State Budgeting May Stall 8,000 Welfare Checks

Mid-July payments to about 8,000 welfare families in Ventura County could be delayed unless the Legislature adopts a state budget soon or the Board of Supervisors approves a $2.5-million emergency loan to fill the void.

Without state budget approval or a county loan, mid-month checks averaging about $330 each would not be mailed and about 25,000 poor people would be affected, county officials have said.

They said they hope to avoid a repeat of the funding shortfall of 1983, when local welfare families got their July 15 checks nearly a week late because state lawmakers failed to approve a budget until July 21.

Budget negotiations have been even more difficult this year, as the Democrat-controlled Legislature has struggled with $3.6 billion in cuts recommended by Republican Gov. George Deukmejian.

Jim Isom, county social services director, has informed county supervisors that he will ask them to approve an emergency appropriation next week of $2.5 million so that 8,000 checks for Aid to Families with Dependent Children can be issued on time.

“The situation is probably more severe than in 1983 because it appears likely that we might not have a budget for several weeks,” Isom said. “I’d hate to see the 15th roll around and that many people be ignored.”

Some lawmakers have said they think a budget may be approved by Friday--when the Legislature is scheduled to recess for the summer--or shortly after that if the lawmakers have an extended session. Isom said Linda McMahon, director of the state Department of Social Services, told him last Friday that she expects budget approval by the middle of the month at the latest.

But Isom said the county should not count on approval. He said he has regretted not asking the supervisors in 1983 for a short-term loan to make payments to poor families.

“I’d like to see the board get involved this time,” he said. “When people call and say, ‘Why didn’t I get my check?’ I can’t say that the county auditor won’t release it. They don’t understand that.”

County Auditor Norman Hawkes refused to issue checks in 1983 before the state budget was approved, saying that issuing them without funds to back them up would be illegal. Hawkes said last week that his position, though unusual among the state’s 58 county auditors, remains the same.

“I can’t legally issue those checks and I won’t,” Hawkes said. But he said he would mail the July 15 payments if county supervisors approve an emergency loan.

Hawkes and several other county officials say they are philosophically opposed to the county picking up such payments because the money is for a state program and the Legislature could have resolved the problem ahead of time.

“Every year this comes up,” Hawkes said. “In the spring, they could decide to take care of these people in another way, but they don’t. We all have human feelings for these people, but what if the Legislature goes two months without passing a budget? What does the county do then?”

Richard Wittenberg, the county’s chief administrative officer, said that despite a very tight budget, the county could afford to make the initial loan.

“But the state can do this to you forever,” Wittenberg said. “They do it in many areas, such as health care. They use us as their bank. They’re making interest on the money and using us as their float” for interest-free loans.

Isom’s recommendation for the emergency loan is on the Board of Supervisors’ July 10 agenda, but board members said they hope they do not have to vote on it.

“I can’t imagine that this board would allow innocent children to pay for the inaction of state government. We could be making kids homeless,” Supervisor Susan K. Lacey said. “But this issue gets more difficult if it becomes an ongoing kind of thing.”

Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer said she did not know how she will vote if the issue is not resolved before next week.

“The inclination of the state is to try the patience of the counties over and over again,” she said. “They tied up payments to the county hospital last year and that kind of thing happens almost every year.”

Payments to a family of four on Aid to Families With Dependent Children are $660 a month and altogether account for about $5 million per month, Isom said. The state provides 90% of the money, the county the remaining 10%.