Public Hearings Will Begin Aug. 7 : Supervisors Adopt $1.15-Billion Preliminary County Budget

With the billion-dollar barrier broken last year, the Board of Supervisors Wednesday adopted a $1.15-billion preliminary budget for Orange County for the next fiscal year--a 3% hike over this year’s level.

Adoption of the document sets the stage for up to a week and a half of public hearings beginning Aug. 7, during which agency and department heads will seek funds and the supervisors will compare requests against revenues.

The preliminary budget reflects an increase of $31.3 million over the current fiscal year’s budget.

Living Costs Up 4%

Richard Pickryl, a budget analyst in the county administrative office, said the increase does not match the rise in the cost of living in Orange County during the last year, which was a little over 4%.

The budget shows a shortfall of between $20 million and $25 million, which can be covered by revenue-sharing funds, Pickryl said. Even after balancing the budget, the county’s contingency fund will contain $30 million, according to Larry Parrish, the county administrative officer.

Pickryl said budget analysts are continuing to study requests in the preliminary budget and that “we are now in the process of chopping the heck out of it.”

He said agency heads have already requested approximately $10 million in supplementary funds, which are not reflected in the preliminary budget. The supervisors will have to sort out those pleas for additional funds.

Request From Sheriff Certain

Parrish noted that approval of any supplemental funds “will result in additional county cost or require reductions in other programs.”

The Sheriff’s Department is certain to submit a request for supplemental funds to cover the cost of complying with a federal judge’s ruling March 18 that the sheriff and the supervisors are in criminal contempt for not following an earlier court order to improve jail conditions.

Since the ruling, prisoners have been transferred to branch jails, necessitating the hiring of additional personnel. Extra bunks have also been installed in the main jail in Santa Ana.