Dwindling county reserves and increasing costs mean possible layoffs and service cuts.

With layoffs looming, the level of nervousness among Monterey County employees over the budget crisis is palpable, hanging over them like dark clouds over the bay. During public comments at a Board of Supervisors meeting on April 24, one employee, Public Health Chemist Theresa Hodges, pleaded her case to not cut from the staff of the Consolidated Environmental Laboratory. The lab’s staff of less than 10 performed 28,000 tests last year for things like bacteria in runoff at beaches and crop safety. Whatever the savings from a staff cut, she said, “The long-term consequences would be serious.”

Nevertheless, between now and June 26, the Board of Supervisors must make difficult decisions because of a projected $36 million deficit, which could translate to a loss of 160 jobs, mostly new hires in the last year. Board Chair Luis Alejo says that number is only if the county was fully staffed – which it isn’t, with 123 vacant positions – and the real number is closer to $21 million, which “is still very significant.”

But it gets worse when future obligations for pensions, raises and workers’ compensation and liability programs are taken into account. The county budget office projects a $53.8 million deficit at the end of three years.

“If we don’t make tough decisions this year, next year it’s only going to get worse,” Alejo says.

Besides the pressure of future increases, the county finds itself in this position partly due to dipping into reserves to cover expenses from damage done by the 2016 Soberanes Fire and 2017 winter storms. Last year, the board approved $16.8 million from reserves before a major storm in February. That left them in need of an additional $28 million for storm repairs, approved on April 24. Some of that will be reimbursed with FEMA and state funds, but Alejo says that could take up to three years, leaving reserves unavailable for future emergencies.

Another cause of the budget crunch is a change in how health care funds are allocated between counties and the state, a $6 million hit for Monterey County.

County Supervisor Jane Parker wrote a letter to Dewayne Woods, the assistant county administrative officer who is responsible for the budget, suggesting the county ditch commitments to non-essential services, such as $1.9 million in transient-occupancy taxes funneled to tourism marketing organizations. She also suggested cuts to management staff, eliminating some county commissions, redirecting agricultural education funding and urged departments to seek new revenue sources.