Federal cuts could equate to $54 million financial hole in Santa Cruz County in coming fiscal year

Federal cuts could equate to $54 million financial hole in Santa Cruz County in coming fiscal year

SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz County leaders will have to confront a budgetary hole worth tens of millions of dollars next fiscal year as impacts from a federal spending bill continue to surface. Local administrators told the county Board of Supervisors at its final meeting of 2025 that sweeping cuts contained within H.R. 1 will equate to an estimated general fund financial loss of $15 million to $54 million in fiscal year 2026-27. “There is absolutel…