Overview
- The Behavioral Health Services Department projects a $100 million deficit next fiscal year, prompting a reassessment of expansions and possible reductions to preventive programs such as mobile crisis response.
- Proposition 1 redirects dollars and requires higher spending on acute care and housing, cutting local flexibility and reducing county revenue by about $6.6 million annually.
- County Executive James Williams says mitigation recommendations for behavioral health will go to the Board by May 1, with a pledge to preserve core programs where possible.
- The broader shortfall stands at roughly $470 million, leading to a midyear move that eliminated 365 positions, about 300 of them vacant, with roughly 60 employees reassigned rather than laid off.
- Even with Measure A expected to generate about $330 million annually and $60 million in higher revenue projections, an estimated $270 million gap remains, and officials warn deeper cuts or layoffs could come in June as the county also boosts state lobbying by $1 million one time.