‘Big, Bloody’ Cuts by County Seen in New State Budget

Los Angeles County officials warned Thursday that the $44.2-billion state budget passed by the Legislature could have a devastating impact on county services unless lawmakers move swiftly to restore funding for trial courts.

The decision of legislative budget writers to eliminate $350 million in trial court funding from the state spending plan could force $135 million in cuts in Los Angeles County alone.

“It will be just impossible to find a county service that won’t be gored,” said Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon. “A loss of $135 million is of a magnitude that it would be felt in every one of our services.”

If the trial court money is not reinstated, Dixon said, the county sheriff, courts, probation, social services, health services and general government will be significantly and adversely affected.

‘Sacred Cows’

“It is a hit of enough magnitude that I don’t see any sacred cows,” he said. “It is a bleak picture.”

The Senate on Thursday approved legislation to speed up the collection of $560 million in income, sales and corporate taxes, as well as a companion measure to spend the extra revenue to restore trial court funding and other programs. But the Assembly adjourned without acting on the twin bills.

Without the money, Dixon said, efforts to hold together the county’s troubled network of trauma centers and save Central City hospital emergency rooms could be jeopardized.

“These cuts, without trial funding, are going to be big and bloody,” said another top county official, who asked not to be identified.

When he proposed a record $8.95-billion county budget last month, Dixon said, it “dramatically represents our dependence on the state.”

County supervisors will watch developments in Sacramento before adopting the final county budget by Sept. 1. Dixon said he believes that there is a “much better than 50-50 chance” that some or all of the court funding will be reinstated when lawmakers return in August from a monthlong summer recess.

Companion Measure

The absence of trial court funding prompted the County Supervisors Assn. of California to lobby for the tax revenue speedup measure by Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg. The companion measure by Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) would have restored the trial court funding.

Larry Naake, executive director of the supervisors association, joined in predicting that without the trial court funding, California counties will have to close libraries, lay off deputy sheriffs, close more firehouses, shut down parks and not maintain or build roads.

Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), a member of the budget-writing conference committee, told her Assembly colleagues that counties throughout the state are “not only upset, they are very desperate now.”

“They don’t know what they are going to do,” she said.

“They prepared their budgets based upon the fact that we made a promise,” Waters said during Assembly floor debate. “They made up their budgets, and now they are going to have to go back and slash social services spending. It is going to be awesome and terrible and painful unless, of course, we are willing to take some leadership.”

Waters predicted that “people are going to die” in Los Angeles unless the trial court funding is restored.

“It means that people whose lives could be saved if we had the kind of trauma-care network that we should have in our area will not have it. It won’t be available to them,” she said in an interview.

“It means again that the medically indigent (people that are) . . . not being serviced well now, that are backed up in the emergency rooms of the county hospitals, will die because they will not receive the services,” the assemblywoman said. “It means there will be tremendous cuts in the probation services, where we are trying to get a handle on the young people who may have been in trouble for the first time.”

Beyond court funding, members of the two-house budget conference committee eliminated funding for a high-tech “smart corridor” intended to relieve congestion along the Santa Monica Freeway. The project would have coordinated ramp meters, message signs and traffic signals to divert motorists to arterial streets when traffic stops flowing on the heavily traveled route between the Harbor and San Diego freeways.

After initially removing all state funding to operate the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, budget writers restored a combination of state general funds and bond money needed to run the agency, which buys land in the mountains and San Fernando Valley foothills. Other park funds were provided to develop facilities in the Baldwin Hills State Recreation Area.

A provision was added to the budget to prevent the closure of the old Sand and Sea Club in Santa Monica until plans for construction on the beachfront site win approval from state and local agencies.

At UCLA, the budget provides almost $33 million for construction of additional chemistry and microbiology laboratories. Another $2.6 million was included to develop plans for renovating the engineering and applied sciences building and constructing academic offices and lecture hall additions to the Fowler Museum of Cultural History.

At Cal State Long Beach, $12.3 million was provided to construct a business school facility, and another $12.4 million was designated for building an arts complex.

The budget also provides $1.3 million to remodel and expand science facilities at Cal State Northridge.

Nearly $1.2 million was included for a library and music building addition at Cal Poly Pomona.