
Marin County approved $5.1 million for one-time capital improvements to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors this week unanimously approved a $815 million budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year—all told an increase by 4% over last year’s budget of $783.7 million.
The approval came at the conclusion of three days of noticed budget hearings, department presentations, and public feedback, county staff said in a press release.
Dennis Rodini, this year’s president of the Board of Supervisors, said the budget “stays true to [the county’s] core priorities.”
“[The budget] makes thoughtful continued investments to address community infrastructure, commit to climate change projects, and set aside additional reserves for future state funding impacts,” said Rodoni.
According to county staff, the budget prioritizes:
- building a racially equitable community;
- investing in County infrastructure;
- preserving and increasing affordable housing choices and addressing homelessness;
- addressing County workforce recruitment and retention;
- reducing carbon emissions and adapting to climate change, and;
- enhancing disaster preparedness.
County Budget Director Josh Swedberg said the budget reflects a commitment to “critical services” while remaining cautious about any potential future losses in state funding.
“And while one-time funding from the state will be reduced compared to prior years, by maintaining services to address homelessness and disaster preparation, among others, we are working to preserve the many successes we’ve had in recent years in advancing our goals,” said Swedberg.
The final budget maintains existing services and utilizes $21 million in projected savings in 2023-24 for one-time budget allocations to address emerging needs and priority investments, said the release. Among the bigger-ticket items in recommended one-time funding are: capital improvements to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium ($5.1 million); West Marin infrastructure ($2 million); property tax system replacement ($2 million); increasing the state budget reserve ($1.5 million); mandated stream and trash capture protections ($1.5 million); and homeless response ($1.25 million) among others.