County Finds More Money; Aides Expect to Keep All Services

On the eve of the county’s 1989 budget hearings, finance officials Tuesday said the government should be able to maintain all of its services, although grass may grow taller between cuts and public lines at office windows may grow longer.

A report from the county auditor released Tuesday identified an additional $11 million for the budget, most of which was discovered in closing the books on the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The county administrative office also has directed every department to absorb $13 million in salary increases, which were negotiated in labor contracts the county signed during the last month.

“It’s going to be a tough budget because agencies and departments have to absorb those increases,” said John Sibley, associate county administrative officer. “We can get through this year, but not easily.”

Bigger Deficit Was Forecast

As late as last week, county officials had forecast a $25-million budget deficit, which could have forced layoffs and the elimination of important county programs.

Those drastic measures will apparently be averted this year. But because of the salary increases, some departments still plan to reduce their staffs through attrition, and some county services will not perform at the same levels.

The three days of budget hearings scheduled to begin this morning also will include a controversial vote by the supervisors on whether to increase their own salaries by more than 25% over the next two years.

Last week, the supervisors gave preliminary approval to the plan, which would immediately increase their salaries from about $65,000 a year to about $75,000 a year. The salaries would increase again on July 1, 1990, to about $82,000.

The supervisors said that they intended to match their salaries to those of Municipal Court judges and that they were responding to a grand jury report which had said the supervisors were underpaid.

Today the supervisors will also hear a presentation from county officials on the overall condition of the budget.

Among the other belt-tightening measures, Sibley said, the county will recommend that some anticipated purchases, such as that of computer equipment, be delayed.

The county is still expecting to receive more money from the state later this year. If that comes, Sibley said some of the restrictions in the budget might be relaxed.

Steps Planned

Meanwhile, some departments commented Tuesday on the steps they plan in response to the budget constraints.

Robert Griffith, assistant director of the county’s Social Services Agency, said the agency plans a hiring freeze, reduction of some travel expenses and postponing new contracts.

Griffith said the agency’s social workers will be hardest hit by the new budget because the agency will not be able to hire more help immediately. Social Services had planned to hire 70 more workers for child-abuse cases alone, Griffith said, because of an increase in child-abuse incidents during the last three years from 11,000 to 18,000.

Robert Love, assistant director of the General Services Agency, also said his agency will implement a hiring freeze and will research the possibility of layoffs if the situation does not improve.

Love said maintenance of county buildings and grounds will be among the first cuts made. “People may notice that the condition of the buildings may not be in the best shape or they may not be as well kept,” he said.

He said waiting lines for some county services will also grow. “People are going to have difficulty in finding tax bills, there will be longer delays in the court system as the paper work gets stuck in the computer system,” Love said.

Ronald DiLuigi, assistant manager of the Health Care Agency, said the agency paid its salary raises by using funds from the state. But he also said it would be hard to make further budget cuts.

“All I can say is that we’re hopeful,” he said. “If further cuts are ordered, we will have to evaluate various programs. And I’m not prepared to say what we can cut at this point.”