At its June 21 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a final budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022-2023, which begins July 1.
The vote was unanimous and without any comments.
The county’s total budget is $7.4 billion and the projected surplus at the end of the fiscal year is $368 million. The discretionary budget is slightly more than $1 billion and remains balanced after the board’s adjustments following last week’s budget hearing.
The largest change from the initial budget County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen submitted was another $9.8 million for the Sheriff’s Department. This will fund increased staffing at correctional facilities, patrol equipment, supplies and training.
The board also approved adding $5 million to the $5 million base for the Unincorporated Communities Initiative. During this fiscal year, the funding level was $2 million.
The Fire Department and the district attorney’s office respectively received $3.9 million and $3.6 million increases. The Fire Department will use some of this funding for more staffing at the Emergency Command Center, the Fire Marshall’s office and training. Also, more equipment for the increasing occurrence of fires and for the county’s Combustible Material Task Force will be acquired.
The district attorney also will use this funding for more staff due to the increasing case load.
Other agencies whose requests for more funds were at least partially met with acceptance were the Department of Public Social Services, Behavioral Health, Code Enforcement and Animal Services.
