To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: Adoption of the FY26-27 Recommended Budget
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting in its capacity as the governing board of the County of Contra Costa and the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District:
1. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Board of Supervisors held a Budget Hearing on April 27-28, 2026 during which public testimony was heard and considered;
2. ACKNOWLEDGE that significant federal and state policy and economic issues could continue to challenge the Board of Supervisors in its effort to finance services and programs that County residents need or expect, potentially requiring future adjustments to the FY26-27 budget;
3. ACKNOWLEDGE that the County Administrator was directed to return to the Board of Supervisors with the FY26-27 County and Special Districts budget and staffing modifications necessary to carry out the Board of Supervisors’ actions on the Recommended Budget;
4. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Board accepted the County Administrator's recommendations for the FY26-27 County and Special Districts Budgets as discussed during the Budget Hearing;
5. ADOPT a Resolution authorizing the modification, addition, and deletion of certain positions in affected departments (Attachment B) to effect the Recommended Budget;
6. AUTHORIZE and REQUEST the Auditor-Controller to adjust FY25-26 appropriations and revenues by reallocating and balancing budgeted and actual expenditures and revenues as needed for various budget units and special districts, subject to Board approval in September 2026; and
7. AUTHORIZE the Auditor-Controller to make technical adjustments to the FY26-27 Budget when actual amounts are known and return to the Board in September 2026 for adoption of the Budget as Finally Determined.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The detailed fiscal impact is described in item D.1 on the Board of Supervisors April 27-28, 2026 agenda under Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Recommended County and Special District Budgets.
<https://contra-costa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1244009&GUID=61A064A7-2C79-49F0-9C4C-558F5218246F>
BACKGROUND:
On April 27-28, 2026 the Board of Supervisors adopted the County's Fiscal Year 2026-2027 State Controller's Office Recommended Budget Schedules for Countywide Funds and Special Districts totaling $7.248B. These schedules satisfy State law requiring that local government adopt a FY26-27 Recommended Budget for Countywide funds and Special Districts prior to June 30, 2026 in order to spend monies for the coming fiscal year. State law also requires that the Recommended Budget Schedules be adopted prior to holding Budget Hearings. These schedules serve as a placeholder until the Board approves a Final Budget. The schedules are in a State-required "line item" format and incorporate the same total net County cost level as is presented in the County Administrator's Recommended Budget. Adoption of these schedules ensured that the Board met the requirements of State law and in no way constrained its discretion with respect to the FY26-27 budget.
The Board of Supervisors opened the public hearing and the County Administrator provided an overview of the FY26-27 Recommended Budget. The County Administrator advised the Board that the Recommended Budget and the Transmittal Letter contain details on individual department budgets, programs, goals, and recommendations. Eleven departments then presented their recommended budgets, including Animal Services, Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters, Contra Costa Fire Protection District, District Attorney, Employment & Human Services, Health Services, Library, Probation, Public Defender, Public Works, and Sheriff-Coroner. At the conclusion of the department presentations for each of the days, the Board asked for and received public comment.
Conclusion
At the close of the April 27-28, 2026 hearing, the Board, by an unanimous vote, directed the County Administrator to prepare the FY26-27 Budget, as recommended, for Board adoption on May 19, 2026, including the position modifications resolution leading to 11,261.25 total authorized FTE positions. The FY26-27 County and Special District Budgets incorporate the direction from the Board and with the related attachments are prepared for adoption.
At the time of publication of this report, the Governor’s May Revision <https://ebudget.ca.gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf> to the proposed FY26-27 state budget was just released and includes a one-time augmentation of $262 million statewide for county Medi-Cal administration to support county workload for the implementation of Medi-Cal eligibility changes pursuant to the federal budget bill HR 1. This augmentation for county administration includes optional surge staffing capacity to provide additional support to counties with workload such as application, renewal, call center, and work requirements. The May Revision also includes an additional $30 million one-time statewide to support county workload for CalFresh administration. More details about the increased revenues directly for Contra Costa will be determined in the coming months after the state’s budget is adopted and formal direction is provided to counties. Staff will return later in the fiscal year to request budget adjustments that are necessary due to the state’s FY26-27 adopted budget and if there are further federal budget and policy changes.
Position Modifications (Attachment B)
The attached Position Adjustment Resolution No. 2026-179 incorporates the changes directed by the Board as part of the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Recommended Budget. The Resolution adds and/or eliminates positions and classifications in the following departments:
1. Agriculture / Weights and Measures
Net decrease of 0.3 FTE: Deletes one (1) Lead Pest Detection Specialist no longer required in the Agricultural Division; Transfers one (1) Integrated Pest Management Coordinator to Administration, org 330, from Health Services, org 5876, due to the larger organizational transition of the Hazardous Materials Division.
2. Conservation and Development
Net decrease of 2.0 FTE: Deletes (2) Deputy Director of Conservation and Development - Exempt positions no longer needed due to the addition of two (2) Senior Deputy Directors in FY25-26.
3. Department of Information Technology
Net increase of 2.0 FTE: Adds one (1) Administrative Services Assistant III in the Administration Division for increased software licensing support (50% allocated to Health Services and 25% allocated to EHSD). Adds one (1) Network Technician II to provide technical support to County departments located in the downtown area and Board of Supervisors services.
4. District Attorney
Net increase of 2.5 FTE: Adds one (1) Clerk-Experienced Level position to support the Special Operations Unit, and funded by multiple state grants; one (1) Case Preparation Assistant position to support the Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse and Human Trafficking units, funded through increased transfers from the Department’s Environmental Protection Special Fund; and increases the hours of one 20/40 part-time position into a full-time position to support the Neighborhood Restorative Partnership, and funded by AB 109 2011 Public Safety Realignment.
5. Health Services
Net decrease of 38: Transfers 37 positions of various classifications and incumbents from the Environmental Health Division to Contra Costa Fire Protection District/Consolidated Fire (CONFIRE) and transfers one (1) position and incumbent for the Integrated Pest Management Program to the Agriculture Department to reflect the transition of the Hazardous Materials Program functions. Additionally transfers one (1) vacant Hazardous Materials Ombudsperson position to the Public Health Division within Health Services.
6. Library
Net increase of 1.0 FTE: Adds one (1) Administrative Analyst in Library Administration.
7. Public Defender
Net decrease of 2.0 FTE: Adds one (1) Assistant Public Defender position to oversee the Stand Together Contra Costa Unit, and deletes one (1) Deputy Public Defender IV position; adds one (1) Human Services Division Manager position to the Client Services Unit, and deletes one (1) Forensic Social Worker position; deletes one (1) Public Defender Investigator I-Project position and one (1) Deputy Public Defender III-Project position due to funding reductions.
8. Risk Management
Net increase of 1.0 FTE: Adds one (1) Safety Services Specialist Level B to support the County ergonomic and safety training programs
9. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Net increase of 46.0 FTE: The General Operating Fund adds six (6) Fire Captain-Paramedic/56 Hour positions to serve as Shift Training/safety officers for Battalion 7 in West County and staff Battalion 9 and the upcoming Fire Station 94 in Brentwood and deletes three (3) Firefighter-Paramedic/56 Hour positions to offset the costs of three Fire Captain-Paramedic/56 Hour positions. The transition of the Hazardous Materials functions and positions from the Health Services Department (HSD) Environmental Health Division to the Fire District is budgeted as follows:
a. Transfer of seven (7) Accidental Release Prevention (ARP) Engineer, one (1) Clerical Supervisor, one (1) Clerk-Specialist, one (1) Hazardous Material Tech, and one (1) Supervising ARP Engineer positions, and all respective incumbents.
b. Reclassification of one (1) Director of Haz Mat Programs-Exempt position to an Assistant Fire Chief-Exempt, one (1) Assistant Director of Haz Mat Program position to a Deputy Fire Marshal, one (1) Secretary-Advanced Level position to a Clerk-Specialist Level, twenty (20) positions in the flexibly staff classifications of Hazardous Materials Specialist I and II to Hazardous Materials Inspector* positions, and three (3) Supervising Haz Mat Specialist positions to Hazardous Materials Captain* positions.
The Fire District is also requesting to add one (1) Hazardous Materials Captain for dedicated Haz Mat team operations and one (1) Information Systems Technician II position for technical support due to the expansion. The two new position additions are included in Attachment C - FY26-27 Position Modification Resolution.
*Some of the titles for reclassification actions are working titles used for planning purposes. Should implementation activities, separate from the budgetary transfer of function for the Hazardous Materials Program to the Fire District, be necessary, separate Board actions, likely to include review and approval of Labor agreements or position adjustment resolutions, will be submitted for approval and are anticipated to work towards an effective implementation date of July 1, 2026.
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Transport Fund adds one (1) Fire EMS Quality Improvement Coordinator to deliver pre-hospital education to paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians, one (1) Communications Equipment Specialist I Trainee to support mobile and portable radio installation and maintenance, one (1) Information Systems Program Analyst IV for technical support to the increasing workforce, and one (1) Information Systems Supervisor to coordinate and assign workflow in support of the increasing workforce.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Changes to any recommended programs will require an equivalent reduction in funds from other County priorities in order to adhere to the Budget Policy to adopt a balanced budget.
Attachment A - Fiscal Year 2026-27 Recommended Budget
Attachment B - Position Modifications Resolution
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and for Special Districts, Agencies and Authorities Governed by the Board
IN THE MATTER OF authorizing the modification, addition, and deletion of certain positions in affected departments;
WHEREAS, the Board has considered the financial impact on departments of the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Recommended Budget, and has considered the position and staff reduction/retention/augmentation plans submitted by departments; and
WHEREAS, budget hearings were conducted by the Board of Supervisors April 27-28, 2026; and
WHEREAS, to the extent that the subjects of this Resolution are within the scope of representation pursuant to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Government Code Section 3500 et seq.), this Board has offered to meet with recognized employee organizations upon request concerning this resolution.
THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, acting in its capacity as governing Board of the County of Contra Costa and the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
1. In order to keep expenditures within available funding, it is necessary to make position adjustments, including to modify, add or abolish the classifications and positions set forth in the lists attached hereto (Attachment B). Said lists are incorporated herein by reference, and said positions are hereby modified, added, or abolished as indicated and effective on the dates indicated.
2. Recognized employee organizations may submit to the Employee Relations Officer written requests to meet and confer on specific proposals with respect to this Resolution. This authorization and direction is given without prejudice to the Board’s right to reduce or terminate the operations and services of the County and of districts governed by this Board and to eliminate classes of employees or positions, as these decisions involve the merits, necessity, or organization of services or activities of the County and districts governed by the Board and are not subjects within the scope of representation.
3. This action is taken without prejudice to pending consulting, meeting, and meeting and conferring with recognized employee organizations.