The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted an $8.53 billion budget on Tuesday for the new fiscal year — the largest in the county’s nearly 200-year history.
“This $8.5 billion budget that we see today invests in community resilience, public health, equity initiatives,” Chairwoman Nora Vargas said at the meeting. “It’s a reflection of our values as a county and serving the community and working families across the region.”
After the proposed budget’s initial release in May, a revised plan was introduced June 13 that added almost $46.9 million in spending. The new plan is 4.5 percent bigger than the current fiscal year’s budget, injecting another $364.5 million and 72 county jobs for over 20,400 full-time staff.
The county’s public safety and behavioral health county agencies will receive the bulk of the spending, as they usually do.
The Public Safety Group is slated to receive about $2.8 billion, up $78.4 million from last year. Some of the budget additions made in June will go to support the District Attorney’s Office, and $6 million will go to the North and South County Family Justice Centers, which serve victims of domestic violence and other abuse.
Another $3.4 billion will go toward a throng of departments and services under the Health and Human Services Agency. The revisions this month included $13.7 million — with most of it to help create a transition day center to assist recently arrived migrants.
Not everyone was pleased with that decision. A few people who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting decried the county for moving forward with its plans to support the center, after securing $19.6 million in federal funding last month. Supervisor Jim Desmond echoed this sentiment.
“I want to register my opposition to the funding of the legal services for illegal immigrants being deported in federal court,” Desmond said. “Having said that, I’ll support the overall budget.”
Among other key highlights, $267 million is allocated for infrastructure and stormwater projects, bolstering efforts to brace against future emergencies five months after catastrophic flooding forced thousands of people from their homes.
The budget also includes $98.7 million to support at-risk populations, including $15 million for the Regional Homeless Assistance Program.
Art funding in the county was also a topic of concern. Vargas, who introduced the commission for arts and culture, reiterated her position of support through the commission’s operations and the Community Enhancement Program.
Environmental sustainability was brought up as another priority, with $18.2 million for watershed protection and $16 million for species protection and land preservation.
The budget will take effect July 1 and guide most public spending through June 2025.