San Diego County’s revised budget for the upcoming year rolls back most of its proposed cuts to public safety while adding more money to further plans for a new migrant transition center.
The revised plan adds almost $46.9 million in spending, nearly all of which is earmarked for behavioral health and public safety — the two county agencies that account for the largest share of spending.
It totals $8.53 billion, up 4.5 percent from the current fiscal year’s budget, adding $364.5 million and 72 county jobs, for more than 20,400 full-time staff.
The Public Safety Group is slated to receive $22.8 million in additional funding, most of which will go to support the District Attorney’s Office.
Although $14.6 million was restored, the department will still see a decline in its spending, as its overall budget falls from $295 million to $280 million.
More than half of the restored funding, $8.5 million, will go toward salaries and benefits to support the office’s current caseload and to respond to legislative changes.
Another $6 million will be transferred out of the agency’s executive office public safety tax proceeds fund to support the North and South County Family Justice Centers, which serve victims of domestic violence and other abuse. Half will go to support client services and half to lease payments.
The overall public safety budget is $78.4 million higher than last year.
The county Health and Human Services Agency, which is responsible for everything from public health and child welfare to mental health and homelessness services, will get an additional $13.7 million. Nearly all of that, $13.1 million, will go to help create a transition day center to assist recently arrived migrants.
County supervisors decided last month to move forward with its plans for the center after securing $19.6 million in federal funding.
The county will use part of its federal allocation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program, which funds non-federal entities that provide shelter and other eligible services to migrants.
The county has already begun searching for a facility operator and plans to select one next month, officials said. It is unclear what the county will do with the remaining $6.5 million in SSP funds.
The revised public health budget totals $3.4 billion, up nearly $257 million from last year. That agency’s budget now accounts for about 40.5 percent of all county spending — up from 39.2 percent this year.
Other changes include another $7.5 million to cover higher construction costs for Calavo Park in Spring Valley, which has been in the works since 2019, and $1 million to update county zoning ordinances related to battery energy-storage facilities, after a recent fire at an Otay Mesa facility burned for nearly two weeks.
The revised budget is available for review online.
The Board of Supervisors will conduct deliberations and adopt the budget during its next meeting on Tuesday, June 25.
If approved, the budget will take effect July 1 and determine most public spending through June 2025.