Local News in Brief : Decision Delayed on Aid to Clinics
Los Angeles County supervisors delayed a decision Tuesday on whether to commit millions of dollars in newly found property tax revenue to save 13 county mental health outpatient clinics.
Despite county Assessor John J. Lynch’s forecast that the county could reap about $50 million in added property tax revenue this fiscal year, the board declined to vote on a proposal to pledge $24 million of the money to keep the mental health clinics open.
The supervisors indicated a willingness to use some of the windfall for mental health but not until the county’s chief administrative officer and auditor-controller can determine how much money in property tax revenue will actually be available for county programs.
Robert Quiroz, the county’s mental health director, said that if the county prevails in a court challenge filed on behalf of indigent mentally ill patients, the first outpatient clinics would begin closing on Sept. 1.
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