The Alameda County Board of Supervisors was presented with a $6.7 billion budget proposal Thursday that closes an estimated $91.4 million funding gap without layoffs or major reductions in services.
County Administrator Susan Muranishi said the 2026-2027 “all funds” budget grew by $570 million, a 9% increase from last fiscal year that was “driven largely” by Measure W, a 0.5% countywide sales tax passed by voters in 2020 to raise an estimated $150 million to $170 million annually for homelessness solutions and social safety net services. The funds are just now becoming available for inclusion in the budget after the county prevailed in a lengthy court battle that challenged its legality.
The budget proposal presented by Muranishi also increases the county’s “general fund” budget by about $11.4 million to $4.3 billion. The general fund is the portion of the budget that isn’t earmarked for specific programs and services and over which the supervisors have most control.
The top three spending areas account for about 80% of the county’s spending plan, with roughly 30% reserved for health care services, about 27% for public safety and 26% for public assistance.
The proposal closes the funding gap by, in part, eliminating 45 county jobs that are currently not filled, reducing some expenses across different departments and “right sizing” contracts with some outside vendors.
“I think the balanced budget reflects the values and the mission that we all collectively have to the safety net programs,” said Supervisor Lena Tam.
Much of the challenge facing the supervisors as they try to balance the budget stems from steep reductions in state and federal funding, which account for 60% of the county’s revenue.
Other challenges include weaker than expected revenues from property taxes, property transfer taxes and sales taxes. Supervisor Nate Miley, however, said the county is in a much better position to handle tricky budget issues partly because of voter-approved measures like Measure W.
“But for the electorate and prior boards’ actions, we would be up that creek without a paddle today,” Miley said. “We’d probably be facing layoffs, we’d probably be facing the need for concessions from our bargaining units, we’d probably be facing reductions in services.”
Thursday’s presentation was the first time supervisors publicly heard an overview of the new budget proposal. They will begin discussions and make any adjustments they think are warranted starting with a meeting on June 22. Additional hearings are scheduled for June 23 and June 25.