Marijuana just saved Monterey County's budget

Joe Szydlowski | The Californian

Monterey County will use millions in marijuana tax money to fund programs and jobs previously facing cuts.

"We were looking at (57) potential layoffs, and now we're looking at less than 20," said Luis Alejo, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.

The board unanimously approved the county's $1.5 billion budget, with a $677 million general fund, that preserves positions in the animal control, health and social services departments previously marked for elimination. It also protects other services prioritized by supervisors.

To do so, the county is using $11.7 million from its general fund for those programs and positions, with about half from marijuana-related revenue sources, said Dewayne Woods, assistant county administrative officer.

More: Salinas fanny pack armed robber sentenced to 22 years

More: Salinas police: Seven arrested in narcotics-related search warrant

More: EPA: Taylor Farms hit with $67K in fines for violating Clean Water Act

About $2.6 million will come from the county's General Fund Cannabis Assignment to save 12 jobs in social services as well as certain homeless programs, such as the shelter and Whole Person Care partnership with Dorothy's Place, Woods said.

In addition, about $300,000 from the marijuana reserve will go to libraries for books and materials, staff reports said. The Veterans Affairs' Stand Down event will receive $50,000 from the cannabis fund. An infrastructure project will get $445,897 in pot cash, leaving about $3 million in the marijuana reserve.

But staff will also allocate $2.4 million in anticipated, on-going cannabis tax revenue toward jobs, Woods said. The cash will fund seven new positions, including two sheriff's deputies and one district attorney investigator, and restore two others in order to regulate the blossoming marijuana market, according to staff reports.

The budget will also use $1.7 million previously set for contingencies and about $4.4 million in state and federal funds to pay for the remainder, he said.

More: Why bikers are taking over Main Street Wednesday

More: Arraignment delayed, again, for suspected killers

But Woods cautioned that the county's strategic reserve will be $27.5 million, well below the target of around $60 million, or 10 percent of the general fund. Storm damage last year caused a large part of the drop, he said.

In addition, several of the cash sources, such as the $3.3 million from the cannabis reserve account, are one-time deals.

Supervisor Jane Parker asked staff to find ways to save money, noting that the marijuana tax dollars seem to be the only new revenue stream on the horizon.

"I worry about winding down the (marijuana and contingency) accounts so much," she said.

As part of the budget, 125 vacant positions remain frozen, Alejo said. The county has approximately 5,300 employees in this budget cycle, according to agenda documents.

County staff had originally proposed eliminating about 150 positions, more than one-third of which would have required layoffs, to help close a $36.5 million hole in the budget.

That proposed budget would have eliminated the Whole Person Care program, a partnership with Dorothy's Place that takes a holistic approach to serving homeless people and tries to address issues before they become emergencies.

In addition, the county considered slashing Animal Control staffing by half, or eight positions. All were restored in Tuesday's budget.

Though each department faced cuts, the Health Department was staring down almost 100 lost positions at the department and hospitals, in large part because a complex state-level formula reduced its funds. The approved budget restored about half of the positions.

County administration will also be absorbing the Economic Development Department under the budget.

County staff have said the budget woes arose from revenue that didn't keep up with rising labor costs. Over the previous five years, administrators have said, discretionary revenue grew by 15 percent while expenses grew by 31 percent.

Joe Szydlowski is the public safety and local government reporter for the Salinas Californian. Contact him at (831) 235-2360 or jszydlowski(at)thecalifornian.com.