O.C. Budget Called ‘Worst of Disasters’

Orange County supervisors got their first look at a lean, bleak county budget Friday, one which gives them almost no room to increase services to meet the skyrocketing demands from the county’s growing and increasingly diverse population.

“We know there’s a need,” said Supervisor Don R. Roth. “But there just isn’t the money. This is probably the worst of disasters.”

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton was also alarmed.

“It’s tight and it’s getting tighter,” he said. “And the word from Sacramento is that the picture will get bleaker every year.”

Those fears stemmed from a budget proposal delivered to supervisors late Friday. It is preliminary and includes estimates that could change radically by the time the county moves to adopt a final proposal later this summer. But the early indications in Friday’s report are that budget slashing lies ahead, as $65.3 million in departmental requests must be cut to balance the final document.

To make ends meet, supervisors predicted that:

* An emergency hiring freeze imposed last year probably will be extended.

* All but the most important construction projects will be postponed or canceled.

* Budgets for law enforcement, health care and other services will either be trimmed or held to barely perceptible increases.

On the surface, the projected shortfall seems but a fraction of the overall 1991-92 county budget, a $3.4-billion collection of government services that include the Sheriff’s Department, social services, welfare, environmental management and other areas. But the overall budget is made up largely of programs that the county helps administer for other agencies, mostly the state and federal governments.

As a result, county officials only are able to exercise discretion over a relatively small portion of their funds. The county’s so-called “general purpose revenue” is projected to be $462.8 million next year. County departments have asked for $528.1 million to continue providing their current level of service to residents.

“Given the magnitude of the county’s proposed budget shortfall . . . aggressive steps must be taken to identify options to balance the budget,” the proposed budget review states. “This shortfall will require a 12% reduction in appropriations.”

Another discouraging indicator: So-called “carry-over funds,” the money left over from one year to the next, dropped off sharply this year. The county entered the budget year last summer with $37.7 million; in this budget, the report predicts a carry-over of $24 million.

Moreover, several high-priority county programs and projects were scheduled to begin this fiscal year, and they, too, would take a toll.

Those include:

* The first phase of the expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail, with its badly needed jail beds, is scheduled to open this fall. Projected cost: $6 million in extra staffing.

* The expansion of the Orangewood Children’s Home will require the county to expand its social-service and health-care operations. Projected cost: $1.8 million.

* The opening of an intake-release center at Juvenile Hall will require more Probation Department employees to manage it. Projected cost: $2.9 million.

“Those positions are not yet in the budget,” said Ronald S. Rubino, the associate county administrative officer for management and budget. “If they are put in, something else will have to come out.”

In the otherwise discouraging summary of the county finances, there was a small point for optimism. The county is preparing to settle a longstanding lawsuit with local cities and school districts, and if the Board of Supervisors approves the proposed settlement, the county would receive a $21.2-million bonus this year.

“That’s one ray of hope,” Rubino said. “It’s not going to solve our budget problems, but it will give us a one-time” injection of money.

With the budget crunch this summer projected to be the county’s most difficult ever, supervisors and top county officials said Friday that they expect the process to be an especially grueling one.

“We’ve never faced a shortfall of this size,” Rubino said. “It’s going to be very, very difficult.”

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley agreed.

“This report is getting us tuned to the fact that we have a real budget problem,” he said. “We’re going to have to take care of it, but I don’t know how that’s going to happen.”