BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Board has approved mid-year adjustments as officials prepare for potential cuts and financial reevaluations.
- Kern County Board approved mid-year budget report for FY 2024-25 with necessary adjustments.
- A budget deficit of $9 million is projected, potentially worsening in future years.
- Assistant Officer Elsa Martinez warns of rising costs leading to program reductions.
- Chairman Laticia Perez emphasizes the need for collaboration in public services amidst financial challenges.
- Departments are preparing budgets for evaluation, with a preliminary budget due on June 24.
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Broadcast transcript:
During the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday a budget presentation outlined the difficulties facing the budget for 2024-2025 fiscal year. This could cause next year's budget to acquire the current deficit.
That deficit is 9 million dollars. According to Elsa Martinez, who's an Assistant Account Administrative Officer, she says every year that they present a budget guideline to the Kern County Board of Supervisors to review revenues as well as expenses on what's going up or what's declining. Meaning that 9 million dollar deficit could grow in later years.
"What happens is in our fiscal forecast we're estimating that our revenue is going to continue to grow but a very small scale and if the cost continues to increase, escalation and inflation happens so that deficit could grow. So in later years we might have to reduce programs or reduce the number of vacant positions that we have funded. So there's going to have to be some changes because you are correct that number could grow." Martinez said.
Martinez says they anticipate that the departments are going to be able to observe the 9 million, and they have been preparing them for this. However, each department is different because some may receive federal and state funding or grants that might help them address this issue.
Laticia Perez is the chairman for the Board of Supervisors, and she says we have challenges of moderate growth and challenges from the federal level, and she says they project further loss moving forward if they don't see movement from the oil and gas industry. "We've got to brace for tough times coming; we've got to be collaborative in the way we use public services. We're taking a look at the homeless money that has gone out to nonprofits in the community many of which are just not closing the gap and getting the homeless off the streets for example. We are really re-evaluating all of the departments as we speak because we really need to understand where our money is going."
Martinez says they are going to evaluate each department. "The next step is for departments to prepare their budget. They will bring those budget requests to our office and then we will evaluate them and make additional changes and we'll be back in front of the board in June with that updated budget and how the departments submitted their budgets to us."
The Board of Supervisors will be presented with the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 on June 24.
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