Shasta County’s soon-to-be-approved budget leaves many questions open about the fate of two struggling departments.
A list of budget amendments finalizing the county’s 2026-2027 budget, which were listed on the consent calendar in a recently released county staff report, are set to be approved at the Tuesday, June 16 Board of Supervisors meeting.
The amendments would make relatively minimal adjustments to the Health and Human Services Agency and District Attorney’s Office’s budgets, two departments that have made known their budgetary struggles. If not resolved, these departments’ shortfalls could have drastic effects on public health and safety in the county.
Shasta Health & Human Services Agency losing millions
There are a total of six amendments that supervisors plan to make to the health and human services agency budget, including increased funding to the alcohol and drugs program, child support services, and the social services administration. Many of these dollars are covered by state realignment funds, and would result in an overall decrease to the net county cost.
Supervisor Matt Plummer, however, told the Record Searchlight that many of these funding changes “do not reflect any new actions” and the county is still looking to “find additional savings.”
Plummer said the county is still planning to consider furloughing employees, and that Health and Human Services Agency Director Christy Coleman has “scheduled a meeting with the unions to discuss that further.”
Despite a plethora of cost-cutting efforts, including a hiring freeze and reducing services and supply costs by $2.7 million, Coleman said at a June 10 board meeting that the agency is still at risk of having to cut or reduce services significantly, with the agency’s social services budget having lost $18 million between the fiscal years 2021 and 2025. That loss was driven in part by a 40% increase in costs, while revenues only grew 8%.
Shasta DA’s Office losing prosecutors to other counties over pay
Planned amendments to the DA’s office’s budget are scant, with $23,000 allocated for AI software and services as well as employee transportation and travel.
However, the board soon plans to take action to address the DA’s office’s financial struggles.
At a June 11 board meeting, supervisors approved an increase of $195,947 to the district attorney’s office budget, $113,443 to the public defender budget, $41,252 to the county counsel budget to pay for retention bonuses for county attorneys. The bonus would be $10,000 per employee, excluding department heads or new hires who recently received a sign-on bonus. The retention bonuses would be delivered in January 2027.
The board directed staff to return at a later date with amendments to attorney labor agreements so that the employees can receive the bonuses.
Plummer said the revised agreements could appear before the board as soon as next week.
The district attorney’s office has been under pressure following the resignation of nine attorneys, seven of which left in 2026. District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, at a June 11 board meeting, attributed the resignations to salary levels set by the county, which are significantly lower than the salaries provided at surrounding California counties.
Shasta elections office still eyeing move to bigger building
The board also rejected County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis’ request for a new elections office and in-house ballot printing.
At a June 9 board meeting, Curtis requested an increase of nearly $950,000 to the Elections Department’s budget, which he said would be used to rent the old Joann’s building on Dana Drive for elections operations, as well as implement an in-house ballot printing system, which he said would be significantly cheaper than purchasing ballots from a third party.
Curtis first raised the idea of relocating the elections office to the 28,000-square-foot former Joann Fabrics and Crafts site last summer, but supervisors shot down the $2.6 million proposal in August.
Curtis said that by renting, the efforts, in the long run, would save the county $150,000 per election.
Curtis’ proposal was not included in the budget amendment item which will appear before the board.
Plummer told the newspaper that a bigger facility for elections was not the most urgent issue at the moment.
“In my opinion it’s a matter of where do we spend very limited resources, and while sure, it might be beneficial to have a bigger facility for elections, I think that’s not the most pressing thing, and it’s not the highest priority in my mind in terms of where we can spend a couple $100,000,” said Plummer.
Drew Askeland covers Redding and Shasta County government issues, as well as anything else that needs reporting for the Record Searchlight and USA Today Network. Reach him at drew.askeland@redding.com or (530) 225-8247. Please subscribe today to support our newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Struggling Shasta County DA’s Office, HHSA at risk following budget
Reporting by Drew Askeland, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Drew Askeland, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
