After weeks of detailed presentations, frank discussion, and grim fiscal forecasts, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has adopted a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
“It was a difficult budget, but we made it through it,” said Board Chair John Haschak after the unanimous vote that followed six weeks of budget hearings.
But the challenges are far from over. County CEO Darcy Antle opened the final hearing with a sobering overview.
“I'm going to try and thread this and express my concern for the state of the county as best I can,” Antle told the board.
“And I'm not just talking about our county as the agency. I'm talking about countywide at this point. Anytime our county constituents are impacted, it impacts the county as well.”
She said Mendocino Country has likely been running a structural deficit—a long-term imbalance between recurring revenues and expenditures—for at least a decade.
“You are looking at a deficit going into [fiscal year] 26-27 of $16 million. That does not include $8 million in deferred maintenance on your facilities. That does not do anything to the deferred maintenance on your roads. So we as a county are struggling mightily—as well as the state and the federal government.”
Antle pointed to growing cuts at the state and federal levels that are now cascading through local services.
“The state is projecting a $92 billion deficit that will impact us,” she said. And the effects are already showing.
Nearly half of Mendocino County residents rely on Medi-Cal or Medicaid, and Antle said the clinics that serve them—federally qualified rural health centers—are under increasing pressure.
“There’s several attacks that have been happening to our most vulnerable individuals,” she said.
“New onerous, expensive reporting processes” may threaten funding for basics like immunizations, diabetes management, and mental health services.
“We're very concerned when those clinics are impacted... that individuals will not be able to get basic primary care. That can be immunizations to our youth, flu and COVID vaccines to our elderly. Those clinics are the first stop for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes.”
She also warned of serious reductions in home care services
“Our IHSS providers are going to be limited in the number of hours they can work. They currently can work 66 hours per week. They will be limited to 50. No overtime and no travel.”
Public safety is also on the chopping block.
The Sheriff’s Office, the largest draw on the general fund, is set to lose roughly $2.7 million in patrol and $1.4 million in jail services. Sheriff Matt Kendall says his department is already stretched thin.
“Currently, we're facing some issues in Mendocino County that absolutely demand that we do our jobs,” Kendall said.
“When we've got two people on the street for the north, for the coast, and for central on a given day, you split 3,500 miles between six deputy sheriffs. At this point in time, we are running on the bare minimum.”
Kendall said he doesn’t know how his department will comply with state mandates—or how it will staff the soon-to-open behavioral health wing of the county jail.
“We're going to be opening the behavioral health wing... which is going to cost us about 10 employees. And I don't know where we're going to come up with those if we don't have the money to pay for what we have right now.”
Still, he expressed a determined resignation.
“I believe that we can somehow get through this. It's just a question of—we're not going to be whole when we come out the other side. This is one of those fights. Do not walk away thinking that you're not going to be bleeding when you're done—because we will.”
Other departments are also sounding alarms. The Air Quality office is two years behind on billing.
“Staff is at three and a half people. We are really stretched for staff help,” representative of the office reported.
Katrina Bartolomie, the assessor, clerk-recorder, and registrar of voters, warned that further cuts could jeopardize ballot printing and mandated training.
After listening, and taking it all in, supervisors praised the work of department heads. They agreed to use one-time funds to stabilize the budget—for now.
“The work for next year’s budget has to start tomorrow,” said Supervisor Madeline Cline, calling for the formation of an ad hoc committee to begin long-term planning.
The board agreed and appointed Cline and Supervisor Ted Williams to lead the effort. The ad hoc will focus on public safety, strategic funding, and the need for a more sustainable approach.
