San Bernardino County better off not seceding from California, study shows

A new study analyzing the funding and rationale behind San Bernardino County's possible secession from the state of California reveals that they're probably better off staying put.

"Secession would trigger a wide variety of economic impacts countywide alongside fiscal impacts on the county government, local municipal governments, and school districts," the memo attached to the study said. 

Voters in 2022 approved the research report with Measure EE, which included the possibility of the county leaving the Golden State depending on the results. 

Monday's report, released by Blue Sky Consulting Group, shows that San Bernardino actually gets more per capita funding and generates far less tax revenue on average than other counties in the state. 

In the past three fiscal years, the county has received 9% more state funding per person than other counties statewide — $829 to $763, the study shows. This conflicts with the state controller data that the county used in 2022 to determine that they ranked 36 out of 56 in California counties for state and federal funding per capita.

Another point of contention was that the county doesn't receive enough state money to repair and maintain city streets, but the study actually shows that San Bernardino's funding for roadways exceeds the state average. 

However, the report also found that they are underfunded when it comes to topics like homelessness and affordable housing, receiving just 1.1% of their allocated 2% funding from the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program. 

If the county did decide to approve separating from California, possibly joining Nevada, Arizona or setting out to be their own state, they would have to receive approval from state legislature and Congress.