O.C. workers decry layoffs

Nancy Craven, 52, shook as she introduced herself, tears in her eyes.

“I am a county worker with the Social Services Agency,” she said. “Or, I will be, for the next two weeks. I just got my layoff notice yesterday.”

By the end of an impassioned, three-hour meeting, many of the 200 people packed into the Rancho Santiago Community College District boardroom in Santa Ana on a rainy Friday stood up to decry Orange County’s decision to cut public assistance workers, a decision they said was shortsighted and would hurt the most vulnerable.

“We cannot lay off any more county eligibility workers,” said Kimberly Edwards, a county eligibility worker who said she has seen dozens of her colleagues let go in the last few weeks. “Pick another department!”

The public meeting, officially dubbed Orange County’s Economic Crisis Public Hearing, was organized by state Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) to address concerns that the county was balancing its budget exclusively through job cuts, and largely on the backs of front-line employees. Many wore buttons with “Chop at the top” on them. Some carried banners.

“I’ve noticed that the county is essentially balancing this budget through cuts only,” Solorio said. “. . . . I’m curious whether there weren’t any opportunities to enhance its revenue [such as through extra fees] so the cuts were not so severe.”

On Friday, four Orange County residents filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, alleging that the county unlawfully delayed the processing of applicants’ requests for food stamps, Medi-Cal and general relief benefits and in determining recipients’ ongoing eligibility. State and federal laws mandate certain time frames during which these requests must be met.

“That was before the layoffs,” said Bob Newman, an attorney on the case and senior counsel at the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “They were already violating the law, they were already behind, and now it’s going to become even greater violations of law.”

In December, the Board of Supervisors authorized job reductions among employees in its Social Services Agency because of an anticipated $20-million drop in state funding this year.

About 210 termination notices were sent out this month to employees, including those who handle child and elder abuse cases, and eligibility technicians who process claims for public assistance.

County Executive Officer Thomas Mauk, clicking through slides that revealed the county’s projected budget through the next five years, said the expected shortfall would amount to $479 million during that period, and that the county’s budget of $6.7 billion this year was frozen at last year’s levels.

“Responsible leadership requires early action and pro-action,” Mauk said. “We are prepared to do that. We are willing to take whatever hits that come with that action . . . for the citizens of Orange County.”

But Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Assn., lambasted county supervisors and managers for continuing to spend on such things as remodeling work and monthly car allowances while terminating bottom-rung workers.

“While laying off workers, they’re remodeling their offices,” Berardino said. “. . . These guys are spending money with both hands, remodeling and building.”

Some cuts, employees said, seem nonsensical.

Mike Sutton, a welfare fraud investigator, said his department and its $5.7-million budget were cut even though fraud investigators detected and saved $37 million last year.

“We feel that’s a pretty good investment,” Sutton said.

He said the more troubling economic times have greatly increased each investigator’s workload as more people apply for welfare.

Robert Gibson, a deputy juvenile corrections officer, spoke about the reduction of beds at one juvenile facility and the closing of another facility that works to rehabilitate first-time offenders.

“If you spend a couple dollars now, you save a lot of money down the road,” he said.

Gibson criticized the county for unequal cuts and for spending money on frills such as 50-inch plasma televisions and DirecTV in juvenile halls. “The department refuses to eliminate managers,” he said. “Instead, they eliminate peace officers . . . people on the street.”

Anaheim Councilwoman Lorri Galloway said the cuts were indicative of a larger ideological split between the residents of Orange County and its leadership.

“We are absolutely dealing with a pervasive attitude that has been so dominant in Orange County -- that government workers are a burden and not an asset,” she said. “We have a Board of Supervisors that does not represent the beliefs of the true people of our county, the real people.”

Solorio said he would conduct follow-up meetings with county manager and supervisors to examine ways to limit or avoid job cuts.

“Every county employee that gets laid off is an extra individual that has a family, a mortgage to pay, a necessity to put food on the table,” he said. “And to impact someone’s life is a very big decision. . . . The county too quickly made the decision to lay people off without looking at a broader range of options.”

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tami.abdollah@latimes.com