Mid-year budget adjustments include funding for Palomar firefighters

The approval of County of San Diego mid-year budget adjustments included funding for fencing along the future San Luis Rey River Park trail and contracting for additional career firefighters for the Palomar Mountain and two other San Diego County Regional Fire Authority stations.

The budget adjustments were approved on a 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Dec. 13. The $127,508.60 for the San Luis Rey River Park trail will fund the development of plans, specifications, and construction estimates to obtain an encroachment permit and to install fencing along the trail. New appropriations of $1,800,000 will be used for contracted services to provide career firefighters at the Palomar Mountain, Shelter Valley, and Sunshine Summit stations.

In their entirety the mid-year budget changes will increase general fund appropriations by a net amount of $10,128,636. The funding for the river park trail fencing was derived from $14,512.79 of general fund revenue and $112,508.60 from the Capital Outlay Fund. A 2015-16 fund balance in the general fund for the county's Public Safety Group enabled the funding for the three fire stations.

"I want to thank them for putting it in the budget and fixing that problem and responding to our request," said supervisor Bill Horn.

A balance from the 2015-16 general fund of the county's Department of Public Works allowed the appropriation of $1,000,000 to implement non-motorized transportation infrastructure such as sidewalks and curb ramps at various locations throughout the unincorporated county. The completion of a pedestrian gap analysis project will determine the locations which will have the highest priority for those improvements.