Contra Costa County staff recommends the Board of Supervisors spend $5.4 million more on Contra Costa CARES than was initially estimated in the county’s 2022-23 budget.
The board is set to consider budget recommendations Tuesday for fiscal year 2022-23.
Much of the public comment from the board’s April 12 budget hearing centered on the CARES program, Sheriff’s department staffing in unincorporated areas, increasing wages for county employees, wellness programs for African American residents and tenant legal services.
Staff has come back with various recommendations, including increasing spending on the CARES program, which connects uninsured and undocumented residents to healthcare services.
The initial plan was to increase monthly provider rates and add a behavioral care component. Supervisors also expressed interest in covering more people and expanding outreach activities.
County health officials have come back with an analysis, saying existing funding covers approximately 2,000 of the projected 12,000 uninsured residents. Covering the other 10,000 would cost $4.9 million. New recommendations also say the outreach budget needs to be increased from $300,000 to $800,000.
The county administrator also recommends adding three positions to the overloaded public defender’s office, which has asked for an additional $1.8 million for Stand Together Contra Costa, a discretionary legal services program for immigrants. The county administrator is not recommending additional funding for the project.
The board also asked for staffing levels at the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office relative to unincorporated areas. Tuesday’s staff report says the Sheriff’s Office currently deploys 133 patrol deputies. Using 2020 Census numbers. The current ratio of deputies to 1,000 residents in unincorporated areas is 0.76.
The staff report says FBI data from 2019 says the national average was 2.4 per 1,000 inhabitants. The report suggests the Sheriff’s Office add 39 new positions.
The budget document also recommends the Contra Costa Fire Protection District add 21 new positions, the county probation department add 11 positions, county animal services add six positions, the assessor’s office add five positions, and various other departments add new jobs as well. The only department in which job cuts are recommended is in health services, where eliminating 15 current vacancies is recommended.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting can be viewed at www.contracosta.ca.gov.
Taxes are too damned high. Send the $$ back to the people. It’s their money.
More welfare for more government ‘workers’ and healthcare for illegals.
So, if I’m not an African American or an undocumented resident, I don’t benefit from these programs? Good thing they have this paired with an increase in patrol deputies, lord knows we’ll need it! oh, wait! Our DA won’t prosecute.
More cops are sorely needed.
Those who are truly poor and unable to work deserve assistance but unfortunately there are too many people in our world who feel they are entitled and/or are plain lazy.
Proverbs 13:4 – Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.
Give a person a fish, you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish and you’ll feed them for a lifetime.
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don’t teach a man to fish…and feed yourself. He’s a grown man. And fishing’s not that hard.”
Ron Swanson
@MoJo
You do realize this is California that you and Ron are talking about. 🤪You’re way too optimistic.
Everyone can do SOMETHING. There is no excuse to not contribute in some way.
Let’s be clear. There is no charge for fire service. There is a charge for EMS.
Let’s be real clear, if you AMA and don’t ride in the ambulance to the hospital you pay ZERO.
Let’s be clear. AMR and the FD Are two separate organizations. Also, if you call 911 for a legitimate medical emergency price should not be a factor.
Hire more cops and give them the broad authority to do their jobs. Clean up the homeless encampments, jail the thugs, reduce response time, enforce the laws. What’s the mystery?
More deputies and use the correctly.
them
Let me see if I got it correctly:
county health department wants to spend an extra half a million on outreach activities, so that they can spend another 5 million on coverage for uninsured? Yeah, that sounds logical.
California is a corrupt, socialist State. So glad I moved out and my hard-earned money isn’t taxed to fund the idiocy I just read above.
LE & firefighters
I’m always for more police and firefighters.
Healthcare is necessary, but too many use the system rather than work to take care of themselves.
The government would do more for the people if it promoted more people to work.
People relying on welfare and free stuff are not suitable for anyone.
It’s a lucrative time to be a crack dealer in Oakland. Just give those folks a couple of packs of Newports and an eightball of crack, you won’t see them for a couple of days.
anon
Police, public fire, pubic schools and the Military are what is referred to in economics as a public good. A public good is both non-excludable (anyone can use it, even those who do not pay taxes) and non-rivalrous (there is no limit to how much you use).
The police, public fire, public schools and the Military do not charges you for their services.
AMA: Against Medical Advise.
These people wouldn’t know a good decision if it bit them in the ***.
Crime is rampant, fires are seasonally rampant, so they’ll spend the money on illegals. They’ believe they’re future democrat voters. Most illegals are too smart to fall for that however.