County Supes Approve $2.5B Budget after Series of Revisions

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a $2.5 billion budget after first making $21.4 million in revisions, county officials said.

The 2015-16 fiscal year budget adopted added $97.2 million to a budget tentatively approved in June. A bulk of the change came from $75.8 million in year-end general fund balance adjustments.

It also tacked on $9 million for housing, education and youth leadership initiatives paid for by Measure A, ten-year half-cent general sales tax that the county’s voters approved in November 2012.

Other revisions in the final budget include $1.3 million to implement Laura’s Law, which permits court-ordered outpatient treatment, as well as an additional $1.5 million for correctional health staffing at the new Maple Street Correctional Center in Redwood City.

Carole Groom, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, said the revisions and the budget as a whole reflect a commitment to improving the quality of life for county residents.

“Thanks to the county’s fiscal strength and the support of voters, we can invest in necessary projects like capital improvements and expand the critical services that already exist as we are piloting Laura’s Law here,” Groom said.

County officials said general fund reserves are at $215.8 million and have remained “remarkably consistent” over the past three years.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock