Budget Compromise Eases Drastic Cuts for L.A. County

More than two months late and facing a $588-million shortfall, the Board of Supervisors approved a budget Tuesday after a dramatic last-minute compromise between liberals and conservatives staved off drastic cuts in county law enforcement and health services.

Facing the worst fiscal crisis in Los Angeles County history, the supervisors in essence put off many of the most difficult decisions until next year, gambling that the economy will make a dramatic turnaround or that additional revenue will be provided by the state Legislature.

The board cut about $250 million from a variety of programs. But deep cuts that had been threatened in the library, welfare and health departments were temporarily delayed to give the county more time to seek alternative funding sources.

Approval of the $13-billion budget came on a 4-1 vote amid criticism from Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon and Supervisor Ed Edelman, who warned that the plan relies on temporary funding sources that are unlikely to be available next year.

Supervisor Gloria Molina, a liberal who joined with conservative Supervisor Mike Antonovich to craft the compromise, defended the budget even while acknowledging that the worst may be ahead.

“There are still deep cuts here,” Molina said. “This is really a wounded county. Come January we may be hurt even more. But this is the restoring of the basic essentials.”

The compromise forged by the unlikely coalition restored $54.7 million that would have been cut under a plan submitted by Dixon earlier this month. This was accomplished by a 12-month postponement of salary increases to non-union employees and a similar deferment of payments to county-employee savings plans--moves that will provide an additional $37.7 million in revenue. The board also voted to dip into a $10-million reserve. The remainder will come from increasing fees at county golf courses and delaying some county obligations.

Edelman was the only supervisor to vote against the compromise.

The plan defers what many feared would be Draconian cuts in public health services. By restoring $60 million in proposed cuts from the Department of Health Services, the county was able to put off sharp reductions in hours at many outpatient clinics.

The supervisors were able to earmark some additional money for health programs and the rollbacks were put off in the hope that the county will be able to win back additional funds that were cut from the state budget.

Dixon said that the supervisors’ action will make good fiscal sense only if there is a sharp turnaround in the economy or a sudden influx of state and federal money after the November election.

“Clearly, they are deferring some portion of the terrible cuts they are facing,” Dixon said. “We’re funding permanent programs with temporary, one-time-only funds.

The county’s fiscal crisis was precipitated this summer when the state approved a budget that severely reduced payments to local governments.

Attempting to make up for the $588-million shortfall, Dixon recommended more than $350 million in cuts when he submitted his final budget proposals earlier this month. His plan would have led to the closure of six sheriff’s facilities, a jail and 13 district attorney’s offices and the elimination of 1,600 positions in the health department.

Dixon also proposed the elimination of one-eighth of the welfare department work force and a 12% cut in general relief welfare payments--the only source of income for 90,000 of the county’s poorest residents.

Dixon said his proposals were based on an economic forecast that the recession will last well into next year. “I don’t think there’s the slightest sign on the economic horizon or on the state budget horizon to restore these positions in the near future,” he said.

Dixon’s plan would have eliminated 4,200 jobs.

Attempting to avoid some politically explosive decisions, supervisors’ aides met throughout the last week to forge a compromise that would restore funding to the Sheriff’s Department and health services. A vote on a Dixon plan to cut general relief welfare payments by 12% was delayed until next month to give supervisors more time to study the issue.

“It’s been a pretty cooperative and conciliatory effort, under very trying circumstances and with little resources” said Tom Silver, chief deputy for Antonovich.

Edelman complained that he was left out of the process and that he did not see the final compromise measure until it was faxed to him at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.

“I think they were trying to cut a deal, and that’s not the kind of open government Gloria talks about,” Edelman said to reporters afterward. “There was a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, deals being cut.”

As a result, Edelman said, the county has merely succeeded in putting off hard choices until next year. “I have never seen us spend money that we’re not going to have,” he said, “and to spend it as quickly and without concern.”

Asked about Edelman’s charges of back-room dealing, Molina responded: “Shame on him. It’s not true.”

Details of the Molina-Antonovich budget plan apparently were still not complete as the board began deliberations at 10 a.m. At several points during the five-hour meeting, supervisors and their aides huddled in an attempt to hammer out the final points.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the budget compromise was the Sheriff’s Department, which had $35.4 million in proposed cuts restored. That money will be used to keep open six sheriff’s substations and one county jail and avert drastic personnel cuts at another jail.

A relieved Sheriff Sherman Block said he still will have to make significant cuts to his department, but declined to be more specific.

The budget also will restore $4.8 million expected to be cut from the Department of Public Social Services. That money will allow the department to retain 350 welfare eligibility workers who faced layoffs under Dixon’s plan.

Union officials, who had opposed many of Dixon’s recommendations, hailed the budget compromise as a victory.

“It’s historic,” said Dan Savage of Service Employees International Union, Local 660. “It’s the first time there has been this much consensus on such an important issue. They rebelled against Dixon’s proposal.”

The board approved a $9.2-million cut in funding for the county library system, a move that officials say will force the closure of 12 public libraries. However, the board voted to delay closing the libraries until Oct. 20, when the board will meet to discuss other potential savings in the library department.

A plan to close a fire station in the Santa Monica Mountains north of Malibu was scrapped after the board restored $1 million to the County Fire Department budget. Fire Warden P. Michael Freeman said he will also be able to avert most staff reductions at seven other stations.

The board also approved an early-retirement program that will offer thousands of veteran county employees incentives to leave county service. County officials said it is unclear how much the program will save or how many employees will take advantage of it.

It was also unclear how many county jobs would be eliminated by the budget cuts approved board Tuesday. “We’re not 100% sure what happened today,” Dixon said. “But we do have days, weeks, months of painful decisions on what cuts will have to be made.”

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