Wieder Asks 5-Year County Budget Plan to End Fiscal Frenzy

Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder asked county administrators Wednesday to prepare a five-year budget plan to help avoid the last-minute scrambles for money that have characterized the annual budget season.

Several supervisors said Wednesday they are frustrated by the current process, in which the county has braced for substantial program and staffing cuts only to find more money available just days before the budget is adopted.

Because the county relies on the state government for much of its money and cannot set its own tax rate, there will always be some uncertainty about revenues, officials said. But long-range planning could improve the picture, they said.

“I think we will benefit by the (planning) process, but it won’t change the fact . . . that we are not in control of our own destiny,” said County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish. “We need to direct our efforts to making our case more strongly in Sacramento.”

In opening hearings for the 1988-89 fiscal year Wednesday, Parrish told supervisors that the county can afford to maintain all current staff and programs. It was a dramatic shift from three weeks ago, when county administrators announced a $35-million shortfall that they said could require the dismissal of more than 400 employees.

The county’s general fund commitment is projected at $987 million for the year that began July 1, but revenues are only expected to be $940 million, according to Parrish. Budget administrators plan to balance the budget with money left over from the previous fiscal year, an expected grant from the state, the sale of excess property and, possibly, a contribution from the county’s retirement fund. The total county budget, projected at $2.2 billion, includes funds committed for large construction projects such as the renovation of the airport and a new regional road system.

The supervisors adopted a tentative budget on June 30. Budget hearings will continue through next week, and the supervisors are scheduled to adopt a final version late next month.

In a 45-minute session Wednesday, the supervisors tentatively approved the budgets for the Environmental Management Agency and the General Services Agency and for administrative operations that cross several county offices.

Most of the changes compared to last year involved slight increases in funding to cover salary hikes.

Today the supervisors will hear from the Sheriff’s Department and the county’s health and welfare directors.

Wieder told Parrish on Wednesday that the five-year budget plan should be done before the next fiscal year begins. She said the plan should include ideas for generating new revenues, methods for funding construction projects and an estimate of changes in the county’s workload.

“Today marks the 10th year in which I have participated in establishing a spending plan for the fiscal year and the 10th year of my concern and frustration at the inability of the county to establish multiyear budget plans and projections,” Wieder told the board at its meeting Wednesday.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said he agreed that the budget process should be improved with long-range planning. And he suggested that the county look more closely at establishing new fees for county services as a way of generating money.

“I think the philosophy is to say that nothing is free in government anymore,” Vasquez said.

Even though the supervisors complained about the budget process, none of them said they were unhappy with the county’s managers.

Parrish said, however, it might have been an “oversight” for the county not to have prepared a long-range planning document earlier. He said that long-range plans have been made in the past but that

they are not compiled in a central reference document.

To balance this year’s budget, Parrish said, the county will have to find about $18 million that it does not yet have “in hand.” He listed a variety of sources for the money, but he said it will be several weeks before the county knows what is obtainable.

If the money is not produced, Parrish said, midyear cuts might have to be made in county staff and programs. But he said the staff is confident the money will be available.