Increased Riverside County Budget Includes Funds for Health Care Programs
Riverside County officials on Monday proposed a $3.4 billion budget for fiscal year 2005-2006, including $128.5 million for health and welfare services, the Los Angeles Times reports. The proposed budget is 8% greater than the FY 2004-2005 county budget, reflecting a 20% increase in sales tax revenue and an almost 30% increase in property tax revenue from last year (Rosenblatt/Powers, Los Angeles Times, 6/7).
According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, "[m]ost" of the county budget is spent on Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley, Department of Social Services programs and transportation initiatives (Trone, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 7/6). The county budget includes funding for substance abuse programs and health care services for county jail inmates.
According to the Times, Riverside and other counties "face some uncertainty" related to state and federal funding, which could affect public and behavioral health services (Los Angeles Times, 6/7).