The Office of Central Services presented its proposed fiscal year 2026 operating and capital budgets to the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee on April 7, reporting a proposed agency budget of approximately $46.1 million and a FY26 Capital Improvement Program portfolio that the agency described as roughly $1.3 billion for six years.

The briefing by Sylvia Singleton, a senior budget analyst with the council staff, and Jonathan R. Butler, director of the Office of Central Services, emphasized why the budget matters: the agency manages the county’s buildings, fleet and capital projects and is absorbing rising costs from new leases, inflation and federal actions that affect procurement and electric-vehicle planning.

Butler and Singleton told the committee the FY26 proposed budget represents an increase from FY25: the agency’s operating proposal was presented as about $46.1 million (an increase of roughly $4.8 million or 11% over FY25). The proposed general fund portion was presented as $27.9 million, an increase of about $2.8 million (10.6%). The fleet management internal service fund was presented at about $17.4 million, up $1.9 million, and showed a projected ending fund deficit of about $2.2 million. Singleton said a supplemental appropriation of about $1.3 million will be requested to cover FY25 expenditures.

The presentation highlighted capital plans and near-term projects. Singleton said the FY26–31 proposed CIP that includes Office of Central Services projects is approximately $1.3 billion and that the FY26 proposed CIP expenditure budget is about $54.6 million; the CIP list shown to the committee included 53 projects. Butler described a 10-year facilities master plan and said the county is planning groundbreakings and work in the coming 12 months including a new women’s shelter (estimated around 20,000 square feet, cost presented as roughly $26 million), a new District 6 police station (about $20 million), a youth drop‑in center and major interior work at the County Administration Building (presented as about $49 million).

Committee members asked about project timing and service continuity. Butler said the new women’s shelter is planned on land adjacent to the existing shelter so services can continue during construction; he said the existing shelter would remain in operation while the new facility is built and the old building would later be demolished. For the youth drop‑in center he said the county has acquired an 8,000-square-foot building in Brentwood and expected design in about 10 months and a roughly 12-month build-out (about 18–20 months total).

Butler and Singleton described staffing and facility pressures. The agency’s total complement was presented as about 215 positions; Singleton and Butler said some positions are unfunded or being moved between funds (the presentation noted transfers between the general fund and fleet/internal service fund and referenced vacancies and unfunded positions). Butler said fleet management oversees roughly 4,000 vehicles; Singleton said capital outlay for FY26 rose sharply (she cited a 59% increase) mainly for EV charging stations, vehicle lift replacements and a new fuel control terminal.

The agency told the committee it is monitoring two federal developments it said could affect county programs: (1) a federal executive order titled “Unleash American Energy” dated January 21, 2025, which the presentation said halted external federal funding that had been a primary funding source for some county EV charging station installations; and (2) tariffs on vehicles and equipment from Mexico and Canada that the presentation said increased replacement costs by about 25%. Singleton cautioned the situation is fluid and the agency is monitoring procurement and fleet costs.

Committee members pressed on affordable housing and homeless services funding timing. Butler and other staff said the county’s “warm night” shelter funding was pushed into a later year (committee discussion cited 2028/2029 and that ARPA was no longer the funding source for that item) and that some ARPA-funded obligations had been reallocated into the general fund through county budget actions (committee staff said council bill references and CB 22 were relevant to redistribution of ARPA funds). Butler said staff would follow up with a reconciliation of where specific ARPA‑designated funds were reallocated.

The presenters also described building condition and reuse constraints. Butler said many former school buildings contain asbestos and have significant deferred maintenance, making demolition and new construction often more cost‑effective than adaptive reuse. He also described a facilities portfolio of more than 100 buildings and roughly 5,000 acres of county‑owned land.

Why this matters: Office of Central Services manages county property, vehicles and capital projects that affect public safety facilities and community services. The agency’s budget, staffing and capital decisions shape whether planned shelters, police and fire stations and public health facilities proceed on schedule.

The presentation yielded several requests for follow-up from council members: (1) a reconciliation of ARPA reallocation and the status of the warm‑night shelter line item; (2) confirmation of the women’s shelter capacity increase and the planned services to be included (Butler said he would follow up with Department of Social Services on capacity figures); (3) inventory lists for council districts; and (4) clarification on which projects are delayed or rescheduled in the FY26–31 CIP. Council staff and Butler agreed to provide the requested follow-ups.