County Budget Proposal Would Close Mental Hospital

Facing their worst budget deficit since the Proposition 13 era, San Diego County officials Tuesday proposed $20.4 million in budget cuts that would force the closure of the county’s new psychiatric hospital, the Vista Health Center and two honor camps.

In all, 326 jobs would be lost as the county trims a wide array of programs to balance its proposed $1.7-billion budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, said Assistant Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen.

It is unknown whether actual layoffs will be necessary or jobs can be trimmed through attrition and other means, he said.

An additional $10.2 million would be found through other fiscal maneuvers as the county seeks to close an estimated $30.6-million budget deficit.

Janssen also warned that the revenue shortage could increase by another $10 million, depending on the Legislature’s final decisions on the state budget.

“I see us making more cuts, not less,” Janssen said, describing the county’s fiscal plight as the worst since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 forced deep cuts in subsequent budgets.

The county’s $1.7-billion budget makes the deficit appear deceptively small, Janssen told county supervisors, who will begin budget deliberations July 22. Actually, the supervisors have discretion over just $305 million in spending, he said.

Phasing out the 111-bed San Diego Psychiatric Hospital, opened just two years ago, would save the county $4.6 million, according to documents that Janssen distributed. Closure of the La Cima and Morena honor camps in Julian and Campo would save more than $2.5 million more.

Janssen also proposed a $700,000 cut in the Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter unit and a nearly $1.5 million cut in the department’s special gang and drug unit. The county’s vicious dog control unit would be reduced, and janitorial services in three county courthouses would be contracted to a private firm, eliminating 50 jobs.

In addition to the spending cuts, Janssen proposed reducing the county’s contingency reserve by $2 million, saving another $2 million by deferring maintenance spending for three months, saving $3.2 million in trial court expenses by delaying its spending until state deliberations on court funding are completed, and devoting $2.5 million in one-time resources to the budget.