The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to push through a mid-year budget package that carves deep into the county health system, a move officials say is necessary to absorb sweeping federal funding cuts under H.R. 1. The plan orders hundreds of millions of dollars in budget changes and staffing deletions across departments as the county braces for multi-year shortfalls, even as leaders insist they are trying to shield core patient care from the worst of the damage.
What the board approved
The board’s mid-year action launches roughly $183 million in reductions at Santa Clara Valley Healthcare and deletes 365 full-time equivalent positions, most of them vacant, while directing operational changes intended to preserve essential services. The package also shuts down the Department of Tax and Collections division that handled court collections, following a loss of contract revenue, according to the County of Santa Clara.
Measure A helps but will not erase the gap
Voters signed off on Measure A in November, a temporary five-eighths-cent county sales tax that officials say will help stabilize hospital funding. The tax is estimated to bring in about $330 million a year and is set to take effect on April 1. Hoodline’s November coverage followed the measure’s path to victory and how it was poised to bolster county funds.
How deep the hole is
Even with Measure A in place, county officials say the upcoming fiscal year faces an approximately $470 million shortfall. The mid-year package will close nearly $200 million of that gap, leaving about $270 million that will have to be covered in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget process. “While these are difficult decisions, they are necessary because the scale of H.R. 1’s impact is unlike anything the County has experienced in the last 40 years,” County Executive James R. Williams said in a statement, according to the County of Santa Clara.
Reaction and legal questions
Patient-advocacy groups and labor advocates warned that the reductions could strain emergency rooms and community clinics, and local reporting has spotlighted particular worries in lower-income neighborhoods. On the tax front, opponents of Measure A are trying to overturn the win in court. The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association says it and allied groups have filed suit to contest the election results, according to the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association.
What is next
Supervisors have directed staff to put the mid-year cuts into practice while also pursuing state assistance and other revenue options ahead of the next full budget cycle. More detailed department plans and public hearings are expected in the coming weeks. Statewide county organizations are warning that Santa Clara’s choices may be a preview of what is coming elsewhere in California if H.R. 1’s changes stay in effect, highlighting widespread fiscal pressure on local safety-net systems, according to the California State Association of Counties.
