Stanislaus leaders OK conservative budget. Will county get potholes fixed more quickly?

Stanislaus County leaders on Tuesday voted 4-1 to approve a final $1.85 billion budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The county budget cycle is feeling the effects of sluggish revenue and increasing costs of local government operations, officials said.

The conservative spending plan is 2.2% above the proposed budget unveiled in June. It includes a $2.9 million adjustment to account for an updated projection of property tax revenue.

County departments asked for $78.8 million in additional spending items, but only half were recommended in the final budget, which will leave unmet needs in those departments.

“It’s a good, solid budget for times that are more uncertain than they have been,” Supervisor Vito Chiesa said.

Supervisor Channce Condit did not vote in favor of budget approval, over concerns about slow response to public complaints. He noted it’s taking from 16 to almost 70 days to fix potholes on roads, and code enforcement abatements are taking too long.

Condit suggested the county spend more to fill vacant Public Works positions so complaints are addressed more quickly. “My (constituents) hold me accountable,” Condit said. “Therefore, I hold our departments accountable.”

Public Works Director David Leamon said the county received 100 applications and was able to fill eight of 16 vacant road crew positions. People are applying for county jobs in stronger numbers, he noted.

Condit also said it took from 163 to 585 days to deal with abandoned trailers on Highway 33 and Fink Road, respectively.

Robert Kostlivy, county environmental resources director, said the county must go through a legal abatement process and had to restart the process when one trailer was moved to another location.

Chiesa said the employee vacancy rate is 20% or higher in nine county departments. It won’t be a budget year for bringing down the vacancy rate substantially, as county departments live with unmet needs.

The budget includes 4,926 allocated county positions, a net increase of seven, but the county can’t afford to fill all of those positions, Chiesa said.