Dear District 5 Residents,

As your Supervisor, one of my main responsibilities is to approve the County budget and ensure it reflects our community’s values. I’m writing to share updates on the Santa Cruz County budget process, including upcoming hearings, the impact of federal and state decisions, and my commitment to protecting the essential services our community relies on.

Monica Martinez

Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 5

On April 24, the County Executive Office (CEO) released the Santa Cruz County’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 Proposed Budget. On April 29, the Board of Supervisors received a preview of the budget. I supported a motion to explore options to preserve several critical programs ranging from x-ray and lab services to transitional housing and mental health services, which have been proposed for reduction or elimination due to a mix of increased costs or low revenue.

Next week, the Board of Supervisors will kick off budget hearings to take a deeper look at these proposals and examine the broader impacts across the County budget. I am committed to digging into the details during these hearings. My focus will be on understanding the full impact of any proposed cuts — on staffing, on community health outcomes, and on our ability to meet core responsibilities. I will also be seeking to ensure that the needs of District 5 residents are represented throughout the County budget.

How can you get engaged?

I want to know what is most important to you. It’s critical for me to hear your input when making difficult decisions. Please share your thoughts on budget priorities, your voice matters!

• Attend a budget hearing:
  • Hearings will be held on June 3 and 4 beginning at 9am. An additional hearing will be held on June 10 when the budget will be adopted by the Board.
  • You can participate in-person or watch the live stream.
    
    
• Provide public comment:
  • You have the opportunity to provide a two-minute public comment during the meeting. For those providing public comment remotely, a zoom login and dial in number is provided at the top of the agenda, which is posted on the public portal.
  • You can also provide written public comments by:
    • Sending an email to: BoardOfSupervisors@santacruzcountyca.gov  
    • Mailing your public comment to:
          Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
          701 Ocean Street, Room 500
          Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    • Visiting the Board Meeting portal and using the “Add a Comment” tool.

Check out the County’s budget website to access a range of easy to use tools to help you understand the proposed budget.

We are navigating a time of major transition. Our systems have not yet adjusted to the new fiscal landscape — marked by the end of COVID-era funding, rising costs, and growing demand for essential services. On top of that, shifts in federal policy and unpredictable reimbursement structures are adding to the uncertainty. With roughly half of our County’s funding coming from state and federal sources, this volatility presents serious financial risks for the County.

At the federal level, I am very concerned about the deep cuts to Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) proposed by Congress and the changes to eligibility requirements that will cause significant coverage losses. Other critical programs that provide basic assistance and nutrition programs for individuals and families experiencing financial hardship, such as CalWORKS and CalFresh, are facing a similar fate. As discussed at the May 20 Board of Supervisor meeting, we are also seeing cuts to Medicaid at the state level. Governor Newsom's May Revise Budget proposes $5 billion in harmful cuts primarily to Medicaid, including freezing access to Medi-Cal for undocumented individuals.

These cuts are not just line items on a spread sheet. If implemented, these cuts will have a significant negative impact on the real lives of many people in our community. In Santa Cruz County, nearly 90,000 residents are on Medi-Cal. The County estimates at least a third of these individuals, many of whom are unhoused, could lose coverage. We could also see a 20% to 30% reduction in Medi-Cal patients in our clinics across the county.  

In response to these threats, I will be doing all I can to protect and preserve essential services, especially for individuals from historically marginalized communities who are often disproportionally impacted. Behind every proposed service cut is a community that may feel the effects. We must approach this work with care, curiosity, and compassion.

The budget before us today does not yet account for the cuts being proposed at the federal level. We won’t know the full effects of these cuts until state and federal budgets are finalized in late summer. At that time, County staff will return to the Board of Supervisors with a revised budget that reflects the impact of the current administration’s decisions on our County budget. I will continue to keep you informed throughout this process over the coming months.

Thank you for staying engaged. I’m committed to working alongside you to protect what matters most.