A Double Dose of Help for Our Hearts

How's your blood pressure?  

There is an old saying that when the state Capitol in Sacramento sneezes, local government catches a cold.

Here at the County, few events get our collective blood pressure spiking more than when the governor releases his proposed spending plan for the upcoming year.

Historically, during tough economic times, our friends in Sacramento solved their fiscal problems by pushing them off on counties. Whether it was through cost-shifts, realignments, unfunded mandates or pure cuts, we counties held our breath to see just how bad we were going to get punched. Even if you don’t deal directly with County finances, understand that the decisions they make up north and the dollars they send our way – or don’t – have a huge impact throughout our organization.  

When Governor Jerry Brown began his second stint as governor in 2011 (for you millennials he also served as governor from 1975 to 1983 when your parents were mere youngsters), he took the reins of a state government that had a budget deficit of over $26 billion. And I for one, didn't have a lot of nice things to say about Sacramento.

So how great is it that today I can say Sacramento has a rainy day fund and actually is paying off some of the debt owed to counties? The governor's proposed budget actually has gotten praise from the California State Association of Counties. It's not all sunshine and roses, but it's the best we've seen in a long time.

Despite the good news budget, the governor did offer words of caution regarding an inevitable economic downturn in California. And the roller coaster stock market gives us plenty of reason to keep a bottle of Pepto Bismol by our side. So it’s no time to let up on our own fiscal discipline as a County. 

Thanks to the outstanding work of our employees we were able to maintain our quality level of service to the customers we serve during several years of uncertainty from Sacramento. And we stand ready to do so again while also tending to our public safety priorities and beefing up our assistance to the poor, the homeless and those in need of mental health services.

So bottom line, after reviewing the governor's proposed budget, my blood pressure is well within the normal range. But let's talk about something more important. How is yours? 

On Feb. 11, why not take a short break from your hectic work environment and focus on your heart health? Next week is our annual "Love Your Heart" campaign. We are teaming up with local health care providers at more than 100 sites to provide free blood pressure screenings around the region, even into Mexico. That will include a couple dozen County facilities. Our audacious challenge this year is to set a new record of 25,000 screenings! 

Let's enjoy a healthy Sacramento budget and also a healthy heart.