By Zach Friend, County Supervisor 2nd District
Here are some key highlights:
Parks
Over time, play equipment has deteriorated and long-standing needs within park master plans haven’t been met. As such, this year’s budget included the strongest investment in our local Parks infrastructure in over a decade. In Aptos, we finalized funding for Phase 1 of the long-awaited Seacliff Village Park (at Sea Ridge and McGregor in Seacliff) with groundbreaking occurring soon. This will bring new play equipment and more to the Seacliff area. In addition, this budget brings significant funding toward new permanent restrooms at the Polo Grounds as well as a new concession/snack shack. Lastly, the budget will allow for some play equipment to be refurbished and other capital work at parks throughout our district.
Sheriff’s Office
On top of last year’s 7 additional Deputy Sheriff positions back on patrol we have almost returned to full staffing. The Board of Supervisors, and Sheriff Jim Hart, have made it clear that we are dedicated in the near future to restoring the Sheriff’s Office to a full staffing complement.
District Attorney
Our office has heard many unfortunate stories of people taking advantage of local seniors through unfair practices. These cases are addressed by the Consumer Protection Program within the District Attorney’s office. According to the District Attorney’s Office, the number of reported senior fraud cases has increased in local years. In order to address this, the Board of Supervisors added positions within this department to help with crimes involving elder abuse, privacy issues and other forms of fraud.
Reserve Fund
In November of last year our Board voted to significantly increase our County reserves over the next 7 years. An increased reserve fund can lower borrowing costs, protect against economic uncertainty and quite simply is smart public policy. This year, the state budget provided one time reimbursements for some prior expenditures that they had mandated that the County outlay. We took $3.5 million of this one-time (unexpected) funding and placed it into our reserves – a sizable investment into our reserve fund.
This year’s budget is a reflection of the many conversations I’ve had throughout the year with my constituents. Please do continue to give me your priorities for the coming year so we can work to realize them in coming year’s budget.
•••
As always, I’d love to hear from you. Call our office at 454-2200 to share your thoughts.