The Abridged version:
- Yolo County is going to have to make cuts to personnel and services to fill a multimillion-dollar budget gap this year, county staff warn.
- The cuts are likely to include both vacant and filled positions. More than 30 current employees’ jobs are in jeopardy. Reductions would come countywide, but the Health and Human Services Agency may face some of the steepest cuts.
- A final decision on cuts won’t come until June, but the Board of Supervisors is considering approximately 118 jobs in its reduction plan.
Service and personnel cuts are looming in Yolo County as leaders look for ways to balance the budget.
Without meaningful new revenue streams, the Board of Supervisors is faced with filling a $35.2 million general fund budget gap through reduced costs and reserves. The board in January instructed staff to find $15 million worth of cuts this fiscal year — and on Tuesday, supervisors got their first official look at what that could mean.
“I have been dreading this day,” said Supervisor Sheila Allen.
Proposed staff reductions for multiple services
Proposed reductions would go toward remedying a multiyear budget struggle and dwindling county reserves. Leaders have yet to share concrete plans for raising revenue.
In a presentation to the board Tuesday morning, staff provided options that reach into multiple county departments and cut both vacant and filled positions. If the board implements the staff plan in its entirety, approximately 118 jobs could be eliminated. That number includes 51 vacant positions and 9.5 filled positions under the general fund, as well as 32 vacant and 26 filled non-general fund positions in the Health and Humans Services Agency.
Effects would be felt across the county, including in libraries, the assessor’s office, corrections, child welfare services and others.
“This has been a very, very difficult assignment,” said Chief Financial Officer Tom Haynes, who presented the plan.
The cuts are not set in stone, but staff noted that even if every proposed reduction is implemented, the county would still be over $1 million short of its $15 million reduction goal. That means that before the recommended budget is approved on June 9, the board either has to amend its goal or cut even deeper.
“We are anticipating delays in service provision, longer wait times for customers and clients, closure of satellite offices, reduction in financial support to community-based organizations, delays in reporting, grant work, and legal advisory services, and increase in caseloads and overtime,” Haynes said.
Social worker and case manager cuts
The department that is poised to weather some of the deepest cuts is Health and Human Services. Thanks to changes in federal funding, the department itself is contending with a deficit that would require $11.7 million worth of support from an already overburdened general fund to maintain current service levels.
With that in mind, as part of the budget process, the agency submitted nearly $9 million worth of cuts for consideration, including support services staff, case managers and social workers.
That could lead to increased caseloads and diminished services for some of the county’s most vulnerable populations, including children and people who are served by the county’s conservatorship office.
According to county staff, the results could be grave.
In a document provided to the board before the meeting, staff laid out what it could mean for the county to cut one conservatorship officer in the Public Guardian’s Office, a service of Health and Human Services that assists people in the county who are disabled or at risk of harm to coordinate life needs and protect assets.
According to the document, losing one conservatorship officer would mean caseload size in the office would rise to 40, well above the 25-case limit recommended by a Yolo County grand jury.
“If a Conservatorship Officer’s caseload is too high, they cannot manage all necessary aspects of every conservatee’s person and estate and are forced to prioritize work, resulting in some work not getting done; this results in minor issues escalating into major issues and crises for a conservatee,” the staff document reads.
Similar concerns about caseloads and employee burnout were detailed for other positions that could be cut, including social workers and case managers in the child welfare office.
More discussion ahead
Supervisors identified a handful of reductions they want more information on before their final decision June.
In addition to the conservatorship officer, members asked staff to analyze the impact of contract reductions for community benefit organizations, the proposed reduction at the county archives, the elimination of the security contract for county property, the exclusion of fee waivers for nonprofit food permits and cuts at child welfare services.
If they decide to keep any of these in the budget, they will need to make up the deficit elsewhere.
“I don’t know how I could be a department head and say, ‘Do you want my right hand or my left hand? Well, we’re considering this because I don’t get to keep both,’” Supervisor Mary Vixie-Sandy said.
The board will hold another public meeting on May 5 to continue discussing these cuts and will approve a budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 on June 9.
Daniel Hennessy joins Abridged from the California Local News Fellowship. He’s a reporter covering Yolo County.