The San Benito County supervisors will meet Tuesday for a special meeting to continue discussions related to the budget that came out of the board retreat, at 9 a.m.
Look back for coverage of the meeting here or in the Friday print edition of the Free Lance.
The supervisors will discuss liability for “other post employment benefits”; economic development; the prior year’s staffing levels and the public defender contractual services, all items that were discussed at the Nov. 19 retreat with suggestion to bring them back for further discussion at a special meeting.
Supervisors will also receive and review a comparison report of current staffing levels with six fiscal years from the last two decades. Supervisor Margie Barrios had asked for a comparison report of staffing levels based on the budget unit so that they can see how the current staffing level compares to that of other lean times.
Margie Riopel, the county management analyst who helped prepare the report that is included in the agenda packet for discussion Tuesday, said the 1992-93 fiscal year closely mirrors the conditions the county is facing now “when the County experienced an extreme economic crisis that led to the closure of services, departments and a number of layoffs.”
In the report, county staff members said the service levels remained low until a 1 cent sales tax initiative was approved by voters in 1994 to restore some of the funding. In 2000-01, the county was able to restore and expand the workforce, partly due to state funding that came in to the county to meet the requirements of new laws and regulations.
The report to supervisors includes a look at staffing levels from 1991-92, 1992-93, 2000-02, 2006-07, 2011-12 and 2012-13. It includes only the positions and departments that exist today, not those that have been eliminated through the years.
While the number of county employees remains at 379, 165 of those employees are paid from the general fund.
By the numbers:
1991-92
Department heads: 20
Workforce: 329
Some of the department heads eliminated include Supreme and Justice Courts, the Constable, Farm Advisor and Veterans Services Officer
1992-93
Department heads: 19
Workforce: 311
2000-01
Department heads: 20
Workforce: 436
Much of the staffing increase was due to new laws and regulations.
2006-07
Department heads: 17
Workforce: 468
2011-12
Department heads: 17
Workforce: 439
2012-13
Department heads: 17
Workforce: 379
