Budget Overview

Matthew H. Hymel, County Administrator

FY 2023-24 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024)

Though FY 2023-24 is the second year of the previous two-year budget, the County Administrator's office still develops an updated Budget Document, which includes updated figures and and Department Workplans. The Board of Supervisors is required to adopt a budget every fiscal year.

The FY 2023-24 Budget process began with March 2023 Budget Workshops, which included presentations of Department Workplans and Board of Supervisors priorities. The Board adopted the final Proposed FY 2023-24 budget during the June 20-22 Budget Workshops.

FY 2022-24 (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024)

After several years of a one-year budget due to the economic uncertainty resulting from the pandemic, the County has returned to its routine two-year budget planning process. The FY 2022-24 Budget is for the two fiscal years July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, and July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

The Proposed Budget was presented to the Board of Supervisors at the June 7, 2022 regular Board Meeting and detailed presentations on the Proposed Budget were made by Departments and the County Administrator's Office two weeks later at the Budget Workshops scheduled for June 20 and 22.

The Proposed Budget is based largely on feedback from the Board of Supervisors and the public during the March 21-23 informational sessions where updates on high priority issues and Department's workplans for the upcoming budget cycle were presented. Materials from the March workshop can be found on the Board of Supervisors meeting archive page.

FY 2021-22 (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022)

The County’s FY 2021-2022 Proposed Budget seeks to continue our efforts to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic while making thoughtful investments in our top community priorities to help bring about lasting positive change. The proposed budget is balanced, fiscally sound and includes one-time funding that addresses immediate community needs while also investing in our longer-term goals, including Racial Equity, Climate Change, Affordable Housing, Disaster Preparedness and County Infrastructure.

In March 2021, the Board held an informational budget workshop to review department workplans and inform the FY 2021-22 budget. The Board of Supervisors held three days of public hearings beginning June 21, 2021 to review the Proposed Budget and receive input from the community. The final budget was adopted on June 23, 2021.

On September 28, 2021 the Board received a first quarter budget update which outlined the County’s spending plans for federal stimulus fund and provided updated economic and budgetary trends.

On January 4, 2022 the Board received the second quarter budget update which included preliminary FY 2022-23 revenue and expenditure projections, as well as an update on the County's Homelessness and Racial Equity initiatives.

On March 21 and 23, 2022 the Board will receive the third quarter budget update, along with more information on the upcoming FY 2022-24 Budget.

FY 2020-21 (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021)

On June 24, 2020 the Board approved the Proposed FY 2020-21 Budget with amendments that increased allocations for racial equity to $2.7 million, deferred action on the School Resource Officer and reduced the Sheriff-Coroner General Fund budget by $1.7 million.

Several months later, after a projected $16 million budget shortfall, the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved $7.8 million in budget adjustments on November 17, 2020. The remaining shortfall was addressed in the spring as part of the FY 2021-22 budget planning process.

FY 2019-20 (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020)

In June 2019, the Board approved the Proposed FY 2019-20 Budget. It was for the second year of a two-year budget process. For a summary, check the 2019-20 Budget in Brief. More details and comments can be found in the news release about the budget approval.

The FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 Budgets reflect actions taken to close the project gap between expenditures and revenues and bring the County budget into balance. Between 2008 and 2013, ongoing expenses were reduced by more than $30 million and the workforce was reduced by approximately 10%. The County adopted a lower-cost retiree health plan for new employees in 2008, negotiated lower pension tiers for new employees in 2011, implemented the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013, and established an Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust to fully fund retiree health obligations

Archived Budgets

Visit our Marin County Budget Data webpage to view annual budget documents dating back to FY 2000-01. On the webpage you can also explore this and historical year financial data with our interactive budget dashboard tool.

Public engagement

The budget process is designed to promote dialogue about community priorities with opportunities for public feedback and engagement. Members of the public are encouraged to participate by written correspondence or speaking directly to County Supervisors and Department heads at both regular Board of Supervisors meetings and in special Budget hearings in March and June. Members of the public seeking further engagement may also apply for one of the many appointive boards and commissions where County programs and budget priorities are reviewed and analyzed.

Agendas and background information for regular meetings of the Board of Supervisors, as well as any special budget hearings, are available online the Friday preceding the regularly scheduled Tuesday meetings. Copies of the final budget are always posted to this page, and available in hard copy at the Department of Finance and at the public library at the Marin County Civic Center.

Budget Calendar Cycle

Public budget hearings are conducted by the Board of Supervisors.  The calendar for these hearings is published in local newspapers.  Precise dates and times are available at the Office of the Clerk of the Board or in the departments concerned.

Final budgets are approved by the Board at the end of the hearings by reference to the financing uses in the budget as finally determined for the County of Marin. At the end of the public hearings, the Board formally adopts the approved balanced budget and sets the tax rates within constitutional limits. 

Budget Calendar Cycle
Month Description of Activities
January Budget Instructions are distributed by the County Administrator and departments begin planning for the coming fiscal year.
February

Departments submit estimates of current year expenditures and budget requests covering current and proposed programs or changes to the County Administrator.

The County Administrator meets with departments to review current year department program results, priorities and budget issues to inform budget planning.

March Budget requests are reviewed and analyzed by the County Administrator. Preliminary comparison of total requests with total anticipated revenue is made in consultation with Department of Finance.
March/April

Public Budget Workshops are conducted to receive community input, provide updated county budget projections and review department workplans.

Early June

The proposed budget is presented to the Board of Supervisors. Copies of the Proposed Budget are available at the County Administrator's Office for the public, or copies may be studied at local public libraries.

Late June

Public Hearings are conducted and the Proposed Budget is voted on by the Board and becomes the legal authority to continue services until the final budget is adopted.

November

The Department of Finance compiles the Final Budget in accordance with the County Budget Act (Government Code §29000 et seq.) and presented in a format prescribed by the State Controller.

Departments submit capital improvement requests for the next fiscal year.

 

Common budget questions

You'll find a list of commonly asked budget questions and their answers in our FAQs section.