Yolo supervisors cut 26 jobs, 124 vacant positions to tackle county’s $35M budget gap
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to lay off 26 employees, eliminate 124 vacant positions and defund — but retain — one position as part of an effort to balance the county’s 2026-27 budget.
The reduction of 151 positions represents more than 8% of the county’s workforce as supervisors looked for ways to close a significant budget gap.
“We have a $35 million hole in the plane that we’re trying to repair while the plane is in the air,” Supervisor Mary Vixie Sandy said.
County leaders had proposed revenue increases and requested deep cuts, particularly within the county’s Health and Human Services Agency. Despite the reductions, the budget deficit will persist, and additional cuts were expected in coming years, according to a county budget presentation.
This budget represents one of “the most important decisions that’s before you as a board,” County Administrative Officer Michael Webb said.
The county’s cost-saving measures include eliminating vacant positions, cutting programs, deferring maintenance projects, increasing revenue and implementing layoffs.
“Those decisions and recommendations do not come lightly.” Webb said.
What’s being cut?
County supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the budget, which cuts about $12 million in general fund spending and another $8.9 million in Health and Human Services Agency spending funded through other sources.
The layoffs will save the county more than $17 million in payroll costs for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Vacant positions slated for elimination include 10 probation officers, 15 correctional officers, four child support specialists and dozens of other jobs.
Within HHSA, vacant positions being cut include eight social workers and four social services assistants. Layoffs include five social services assistants, four office support specialists and four employment services specialists, among others.
HHSA leadership told the board last month that child welfare program cuts would not affect the agency’s ability to investigate abuse and neglect reports because frontline workers were prioritized when reductions were made.
But frontline workers said they cannot meet their obligations without support staff who are slated for termination. Emergency response social worker April Godwin wrote to county leaders that social services assistants “are essential to the functioning of our agency and allow social workers to focus on critical child welfare responsibilities.”
“This is not simply an employee issue,” Godwin wrote. “It is a child safety issue.”
Another program facing steep cuts is the agency’s employment and eligibility division, which could become even more important as residents navigate changes to public benefits under House Resolution 1, the spending package approved last year as the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Members of Stationary Engineers Local 39, who attended budget meetings throughout the process, again filled the supervisors’ chambers in Woodland carrying signs that read, “Cutting workers cuts our community.”
HHSA’s budget was decimated by HR 1, a bill that made sweeping cuts to social services. This dramatic funding cut from the federal government was unprecedented, Vixie Sandy said. Some argued that because HHSA helps people obtain state and federal resources and helps the county recoup certain costs, the cuts could mean lowering county revenue.
“HHSA is not a cost center,” Margarita Bettencourt said during public comment. “HHSA is a revenue generator.”
Next year, the county will receive about $1.2 million from the state to offset some of the federal funding losses tied to HR 1. County staff recommended using that money to retain six workers in the eligibility and employment division at a cost of about $928,000. The move reduced planned layoffs from 32 to 26 and “will provide a longer off-ramp for reductions and assist with workload implications due to HR 1,” according to a staff report.
The budget also defers about $10.8 million in funding requests from county departments, including $1.7 million requested for additional staffing at the public defender’s office, $1.3 million for Sheriff’s Office vehicles and $600,000 requested by the District Attorney’s Office for Esparto fireworks explosion prosecutions.
Budget pressures grow as revenue lags
The county’s financial challenges stem largely from federal and state funding reductions, but officials said they are also tied to a local tax structure that has long limited county revenue.
More than 40% of Yolo County’s budget depends on revenue from other levels of government, while just 10% comes from local taxes, Chief Financial Officer Tom Haynes said.
Yolo County receives the second-lowest share of property tax revenue among California counties, Haynes said. The county receives about 8% of local property taxes, compared with roughly 16% in Sacramento, Sutter, Placer and Solano counties and 21% in El Dorado County.
The county budget shortfall includes about $1 million to cover legal fees for two defendants deemed indigent who face charges related to the July 1 fireworks explosion in Esparto. Yolo County Counsel Phil Pogledich said he does not expect the county to recover those costs.
The budget also sets aside $350,000 for an as-yet-undefined “Oakdale response,” which supervisors said could include expanded code enforcement efforts or creation of a county fire marshal position.
Other county costs remain unclear. California’s state budget has not been finalized, and the county’s liability insurance rates could increase in the coming weeks.
To balance the budget, the county plans to draw on reserves, including withdrawing $4 million from its pension trust.
The county also anticipates a 7% increase in revenue next year and plans to ask voters to approve a higher tax on hotels and short-term rentals such as Airbnb properties. The proposal is expected to come before the board later this month. If placed on the November ballot and approved by voters, it would generate about $250,000 annually.
