The Board of Supervisors approves a $2 billion budget for 2024-25, plus adding a sales tax measure to the ballot.

Call it a happy ending with an epilogue yet to be written. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved a $2 billion 2024-25 budget on Thursday, June 20, adding three new positions to the Monterey County Sheriff's Department and saving positions in the Department of Social Services slated for possible elimination due to state budget cuts.

In total, the supervisors' modifications to the budget totaled $5.2 million. It includes money for some of what Sheriff Tina Nieto asked for—three deputy positions—with a goal of improving inmate conditions at the Monterey County Jail per a 2015 court settlement. 

In addition, positions in the state-funded CalWORKS program, which provides short-term cash assistance to families in need, were saved. Other money was approved for general assistance, homelessness programs, a park ranger and other requests by various county departments.

The epilogue to this budget is that because the supervisors used one-time funds to pay for ongoing expenses like salaried positions, budget decisions may get tougher next year. In recent years, the County's expenses have been rising at a faster rate than its revenues.

To balance the budget this year they had to temporarily suspend a $10.4 million contribution to a trust fund for future unfunded pension liabilities.

With increasing revenues in mind, the supervisors settled on putting a 1-percent sales tax increase on the Nov. 5 ballot, which will only be voted on by registered voters in the unincorporated areas of the county. Currently the sales tax in those areas is 7.75 percent, below the 8.25 to 9.5 percent that cities within the county collect.

If approved, the tax would raise an estimated $29 million annually. The additional revenue would go toward things like street maintenance and pothole repairs, public safety, reducing homelessness, libraries and parks, among other needs.

Getting to an agreement on the ballot measure was not easy. The supervisors argued in a previous budget workshop on May 29 and on Thursday over whether to attempt either a sales tax or hotel tax increase, or both.

Polling done on behalf of the county showed more voter support for a hotel tax, or transient occupancy tax, also known as TOT. It also showed that voters in the cities were more agreeable to a sales tax increase than voters in unincorporated areas.

Supervisor Luis Alejo argued they should go for a sales tax increase measure only, voted on by all voters in the county, cities and unincorporated areas, for the best chance of success. He warned that if they narrowed it to unincorporated areas they were setting up the measure for failure.

Chair Glenn Church was unmoved, saying he felt only unincorporated voters should decide. There were concerns that a measure voted on by all voters might result in a legal challenge, as has been the case recently in Santa Cruz County.

The vote was 4-1, Alejo voting against, to put the sales tax measure on the ballot. Supervisor Wendy Root Askew made a motion to put a TOT measure on the ballot as well, but that vote failed, 2-3, with Alejo as well as supervisors Chris Lopez and Mary Adams voting no.