The County Administrative Office on Friday released a budget proposal for next fiscal year, beginning in July, that calls for up to 140 job cuts, an average of 20 percent less funding for county departments like public works and probation and a 20 percent cut to nonprofits providing “safety-net” services for the elderly and poor.The proposed budget includes no new funding for infrastructure, like road construction or technology improvements. The budget entails major cuts at Juvenile Hall, including elimination of a once promising alternatives-to-incarceration program. And, the budget barely toes the line when it comes to sheriff patrols.
Hit hardest is public health, whose programs not only benefit those with limited access to health care but ripple across the entire region, say health officials.
“Swine flu does not pay attention to how much income you make or your legal status, and this is true of all infectious diseases. You want a community whose health is good and has access to medical care,” said Rama Khalsa, director of the county Health Services Agency.
The 530-person health agency will lose about 60 positions under the budget proposal, which translates into reductions in mental health services, substance abuse assistance and clinical care.
The cuts proposed this week by county administrators attempt to close a $25 million gap between the county’s projected revenues and spending. The estimated $367 million general fund budget for next year reflects a roughly 6 percent decrease over this year’s budget.
The county, like a city government, is responsible for basic municipal services in the unincorporated areas, like road maintenance and planning, with the additional responsibility of providing state-mandated regional programs like the courts and health and human services.
Although no part of the roughly 2,400-person organization is immune to cuts, county administrators say they’ve made some funding priorities in the proposed budget, like public safety.
The Sheriff’s Office will lose positions, but most will be in support areas and perhaps investigations but not front-line police work.
“This will mean that some cases will take a lot longer to be handled,” said incoming Sheriff-Coroner Phil Wowak. “But patrols services and emergency services would be the last thing we would cut.”
The proposed budget calls for an 8.6 percent reduction of the county’s total work force, meaning 212 positions, though county administrators say only about two-thirds of those are currently filled.
Last month, the personnel department directed 156-hour furloughs for upper- and middle-management, as part of the ongoing cost-saving effort, presenting another significant cost savings in the proposed budget.
County administrators are currently in talks with representatives from the county’s largest labor union, Service Employees International Union, and say they hope a similar furlough arrangement can be set up. Such a concession, they say, would stave off many of the proposed layoffs.
An SEIU representative on Friday had no comment on whether they would agree to take time off.
The county’s proposed budget will be the subject of hearings in coming weeks and is expected to be finalized in June.
