Silicon Valley DA calls out 'nonessential' spending amid budget cuts - San Jose Spotlight

"Rosen and a coalition of local law enforcement union leaders on Monday called on the county to review several contracts and redirect any savings toward mental health court workers, attorneys and a non-police mental health crisis response team. This comes as the Board of Supervisors begins publicly hashing out budget recommendations from County Executive James Williams, who has suggested eliminating criminal investigators and prosecutors from Rosen's office while allocating new tax dollars toward public hospitals. The county anticipates annual losses of $1 billion due to federal spending cuts."

"Rosen and law enforcement leaders cited several agreements as well-intentioned but wasteful in a fiscal squeeze, including a county agreement to fund a summer leadership training program for county executives at Stanford. County documents valued the total cost of the agreement at $4.4 million over five years, from July 2025 through June 2030. Another contract pays a consulting firm $1.4 million over six years to find tree stewards for maintenance after planting. A separate county webpage describes these tree stewards as unpaid volunteers."

""I think a lot of these contracts are nice-to-haves - good things - but are they must-haves?" Rosen said at the Monday news conference. "This group has found places where the county can trim or cut nonessential programs and spending and redirect that to critical public safety services, including mental health professionals like the TRUST (Trusted Response Urgent Support Team) program and prosecutors that work in drug treatment and mental health courtrooms.""

Santa Clara County faces an expected annual loss of $1 billion due to federal spending cuts while county leaders seek budget reductions. District Attorney Jeff Rosen and law enforcement union leaders call for reviewing county contracts and redirecting savings toward mental health court workers, attorneys, and a non-police mental health crisis response team. The Board of Supervisors is considering budget recommendations from County Executive James Williams, including eliminating criminal investigators and prosecutors from Rosen’s office and shifting funds toward public hospitals. Rosen points to contracts he views as nonessential, including a $4.4 million five-year Stanford summer leadership training program for county executives and a $1.4 million six-year consulting contract for tree stewards described as unpaid volunteers.

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