Today, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Final Budget. The approved $1.9 billion budget includes a $60.5 million increase from the previous year and provides necessary funding for countywide programs and services including special districts. The 2020-2021 Final Budget supports the Board’s strategic priorities including good governance, fiscal responsibility, law and justice, economic development, and water. It also reflects the Board’s directive that all departments establish homelessness as an operational priority, as well as the profound fiscal impacts of COVID-19 to the State of California and San Joaquin County.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors gave the green light last week to invest in an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system for Victor; a 300-resident rural community just east of Lodi. The County operates and maintains a special district that provides water to the community, which has relied on manually read water meters for the past 29 years. The Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed it was time to put in a more modern state-of-theart system as the time came to replace the aging meters.

San Joaquin County Public Health Services (PHS) confirmed today that five (5) more County residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the total to eight (8). This number includes travel-related cases and their contacts, and we are now seeing some evidence of community spread – meaning, cases of unknown origin.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus that has been spreading worldwide. Community-acquired cases have now been confirmed in California and as of March 12, 2020 there are three (3) confirmed cases of COVID-19 in San Joaquin County. Mass gatherings and large community events bring people from multiple communities into close contact with each other and have the potential to increase COVID-19 transmission. One method to slow the spread of respiratory virus infections, including COVID-19, is by increasing social distancing (reducing close contact).

San Joaquin County Public Health Services (PHS) confirmed today that two (2) additional county residents have tested positive for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the total to three (3). Contact tracing investigations have begun to identify possible exposures, monitor for symptoms and limit the spread of the illness. Public health officials are implementing crucial measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community.