Supervisors approves $269 million for county budget

A $269 million dollars budget has been approved for Imperial County. While that number is short of projections one officials say they don’t expect cutbacks.

“We just have to become more efficient in what we do. And we do not have to cut back programs or offer less services to our residents. That’s not acceptable,” said John Renison, Supervisor District 1

While most of the budget goes to funding local agencies, officials hope to find money for county workers who’ve been asking for raises. Raymond Castillo, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors said, “We still have to study it. That’s where the negotiations come in. And do the final tabulation and all the cost. And we’ll know if we’ll be able to give them a pay increase within the next thirty days or so.”

The county will continue to look for ways to bring more funds to the valley. Esperanza Colio Warren, Community and Economic Development Manager said, “What we do, we submit grant applications and proposals to the state and the federal government. To secure funding to provide those services.”

Augmentation hearings will be made to the budget until it becomes adopted later this fall.