San Jose Spotlight recently broke down Santa Clara County’s ongoing efforts to rescue services amidst federal budget cuts.
The piece provides a concise synopsis of the recommended budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which spans 1,174 pages.
The TLDR: The County, which relies on federal funding for about a third of its $12 billion budget, is projecting a $70 million federal funding loss for next fiscal year, and thus 279 positions are proposed to be eliminated, of which 80 are currently filled. Most cuts would be concentrated in the health and hospital system.
The County also proposes to replace the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), which pairs police with mental health professionals, with a non-police alternative called the TRUST program.
Welfare housing assistance via CalWORKS will take a $4.7 million hit, leading to a proposed freeze on new enrollments.
Officials say the Office of Supportive Housing, facing a $29 million shortfall, will be fully backfilled with general fund dollars.
Read the full Spotlight report for more details.