A Message from the Chief Administrative Officer Ebony N. Shelton
May 18, 2026
To our community,
Every day, the County’s work begins with you — your voices, your experiences, and your hopes for this region. Your input, whether through community conversations, employee engagement, or everyday interactions, continues to shape not only what we do, but how we do it. That is my commitment to you as a public servant and as your neighbor.
This CAO Recommended Operational Plan reflects that shared work. It is grounded in our collective values, shaped by community input, and focused on delivering meaningful, measurable results. It is a values-based budget designed for and by what matters most to the people we serve.
We enter this budget year in a time of uncertainty and transition. Growth in funding streams is not keeping pace with overall growth in the cost of doing business, and state and federal actions are creating new pressures on many of the services people rely on. These challenges are real, but the County has prepared for them. We remain focused on stability, continuity, and the responsibility we hold to our communities.
Working alongside the Board of Supervisors, its Ad Hoc Subcommittees, the County team, and the diverse communities we serve, we have addressed some of our region’s most pressing issues. Our budget process is more informed and more community-centered than ever while also remaining aligned with long-term fiscal stability. The Board’s measured use of reserves has helped us meet immediate needs without losing sight of the future.
Together, we recognize that this moment calls for investments that protect stability, strengthen systems, and improve outcomes for all people in this region. This recommended budget reflects that reality while acknowledging that community needs are growing. Our investments must meet this moment with intention and impact.
- Safety net support (H.R. 1 response): Nearly $24 million helps people keep access to food assistance and health coverage amid federal cuts, with additional funds from unlocked reserves available as needs emerge.
- Behavioral Health Services: $140.7 million in additional spending expands access to care across the continuum of need while helping people receive timely and appropriate support.
- Homelessness and housing crisis response: Investments support prevention, housing stability, development, cleanups, inspections, and streamlined land-use review to help people stay rooted in their communities.
- Environmental stewardship: A new Pollution Chief will help lead our efforts and strengthen regional collaboration to identify resources and solutions in the Tijuana River Valley.
- Community investment: This budget continues the County’s commitment to arts and culture, launches a new film industry initiative, and strengthens consumer protection services. It also invests in critical public health efforts that ensure access to the care and resources people need. Further, it enhances public safety through construction of a new Sheriff’s substation in Ramona, replacing the more-than-four-decades‑old current facility, and begins the planning, environmental review, and design for a new Vista Detention Facility to meet long-term operational goals.
- Addressing Prop 36: Justice and public safety systems are strengthened by adding critical staff and resources to ensure departments can meet new responsibilities under Prop 36, which addresses repeat theft and drug offenses while expanding support for treatment participation.
This more than $9 billion recommended budget, an increase of 6 percent over last year, supports the region in numerous ways and reflects a workforce of 20,388 employees. It includes a net increase of 108 positions, driven largely by growth in Consumer Protection, Proposition 36 implementation, and H.R. 1 response and offset by unfilled vacancies, consolidation, and attrition.
Balancing this recommended budget required difficult decisions. We focused on recalibrating. That meant finding new efficiencies, reducing costs, shrinking our facilities footprint, and shifting staff to address evolving responsibilities while avoiding layoffs. We know more challenges lie ahead, and this work continues.
I want to recognize our talented, dedicated County workforce. Public service is at the heart of this organization, and it is our employees who ultimately bring this plan to life. Their professionalism, compassion, and a deep sense of purpose make all these efforts possible. I could not be more grateful and proud to serve alongside them.
Looking ahead, we remain committed to deepening our partnership with you. We will continue to expand access to information, increasing transparency, and create more pathways for participation. Our goal is for everyone to feel informed, welcomed, and connected to how decisions are made and how they can help shape them.
We will keep listening, adapting, and building a future rooted in our shared values and collective purpose. That is what stewardship requires, and what our communities deserve.
Yours in Partnership and Purpose,
Ebony N. Shelton
Chief Administrative Officer
CONTACT
County Administration Center
1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101
