Press Releases
Board of Supervisors adopts Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today voted unanimously to adopt the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 balanced budget, representing approximately $2.5 billion in total expenditures, a 10 percent increase from the prior fiscal year. The final budget adds 43 full-time County positions for a total of 4,502 employees. The adopted budget is largely consistent with the prior fiscal year budget but adjusted for increased cost of operations and avoids any reductions to core county services. Read full story
Board of Supervisors approves plan to expand access to and participation on boards and commissions
The Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved a plan to increase participation in County boards and commissions for underserved communities of color, and communities who have not traditionally had access to join these governing bodies. The Board also approved the Office of Equity’s proposed Community Engagement toolkit, which provides recommendations on culturally sensitive community engagement practices to be implemented by County Departments. Read full story
Public hearings on 2024-25 Sonoma County budget to begin Tuesday
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will hold annual budget hearings beginning Tuesday, June 11 at 8:30 a.m. The hearings will be streamed live with an opportunity for the public to provide input each day regarding the recommended 2024-2025 fiscal year operating plan. At the conclusion of the budget hearings, the board will adopt a final budget to serve as the strategic operating plan for the fiscal year beginning on July 1. Read full story
Interest rate increases for financing through Sonoma County Energy Independence Program
The Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, which helps property owners pay for improvements that utilize energy and water more efficiently and strengthen buildings against wildfires and earthquakes, announced today that interest rates on new financing have increased a half percent to 7.99 percent effective immediately. Read full story
Avian Flu emergency ends in Sonoma County; recovery underway for local poultry farmers
The Board of Supervisors today voted to terminate an emergency proclamation that has been in effect since Dec. 5, 2023, in response to the outbreak of avian flu in Sonoma County. The outbreak was first detected at two local commercial poultry farms in late November 2023 and resulted in the immediate euthanizing of 250,000 birds to protect other flocks in the region and elsewhere in California Read full story
Board of Supervisors amends Sonoma County’s Living Wage ordinance
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today completed an 18-month effort to update the County’s Living Wage ordinance, approving a series of amendments that will expand the number of employers required to meet or exceed County requirements for pay and benefits. Read full story
Board of Supervisors approves $1 million in vegetation management grants to reduce wildfire risk
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today approved $1 million in grants for nine projects that will protect residents from wildfires by creating fuel breaks and removing vegetation along evacuation routes in fire-prone landscapes. Read full story
Board of Supervisors to hold TRUTH Act Forum to review Sheriff’s Office data on ICE access
Sonoma County residents are invited to participate in a community forum to learn about when the Sheriff’s Office Detention Division provides information about certain incarcerated persons to federal immigration authorities. This public meeting, the TRUTH Act Forum, is required under a 2017 state law. Read full story
Sonoma County Cannabis Equity Program awards $635,000 to advance economic justice and reduce industry barriers
The Board of Supervisors authorized grant agreements for 20 Sonoma County cannabis operators who were impacted due to cannabis-related offenses that occurred between 1971 and 2016, including arrest for or conviction of the sale, possession, distribution, use, manufacture or cultivation of cannabis, or other non-violent cannabis-related crimes, or were subject to asset forfeiture. Read full story
Board of Supervisors adjusts cannabis business tax rates in response to market changes
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to adjust county tax rates for cannabis operations in unincorporated areas in response to changes in the cannabis market. The amended Cannabis Business Tax Ordinance, which is scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors for a second reading on April 30, would, upon final approval, take effect July 1. Projected cannabis tax revenue is $1.4 million for fiscal year 2024-25, a slight decrease from the previous year estimate. Read full story