Santa Cruz County supervisors are set to make final decisions Wednesday on a proposed $1.3 billion county budget that would restore more than $1 million to the Public Defender’s Office while cutting funding for local arts organizations, including a 50% reduction in county support for the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.
The proposed 2026-27 budget comes after numerous hearings and revisions as county officials grappled with what they describe as one of the most challenging fiscal environments in more than a decade. The spending plan relies on approximately $43 million in one-time funding sources to remain balanced.
Among the most contentious last-minute changes is a proposal to redirect arts and cultural funding to restore parks and recreation services.
Under the plan, the county would cut its contract with the Museum of Art & History by 50%, saving $77,297, and eliminate a cultural services contract with Arts Council Santa Cruz County, saving $170,046.
The money would help fund $590,000 in restorations for Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services, including seven-day operations at Simpkins Family Swim Center, portable restroom services and park maintenance.
In a message to supporters this week, MAH Executive Director Ginger Shulick Porcella warned that the reduction would bring county support to its lowest level in the museum’s 30-year history and force significant program cuts.
According to Porcella, the reduction would end MAH programming and events at Evergreen Cemetery, including Qingming and Día de los Muertos celebrations, historic tours and artist residency programs.
It also would halt programming at Davenport Jail, including the upcoming Davenport Days celebration, and reduce museum outreach, school tours and planned upgrades to history exhibits.
“The MAH is a place that this community needs and is worth fighting for,” Porcella wrote, urging residents to contact their supervisors before the vote.
The museum cuts are part of a broader effort to preserve county services elsewhere in the budget.
Supervisors are also expected to approve a revised Public Defender budget that restores $1.06 million after concerns were raised about an earlier proposal that would have altered the county’s indigent defense system.
The revised plan maintains the current conflict-defense model, fully funds contracts with the county’s conflicts attorneys and avoids layoffs within the Public Defender’s Office. County officials say layoffs would be particularly damaging because the office handles about 85% of indigent defense cases in Santa Cruz County.
The budget package also includes a proposal to transfer $20.3 million in federal disaster-recovery funds into the county’s General Fund disaster reserve and authorize an internal $5 million loan intended to improve county cash flow.
County officials say the budget protects the county’s workforce and maintains essential services despite growing fiscal pressures and uncertainty surrounding future federal funding. The final adopted budget is expected to return to the board for formal adoption in September.
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If you go
The Board of Supervisors will meet at 9am Wednesday in the supervisors chambers in Room 525 on the fifth floor of the County Government Center, 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.
