During this week’s budget hearings, the county supervisors swiftly reviewed every county department and passed a $1 billion budget. For the fourth year, Supervisor Peter Adam was the sole vote against it. He complained the county continuously fails to adequately fund road and infrastructure repairs. Unlike his colleagues — who said the budget reflected their priorities — Adam argued he had “a fundamental disagreement that this is a balanced budget.”
“I know everyone else disagrees,” he said.
This year, the process was less “painful,” as Supervisor Salud Carbajal put it, compared to the recession years when the county was $72 million in the hole. Carbajal, who noted he has participated in 24 budget hearings as a county staffer and then as a supervisor, added, “I think today we are in a point where we can say we are resilient.”