County Budget Proposal to Include $9.8M in Debt Service for Edgemoor Hospital

A $4.97 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year was scheduled to be presented next week to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, including $9.8 million in debt service for the Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility in Santee.

The plan would increase spending in the fiscal year that begins July 1 by 2.5 percent over the current year. It would also provide funding for the equivalent of 16,601 full-time jobs, an increase of 3.7 percent.

Most of the new positions are set to go to public safety and the Health and Human Services Agency, both of which will receive spending increases. The proposal calls for public safety to get a 4.4 percent boost to pay for more detention staff, operate the expanded women's jail for part of the year and make higher retirement contributions.

The HHSA would get an extra 3.6 percent to pay for changes to various programs and add staff.

The Land Use and Environment, and Finance and General Government sectors would also get more money.

Money for capital projects is set to decrease by almost 39 percent. However, infrastructure spending varies widely from year to year because of the way the county funds its projects.

Work that would be funded in the next fiscal year are libraries in Alpine and Imperial Beach, renovation of the assessor's branch office in El Cajon, $9.8 million in debt service for the Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility in Santee and $10 million for its Multiple Species Conservation Program.

The county, which plans its budgets two years at a time, also has proposed spending $4.81 billion in 2014-15.

The supervisors will start budget hearings June 10.

-City News Service