To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: FY26-27 County and Special Districts Recommended Budget
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. OPEN and CONDUCT a public hearing to receive input on the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Recommended Contra Costa County and Special District Budgets.
2. RECEIVE budget presentations from the following departments on April 27, 2026:
a. County Administrator’s Office - Budget overview
b. Animal Services
c. Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters
d. Employment and Human Services
e. Health Services
f. Library
g. Public Works
3. RECEIVE public comment on the above budget presentations.
4. RECEIVE Board of Supervisors direction end of Day 1.
5. RECEIVE budget presentations from the following departments, tentatively scheduled for April 28, 2026:
a. Contra Costa Fire Protection District
b. District Attorney
c. Public Defender
d. Probation
e. Sheriff-Coroner
6. RECEIVE public comment on the above budget presentations and any other budget items.
7. CLOSE the public hearing.
8. RECEIVE Board of Supervisors direction.
9. OPEN and CONDUCT a public hearing to receive input on the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Recommended Budget;
10. ACKNOWLEDGE that delivering core services, maintaining top credit ratings, minimizing debt, meeting labor contract obligations, and maintenance of the County's physical assets remain a priority of the Board of Supervisors over the long term;
11. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Recommended Budget balances annual estimated expenditures with estimated revenues and use of fund balances in FY26-27;
12. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Recommended Budget does not include any funding changes that may occur in the State of California’s FY26-27 budget;
13. RE-AFFIRM the Board of Supervisors’ policy prohibiting the use of County General Purpose Revenue to backfill State and Federal revenue cuts;
14. PROVIDE direction to the County Administrator on Measure X allocations and unspent balances;
15. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Recommended Budget includes a specific appropriation of $20M for contingency, and that the Board also maintains its ability to manage General Fund contingencies during the fiscal year by use of fund balance and reserve funds;
16. ACKNOWLEDGE that any program increases or restoration of any recommended program reductions will require an equivalent reduction in funds from other County priorities in order to adhere to our balanced budget policy;
17. DIRECT the County Administrator to prepare for consideration by the Board of Supervisors on May 19, 2026, position additions and eliminations necessary to carry out Board action on the Recommended Budget;
18. DIRECT the County Administrator to prepare for Board adoption on May 19, 2026, the FY26-27 County and Special District Budgets, as modified to incorporate any changes directed by the Board during these public hearings;
FISCAL IMPACT:
See attached FY26-27 Recommended Budget book with expenditures totaling $7.248 billion and 11,261.25 allocated full-time equivalent positions, including the transmittal letter and budget summaries.
The web version of the budget book document can also be found at this link:
<https://county-contra-costa-ca-cleardoc.cleargov.com/17854/643038/d>
Other budget documents, including for prior years can be found at the link below:
<https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/770/Budget-Documents>
BACKGROUND:
Explanation of the County Administrator’s budget recommendations is presented in the attached FY26-27 Recommended Budget book and summarized in the attached presentations.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Adoption of the County and Special Districts budget may be delayed.