Kern County residents and frontline health workers packed the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday morning, delivering an emotional plea: don’t dismantle the public health system they rely on.
From teen advocates to infectious disease nurses, speaker after speaker warned that proposed cuts to the Public Health Department could strip vulnerable communities of life-saving services. They stressed that the consequences would be immediate and generational.
Their outcry followed the county’s release of a budget reflecting modest overall gains. Property tax revenue rose 2.57% from last year, pushing the county’s total assessed property valuation to $129 billion. Despite a slowing real estate market caused by high interest rates, residential and commercial values grew by 4.3%, offsetting another steep drop in oil and gas valuations, which fell 12.32% this year and have plunged more than 64% since 2014.
With $6 million in new discretionary revenue and a $51 million carryover from stronger-than-expected sales tax returns and one-time franchise fees, the county had $57.1 million in additional resources to allocate. Budget Director Alex Alba recommended investing that money in law enforcement staffing, vehicle replacements, infrastructure maintenance, and a $17 million boost to the county’s general liability reserve.
Absent from those allocations, but central to Tuesday’s meeting, was the $5.5 million shortfall facing the Public Health Department.
Public Health Director Brynn Carrigan presented a plan to close the gap by eliminating 35 positions, resulting in 27 potential layoffs, and scaling back services at three clinics. Her plan would reduce daily appointments at the Bakersfield clinic from 78 to 25, eliminate the mobile clinic’s full-time schedule, and permanently close the Shafter clinic.
Carrigan stressed that core services, including HIV treatment, STI screening, and immunizations, would remain available at the Bakersfield location. Still, she warned that reduced staffing would significantly limit the clinic’s capacity.
Ileana Rivera, a nurse practitioner at the Health Officers Clinic, warned that the cuts would gut one of the only clinics in Kern County offering rapid antiretroviral therapy, pre- and post-exposure HIV medications, and free PrEP access for low-income patients.
“Without our services, patients will go untreated for extended periods, leading to worse health outcomes and increased disease transmission,” Rivera told the board. “We bring essential care directly to rural and underserved areas. You are not just cutting jobs. You are cutting access.”
Rivera continued her public comment by asking the Board directly if they were not ashamed to be dismantling public health services rather than investing in them.
“We are already an underserved community, and you are wanting to further decrease public access to health care. Think about the message you’re sending to our community that you do not care about rural communities, vulnerable populations, and that you do not care about public health,” commented Rivera. “Layoffs are unnecessary, especially when your own public records show that over 70 million in state dollars dedicated to public health and safety remain unspent and piling up. So I ask you to protect local jobs, protect our community’s health, and fix Kern now.”
Teenager Camila Rivera spoke about how teens like her depend on Public Health for confidential, judgment-free care that many cannot access through their parents’ insurance.
“Kern County already has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in California,” she said. “Our chlamydia rates are the second highest in the state. You don’t fix these problems by shutting down the one place that helps prevent them.”
Others echoed her concern and emphasized the potential loss of skilled staff who had built trust within their communities. Nathaniel Gozzi, a communicable disease investigator, urged the board to meet directly with the 27 employees facing layoffs.
“We’re the last stop. We’re the ones clinics send patients to when they can’t help,” Gozzi said. “You have the funding. Make it make sense.”
Nurses, outreach workers, and former public health officials questioned why more than $70 million in state funds remain unspent. Carrigan later clarified that most of those funds are restricted and earmarked for departments such as Behavioral Health and Human Services. She said that less than $700,000 was actually allocated to Public Health.
Supervisors responded by defending the restructuring. They stated their intention to preserve core services, even as the department reduces its scope. Supervisor Manuel Flores criticized what he called an “alarmist narrative,” arguing that Public Health services will not disappear, only change format. He likened the shift to shopping at a physical store instead of receiving delivery.
“The sky is not falling,” Flores said. “We’re not abandoning our mission.”
Supervisor David Couch questioned the justification for keeping the Shafter clinic open, given that it served just 33 patients in 2024. Supervisor Phillip Peters inquired about services in rural areas like Ridgecrest and Lake Isabella. Carrigan explained that Kern Health Systems and Kern Medical had agreed to expand mobile clinic coverage in those areas, though she acknowledged that losing the county’s routine mobile services would still create service gaps.
Diana Ortega, one of seven licensed vocational nurses facing layoff, warned that the damage would extend far beyond the department’s workforce.
“These are not just jobs,” she said. “This is the difference between getting your child vaccinated and watching an outbreak spread through your school.”
As the county moves to finalize its budget on August 26, many residents left the meeting with a clear message: cutting public health isn’t a cost-saving strategy—it’s a risk the county cannot afford to take.
“This won’t be a temporary impact,” Ortega said. “It will be felt for generations.”
