Cuts to Public Safety Loom as O.C. Officials Try to Close Big Budget Gap

Orange County supervisors on Tuesday will consider a revised annual budget that gives them a choice between an "all cuts'' spending plan that would result in the elimination of 175 jobs, or a staff-recommended proposal that would lead to the shedding of 87 positions countywide, officials say.

In each case, about half of the positions are currently filled, so 43 people could be laid off under the plan recommended by county staff, who briefed reporters on the options under consideration by the board.

County officials have been forced to make big changes to the fiscal year 2011-12 budget because the state has taken away $49.5 million owed to the county.

County officials said they decided to give the Board of Supervisors the option between total austerity and a less-draconian approach that depends on $8 million in reserves and $12.6 million in unexpected new revenue from sales and property taxes.

Under the county's staff-recommended plan, the public would not notice dramatic cuts in services, they said. The departments having to take the brunt of the cuts would be public safety-related.

Under the "all cuts'' plan, the Orange County sheriff, for example, would have to close the fourth floor of the Men's Central Jail, which has 660 beds. Under the staff-recommended plan, the sheriff would lose about $2.5 million, but by dipping into some available reserves, the loss could be reduced to $1.5 million.

Sheriff's officials haven't identified what they would cut under the staff-recommended plan, but drug-treatment programs could be suspended, said budget director Frank Kim.

Under the county-staff recommended plan, 31 positions in the District Attorney's Office are at risk, though drawing on reserves could lower that number to eight, and 12 positions could be cut in the Public Defender's Office, Kim said. The Public Defender's Office doesn't have a reserve fund it can draw on, he said.

It's possible county officials may turn to furloughs to save money without having to shed jobs, according to Kim and Robert Franz, the county's chief financial officer.

Cuts to social services such as welfare will not be as deep, Kim said. Most of the services from the Orange County Healthcare Agency and departments that provide welfare are legally required to be funded, and much of the revenue comes from the federal government and other sources, Kim said.

The Board of Supervisors on June 28 approved a $5.6-billion budget that included a 2.7-percent increase in spending over the last fiscal year. The supervisors were pleased that staff had anticipated the economic downturn and had gradually reduced spending. But when the state that same day yanked away the $49.5 million, it forced county officials to go back to the drawing board.

A bill by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim, to force the state to reinstate the lost revenue failed to win approval before state lawmakers adjourned.

Supervisors will also meet in closed session Tuesday to consider their legal options to challenge the state's reduction in revenue to the county, Franz said.

"The state is the multi-ton elephant in the room,'' Franz said, adding that even if the county prevails in court, it's not guaranteed the state will hand the money over.

"The state has a lot of authority,'' Franz said. "We are looking at a variety of legal options."

County officials may decide to join a team of cities across California in legally challenging the state, Franz said.

While the county has a $5.6-billion budget, 88 percent of the spending is legally required for services such as waste management, operation of John Wayne Airport and flood control, Kim said. That leaves county officials with about $664 million they can reduce in spending for core services such as public safety and general government that relies on local funding, he said.

Another potential problem for county officials is a ruling handed down last week by an appellate panel that upheld a legal challenge from the union representing Orange County sheriff's deputies to the county's reassignment of some of their duties to non-sworn personnel.

The reassignment of some duties was expected to save the county $10 million to $12 million annually, Kim said. It's not yet known if county officials will decide to appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court or work out a solution with the union.

The county has about $239 million in its general reserve fund. County officials would prefer to have $380 million in reserves so they could avoid the expense of short-term borrowing during the year, Kim said.

—Paul Anderson, City News Service