Public Health and Health Services
CivicCause budget overview
Alameda County Budget Overview
FY2025-26 final / adopted with FY2026-27 proposed budget comparison
Alameda County's FY2026-27 proposed budget is balanced on the County's budget basis in both Total Funds and the General Fund. The County's largest operating program areas remain health care, public protection, and public assistance, while a larger share of year-over-year growth appears in capital projects, special funds and districts, and infrastructure-heavy functions outside the General Fund.
Total Funds
$6.71B
FY2026-27 proposed total funds revenues and expenditures.
General Fund
$4.30B
FY2026-27 proposed General Fund revenues and expenditures.
Budget status
Balanced with caveats
Balanced on the County's budget basis, but still proposed and subject to final adoption updates.
5-year CIP gap
$504M
Official out-year funding gap in the separate FY2027-31 capital plan.
Budget status: balanced with caveats. The FY2026-27 proposed budget shows revenues matching expenditures in both the General Fund and Total Funds summaries, but the cycle is still proposed rather than adopted, several chapters say Measure W allocations are not fully reflected, and the separate five-year capital plan shows a sizable out-year funding gap.
Overall fiscal posture
Total Funds balance
$6.710B revenues = $6.710B expenditures
Balanced on the County's budget basis in the FY2026-27 proposed Total Funds summary.
General Fund balance
$4.300B revenues = $4.300B expenditures
Balanced on the County's budget basis in the FY2026-27 proposed General Fund summary.
Total Funds available fund balance
$511.1M
Shown in the official Total Funds revenue structure.
General Fund Reserve/Desg
$26.6M
Reserve/Desg line in the FY2026-27 proposed General Fund table.
Headline changes
Total Funds
$6.140B$6.710B+$569.7M
FY2025-26 adopted: $6.140B · FY2026-27 proposed: $6.710B
Countywide growth is much larger than the General Fund increase and is concentrated in capital and other non-General-Fund areas.
General Fund
$4.289B$4.300B+$11.4M
FY2025-26 adopted: $4.289B · FY2026-27 proposed: $4.300B
The General Fund grows only modestly while the wider county budget grows more sharply.
General Fund available fund balance
$25.0M$32.5M+$7.5M
FY2025-26 adopted: $25.0M · FY2026-27 proposed: $32.5M
Fund balance appears in the official General Fund revenue structure and should not be treated as recurring revenue.
Capital Projects appropriation
$585.0M$794.9M+$209.9M
FY2025-26 adopted: $585.0M · FY2026-27 proposed: $794.9M
Capital is shown separately from the operating budget and should remain summarized rather than merged into operating-service conclusions.
What changed from the prior approved budget
Measure
FY2025-26 adopted
FY2026-27 proposed
Change
Source-based note
Total Funds
$6.140B
$6.710B
+$569.7M
Largest countywide change in the verified source set.
Special Funds and Districts
$514.8M
$903.1M
+$388.3M
Biggest fund-group increase in the official budget summary.
Capital Projects Fund
$529.5M
$633.0M
+$103.5M
Capital activity rises sharply and remains separate from the operating budget story.
General Fund
$4.289B
$4.300B
+$11.4M
General Fund growth is comparatively small.
Public Assistance
$1.123B
$1.103B
-$20.7M
One of the larger General Fund program-area decreases in the verified comparison table.
Selected prior actual context
Alameda County's official sources support full `FY2025-26 adopted` to `FY2026-27 proposed` comparison most cleanly. This table adds a few department and service-area examples where prior actuals are also clearly visible.
Selected area
Prior actual
Approved
Proposed
Actual to proposed
Source-based note
Behavioral Health total expenditures
$910.5M
$822.3M
$802.4M
-$108.1M
Selected department example where prior actual and proposed totals are visible on the official page.
Children and Family Services total expenditures
$252.1M
$261.6M
$271.2M
+$19.1M
Selected department example with source-visible prior actual, approved, and proposed totals.
Public Works Agency total expenditures
$227.4M
$393.5M
$403.9M
+$176.5M
Infrastructure-heavy example with large use of available fund balance.
Capital Projects total expenditures
$329.8M
$585.0M
$794.9M
+$465.1M
Shows why the capital plan should remain a separate summary rather than being folded into operating-budget conclusions.
Largest program areas
Health Care Services
$1.634B
Largest Total Funds program area in the FY2026-27 proposed summary.
Public Protection
$1.162B
Second-largest operating-heavy program area and a major net county cost driver.
Public Assistance
$1.110B
Major service area even as the General Fund comparison shows a year-over-year decline.
Capital Projects
$794.9M
Large capital chapter that should be summarized separately from operating spending.
Cause-relevant budget movements
Housing & Homelessness
Measure A1 Housing and related housing funds
$46.9M + grants
The Community Development Agency shows Measure A1 Housing, Housing and Community Development Grants, and a Shelter Crisis / Affordable Housing Fund. Chapter notes say Measure W is not fully reflected, so this should not be treated as a full countywide homelessness total.
Health Care
Health Care Services
$1.634B total funds
Health care is the County's largest program area. The Health Care Services General Fund program area is $1.326B, while the broader Total Funds program area is $1.634B.
Behavioral Health
Behavioral Health
$802.4M
Behavioral Health remains one of the County's largest visible care systems, with state-aid-heavy financing and key investments in mental health, substance use services, CARE Act implementation, and CalAIM supports.
Children & Family Services
Children and Family Services
$271.2M
Net county cost rises to $48.3M. The official narrative says much of the change reflects a Realignment revenue shift within the Social Services Agency rather than a simple service-level expansion.
Public Safety
Public Protection
$1.162B
Public Protection remains a major countywide commitment, with a $26.5M increase in net county cost and official discussion of sales-tax, contract-receipt, and grant uncertainty.
Transportation & Infrastructure
Public Works and transportation-heavy capital work
$403.9M PWA + $215.1M year-one PWA capital
Flood control, roads and bridges, pavement management, corridor work, and sidewalk projects are all clearly visible in the official budget materials.
Climate & Resilience
Countywide Solar and Energy Savings Projects
$246.2M
The capital plan also highlights flood control, trash-capture devices, hazardous-material programs, vector control, EV charging, and environmental health work.
Administration
County Administrator and General Government
$343.1M program area
General Government rises in the General Fund summary, while the County Administrator page also shows large internal-service risk-management activity.
Related causes
Follow the issues behind this budget
These links come from budget categories and cause labels already shown on this page. They point to Alameda County cause pages where CivicCause tracks related meetings, issues, and civic activity.
Budget Signals
- The FY2026-27 proposed budget is balanced on Alameda County's official budget tables, but it is still proposed rather than adopted.
- The General Fund grows only slightly, while larger countywide growth appears in capital projects, special funds and districts, and other non-General-Fund areas.
- Health care, public protection, and public assistance remain the largest General Fund program areas.
- Countywide revenue growth leans heavily on higher charges for services, higher other taxes, and larger available fund balance, while other financing sources decline sharply.
- The FY2025-26 balancing record matters because official adoption materials say the County closed a $105.7M gap through ongoing and one-time reductions.
- The capital plan is large and year one is funded, but the official five-year capital outlook still shows an out-year funding gap of about $504M.
What may change next
- Whether final FY2026-27 adoption changes the proposed totals or the current Balanced with caveats posture.
- Whether Measure W adjustments materially change chapter-level totals that are not yet fully reflected in the proposed budget.
- Whether declines in state aid, federal aid, and other financing sources persist through final adoption.
- How the County presents reserve compliance and available fund balance in the final adopted materials.
- How much of the separate five-year capital funding gap is reduced, deferred, or carried forward after adoption.
Reserves and fund balance
Alameda County's official materials show both current-year fund-balance use and historical reserve context. The proposed budget includes available fund balance in the General Fund and Total Funds structures, while the General Fund Reserves page points to broader ACFR-based fund-balance context and a contingency policy target.
FY2024-25 General Fund fund balance
$2.373B
Historical General Fund balance cited on the official General Fund Reserves page.
Unassigned share
$131.3M / 3.3%
Unassigned amount and share of total General Fund expenses from the official reserves page.
Policy reference
About 16.7%
County contingency policy target described as roughly two months of General Fund expenditures.
FY2026-27 Reserve/Desg
$26.6M
Current-year Reserve/Desg line item in the proposed General Fund table.
Capital plan summary
Alameda County's Capital Improvement Plan is a separate five-year volume. Year one is funded in the official FY2026-27 capital chapter, but the broader FY2027-31 capital plan still shows a substantial out-year funding gap.
Year-one capital appropriation
$794.9M
FY2026-27 Capital Projects appropriation in the official proposed budget.
Five-year CIP cost
$2.6B
Official FY2027-31 capital cost estimate.
Identified five-year financing
$2.1B
Approximate financing identified in the official capital plan overview.
Out-year funding gap
$504M
Official five-year funding gap beyond the fully financed first year.
Examples named in the official year-one capital material
- Countywide Solar and Energy Savings Projects: $246.2M year-one capital cost.
- Flood Control Capacity Improvement Projects: $85.8M in the year-one Public Works capital list.
- Mission Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project: $20.3M in the year-one Public Works capital list.
Official sources
Official Alameda County budget portal
Canonical public entry point to Alameda County's budget materials.
Official Alameda County budget documents index
Best official landing page for the current proposed cycle and the prior adopted baseline.
FY2026-27 Proposed Budget
Primary source for FY2026-27 proposed Total Funds, General Fund, reserve, department, and capital-overview figures.
FY2026-27 Departmental Budget Unit Details PDF
Current-cycle department and budget-unit comparison source with prior-actual and approved columns.
FY2025-26 Final Budget
Primary adopted baseline for Total Funds and General Fund figures.
FY2025-26 Final Budget Adoption PDF
Official source for the prior year's balanced adoption posture and $105.7M gap-closure framing.
FY2025-26 Budget Deliberations Memo
Supporting source for the prior funding-gap narrative and countywide balancing context.
FY2026-27 values come from Alameda County's official proposed budget materials and should remain labeled proposed until final Board adoption is verified. Reserve compliance, Measure W adjustments, and the final adopted FY2026-27 totals should be rechecked when updated County materials are posted.
Related civic activity
See where budget topics show up in public records
These links use existing cause relationships in Alameda County: public meetings, tracked issues, and organizations already connected to the same causes as this budget.
Housing Affordability
Infrastructure
Social Services and Community Support
Transportation
Climate, Environment, and Resilience
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