Jackie's News, September 2025

Dear Friends,

September has been a very busy and challenging month. I'm devastated by horrific acts of gun violence and overheated rhetoric across the country. We have got to turn down the volume on both sides of the spectrum. Another looming crisis is a federal government shutdown coupled with drastic cuts in federal funding will have consequences for all San Mateo County residents, in particular health and food security.

Maintaining Fiscal Responsibility in the Sheriff's Office

Two of the most important responsibilities the Board of Supervisors has are oversight of county programs and prudent expenditure of taxpayer funds. That is why I introduced a resolution authorizing the Board to direct the County Executive's Office to oversee finances of the Sheriff's Office. The resolution passed 4 to 0, with one absence. County policy sets the minimum threshold of reserves for each department at 2%. If a department falls below that threshold it triggers oversight in the form of additional controls and monitoring by the County Executive's Office. A review of the Sheriff's budget found that reserves had dropped to less than 0.5% for two years. The lack of sufficient reserves makes a department vulnerable to financial instability affecting services to all residents. The Sheriff spoke at the meeting alleging that her department was singled out unfairly. That is not correct. Any department is subject to this policy and would be treated the same way.

Earlier this year I requested and the Board passed a revision in county procurement policy that directs departments to submit quarterly reports on purchases of goods in the preceding quarter that exceed $100,000. We already have a policy that requires review of all purchases of services exceeding $200,000. The Sheriff's Office has drawn attention with the purchase of a $74,000 conference table, the purchase of soft-serve ice cream machines, and the requests to buy a $600,000 TV and 10 massage chairs for $66,700. The county's procurement officer reduced the numbers of massage chairs to two for a total cost of $13,340. When I questioned the need for a $600,000 TV, the purchase request was dropped.

Revised Budget Approved

Locally, we are doing everything we can to keep the doors open at our hospitals, health clinics, and service providers despite funding cuts and uncertainty from the federal and state governments. Thanks to the skills and diligence of Chief Financial Officer Robert Manchia and his team, the Board was presented with and approved a revised $5.5 billion budgetthat maintains health, housing, food, public safety and infrastructure services to tens of thousands of local residents. County Executive Mike Callagy, however, warned that backfilling funding gaps with reserves is not a long-term solution. We simply don't have enough money to pay for all the programs currently supported by federal and state funding.

Congress recently enacted the largest health care cuts in our nation's history. An estimated 61,000 people in the county could lose their Medi-Cal coverage. The law also imposes strict work requirements and limits benefits to citizens and lawful residents who previously qualified for assistance. Our Human Services Agency estimates that 3,700 county residents could lose their CalFresh benefits after three months if they can't comply with new work requirements. We are already facing a food assistance crisis and it will only get worse. Second Harvest Food Bank is serving the same number of people it served during the pandemic but with less federal support.

On the state level, the biggest threat to our fiscal health is the state's refusal to fully restore Vehicle License Fee revenue that is owed to us. For fiscal year 2023-24, the state paid only two thirds, leaving San Mateo County with a $22.3 million gap. We are suing the state seeking full reimbursement of $38 million that our county and 20 cities are owed for critical services, such as police, fire and public works. The VLF deficit will only grow in coming years. I have requested a study session on VLF to educate residents about this very complex topic. Expect it in the coming weeks.

Mental Health Care

Our oversight role is as important in the largest county department: Health. Our health department provides lifesaving services and we have to ensure those continue. A huge percentage of these services are delivered by Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, or BHRS. In fact, we spend almost as much money on mental health as we do on all other health services combined. I requested a study session on BHRS to better understand the complexity of cases, to make sure the providers are delivering programs that work, and to ensure providers are in good financial shape. This is particularly important in light of the sudden and unexpected bankruptcy of StarVista, a nonprofit whose closure impacted 20 BHRS programs. I suggest yearly audits and in-person inspections.

During the study session on September 9, Dr. Jei Africa, Director of BHRS, and Colleen Chawla, Chief of Health, did a comprehensive dive into their services, contracts with providers, and the challenging landscape of treating the most difficult and acute cases of mental illnesses and substance use conditions. San Mateo County is very fortunate to have two passionate and dedicated experts leading this work. You can watch the study session here.

Suicide Hotline

A phone number everyone should know is 988. It's the national suicide and crisis lifeline. Anyone who is facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just needs someone to talk to can call the number to speak to a counselor 24/7/365.

Rolled out in 2022, 988 literally is a lifeline, but many people still don't know about it. According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Health, 67% of Americans say they have heard of 988, but only 23% say they are familiar with it. We should memorize 988 like we do 911. Please help spread the word about this great resource.

The county will start partnering with Felton Institute on November 1 to operate the 988 line and promote the service.

Child Care Listening Tour Takes Us To San Mateo

Supervisor Gauthier and I continue our series of child care town halls. At our third town hall at the San Mateo Main Library on September 16, we heard from parents, guardians and providers that the current system is failing them. When asked to describe child care in one word, "expensive" was the dominant word, just as in the first two town halls.

Parents were sharing concerns about having to leave the area and strict work hours leading to lack of quality bonding time with their young children. Family providers were sharing their frustration about not being able to fill their spots. These first-hand accounts are so important for us to hear and come up with solutions to fix the child care crisis in our area.

If you were unable to attend, you can watch the town hall here:

San Bruno Pipeline Explosion 15 Year Remembrance

September 9 always takes me back to that tragic day in 2010 when a PG&E natural gas distribution line exploded and devastated San Bruno's Crestmoor neighborhood. Eight people lost their lives, many more were injured. Thirty-eight homes burned down, additional ones were damaged. The horrific explosion and fire left a deep wound across the community.

But even right after the incident, there was always a sense of resilience, neighbors helping neighbors, elected officials on all levels coming together to help rebuild lives and neighborhoods. We were determined to ensure that such a horrific incident would not happen in another city.

As a result of our efforts, many of the old pipes were replaced and monitoring for leaks and bad welds were significantly improved.

I returned to the neighborhood for the 15-year remembrance and joined Mayor Rico Medina, Fire Chief Ari Delay and Police Chief Matthew Lethin in laying a wreath at 6:11 p.m., the time of the explosion.

As I was about to leave, I saw Joe Ruigomez who was 19 at the time and badly burned in the fire. He lost his girlfriend, 20-year-old Jessica Moreles. I had visited him at the Saint Francis Hospital Bothin Burn Center several times. It was wonderful to see him looking strong and happy and I gave him a big hug.

Before I go…

Some good news! Your October utility bill will be lower than usual. You will see a $55.17 credit called the "California Climate Credit." This is thanks to California's Cap-and-Invest Program that requires polluters to pay for climate pollution. Credits are distributed in April and October each year. They are designed to help customers during the transition to a more sustainable energy future.

A personal note: I had shoulder surgery on September 26 and will need some time to recover before I fully engage in meetings and events in person. We will host our final child care town hall on the coast on November 19, more details on that soon. I look forward to continuing our work together.

All the best,

Jackie