The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to extend General Fund support for the county’s Social Services Fund after Health and Human Services Agency officials reported the fund had approximately $2.7 million in negative cash as of Oct. 12.
Under the action, General Fund support can reach $10 million, according to the HHSA staff report. The report says the fund is expected to remain in negative cash flow into the 2026-27 fiscal year and that the temporary support is intended to cover required expenditures, including salaries and benefits, entitlement programs and direct services provided through personal service agreements.
HHSA also sought retroactive approval to use $6,078,761 in Social Services Fund reserves for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The agency said it had implemented a soft agencywide hiring freeze, a hard hiring freeze in Social Services Administration, and reductions in travel and office expenses. It also is evaluating professional-services costs, the report says.
The Social Services Fund budget presentation describes additional potential changes, including targeted reductions in non-mandated programs, staffing decisions and operational reorganizations. The presentation says the county should focus spending on areas with reliable revenue or additional committed state funding while seeking to preserve critical services.
The county documents do not state the loan’s end date consistently. The presentation requests an extension through Feb. 28, 2027, while the staff report recommends repayment by June 30, 2027, with interest at the Treasurer’s pool rate. The available materials do not establish how proposed staffing or program changes would affect service delivery or show that the fund’s longer-term financial problems have been resolved.
