The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will review recommendations addressing a $67 million shortfall next week as four days of budget hearings begin Monday, county officials said.
The board is to review spending priorities for the $4.6 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2014 that starts July 1 and must make final decisions on it by next Friday, officials said. County Executive Jeffrey Smith will describe a three-part strategy for the county to contend with the expected $67 million shortfall in spending versus expected revenues, officials said.
Smith has recommended a general fund budget, covering discretionary and mandated spending for the county, of $2.4 billion as of July 1.
To deal with the shortfall, Smith is requesting $28.7 million in savings from county departments, $20 million from the one-eighth of a cent sales tax from Measure A approved by voters in November and $21.7 million in concessions from labor unions to reduce costs, officials said.
The county recently received a bump in revenues above projections for the recommended general fund budget, but due to a pending expansion of the Medi-Cal program, about $33 million in revenue from the state is at risk, officials said.
The issue of state funds from Medi-Cal will be discussed at the hearings, officials said. Increases in revenue for the county include $24 million in higher proceeds from property taxes and $9 million more in allocations from the state in sales tax receipts, officials said.
