Shasta County Board of Supervisors Holds Budget Hearings - Recap of June 9, 2026 Meeting
- Elisa Ballard
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
Redding, CA — The Shasta County Board of Supervisors this week launched its FY 2026-27 budget hearings, where department heads are delivering detailed presentations on operations, major challenges, and funding requests.
Tuesday’s session on June 9 provided the public with a rare and valuable look behind the curtain at county government. Department leaders laid out budgets, goals, performance data, and pressing concerns — offering taxpayers a clear window into how their money is being managed and where critical county services stand.
High-level Takeaways from the Initial Presentation
Revenues are not increasing, and the County is forecasting the loss of some revenue.
The budget for the County Administrative Offices is projected to grow by almost 20% ($8.3M). This is largely to cover the cost of demolishing the old Courthouse and relocating the IT systems housed there.
There are modest increases buried in the budget for several departments, including the District Attorney's office (approx. $3m).
All the budget increases and any decline in revenues will be made up through cuts to departments such as Public Works, Sheriff, Resource Management, and Support Services.
We look forward to the presentations from these departments whose budgets are being cut to better understand how services to the Citizens of Shasta County will be impacted.
Deputy County Executive Officer Amber Bertain led the budget process presentation, noting that a final adoption vote is scheduled for June 23. She highlighted that the majority of appropriations are directed toward the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA). Bertain reported strong general revenue performance — exceeding projections — but emphasized the use of conservative estimates for the new fiscal year due to uncertainty. She also addressed rising costs in risk management, insurance, courthouse demolition, corrections campus planning, and ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) final expenditures.
The total number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions in the proposed budget is being reduced from 2,085 to 2,046, resulting in significant cost savings.
Nolda Short, County Controller, provided a detailed update on pension and OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) liabilities. She reported the county’s unfunded CalPERS pension liability currently stands at over $319 million, with an annual payment of $46 million budgeted for FY 2026-27. Safety employees account for 30% of liability, while miscellaneous employees account for 69%. For retiree healthcare (OPEB), the county is 52.59% funded as of April 30, 2026, through its 115 Trust. Short noted the County now uses a 401A match program instead of directly providing retiree healthcare for newer hires, which will save the County money in the long run.
Department Highlights
County Counsel: Significant increase in Public Records Act (PRA) requests — 1,316 last year and on pace to nearly double again this year. The department is recruiting staff and engaging outside counsel to manage the workload, aiming to become fully staffed and reduce reliance on external attorneys.
Assessor-Recorder Leslie Morgan: Noted workload increases due to business personal property assessments and new state requirements under SB 255 to combat real estate fraud. The office received a $30 million statewide grant for technology upgrades.
County Clerk/Elections Clint Curtis: Requested a 21.34% budget increase to support in-house ballot printing (projected to save $150,000 per election), secure a larger facility (possibly the former Joann’s Fabrics building), and improve operations. Curtis emphasized the current building’s limitations regarding space, parking, and ADA compliance.
Treasurer-Tax Collector: Presented a modest less-than-1% increase. Highlights included new partnerships for tax collection, modernization efforts like Easy Smart Pay, and progress in cleaning blighted properties using ARPA funds.
Information Technology (Tom Schreiber): Requested two new positions (offset by deletions) to strengthen cybersecurity amid rising threats — including 87,300 phishing attempts this year. The department continues implementing Managed Detection & Response and other security enhancements.
Support Services (Monica Fugitt): Reported stable workers’ compensation claims, successful surplus auctions returning $95K to the county, and progress on a new countywide contract management system.
Several supervisors asked questions about pension prefunding strategies, ARPA spending deadlines, courthouse demolition costs (now estimated at near $9 million), and traffic impact fee use.
The hearings continue this week, with public comment expected on the final day before the June 23 adoption vote.
