revised budget along with the county’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. Nearly $900 million in capital projects is anticipated over the next five years with $563.7 million committed in FY 2021-22 and $167.7 million in FY 2022-23.

A majority of dollars will be spent by the Project Development Unit which oversees ground-up projects and renovations. Major projects include the new County Office Building, the Cordilleras Mental Health Facility and the renovation and redevelopment of parts of the San Mateo Medical Center Campus.

Improvements eyed by the county Parks Department also contribute to a large share of the plan, including improvements to Memorial Park, Tunitas Creek Beach and Coyote Point. Additional maintenance costs of county facilities are also a major contributor.

“We continue to move along, taking one step at a time, but we are moving in the right direction,” Callagy said.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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