Budget Delivers Blows to O.C. Agencies, Cities

Dishing out bad news for Orange County’s already strapped local governments and colleges, Gov. Pete Wilson unveiled a 1993-94 state budget Friday that would force another painful round of cutbacks in services ranging from police protection to parks and libraries.

One county official said Wilson’s spending blueprint would mean $170 million in cuts for local governments in Orange County, 70% more than the mammoth cuts agencies absorbed after last summer’s carnivorous state budget battle.

If adopted by the Legislature, some Orange County officials predicted Wilson’s budget could prompt cities, the county and colleges to freeze salaries or force broad layoffs. The indigent could see their government assistance checks sliced by at least 20%. Students at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton would likely have to absorb tuition hikes in the hundreds of dollars.

“It’s Black Friday for local government,” said state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R--Newport Beach). “The cuts for local government are going to be extraordinary. These hits are harder than last year. And coming on top of the severe reduction of last year, they’ll be doubly hard.”

Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) said the governor had “balanced the budget on the heads of the middle class.” The spending plan, Umberg said, would put a college education further out of reach by raising tuitions, hurt renters by slashing their tax credit and force local government to hike sales taxes that hit middle-income citizens hardest.

Others gave Wilson’s plan a mixed review. Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R--Newport Beach) was unhappy about the cuts for higher education, but welcomed the budget ax’s aim at local governments.

“In a nutshell, I see a local government that could sharpen their pencil and be more prudent with their expenditure of money,” Ferguson said.

Orange County Budget Director Ronald S. Rubino said the special districts that fund libraries, flood control, sanitation, water and other services could suffer the most under the governor’s plan, losing $72 million.

But there were other drastic reductions forecast throughout the county. Officials said Orange County redevelopment districts would lose $39 million under Wilson’s plan. Cities would see a $30-million cut in funds. And the county’s general fund would have to make up a $17-million reduction. Orange County courts, meanwhile, would receive $11.4 million less than they had last year, Rubino estimated.

“It’s very, very bad news,” he said. “We knew we were real vulnerable.”

Rubino said he planned next week to advise county department heads that they should adopt a strategy of “zero growth” for the next two years. “This is where it all starts,” he said.

Some of the most tragic victims of the cuts would be those receiving welfare and other government assistance. An Orange County family of three that is eligible for government aid now receives $624 a month. Under Wilson’s proposal, that would drop to just over $500.

“These people are already in dire straits,” said Hester Honda, staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, an advocate for the poor. “This next cut--if it goes through--would put more of these people on the streets.

“A cut of that size will mean less food; it would mean some people would go without doing laundry; kids would go without school supplies; and some will go without medication,” she said. “The governor is dumping on those people who have no economic or political power to fight back.”

County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider said that Orange County will push hard to show Sacramento the difficulty of meeting state mandates on welfare and other services--and persuade the state to loosen these restrictions.

Perhaps the most critical question, however, is how soon state legislators will complete their budget process, Schneider said. Last year’s political logjam in Sacramento lasted into the fall, costing Orange County crucial time and money as it tried to put together its own budget, he said.

“One of my big hopes is that, whatever (state officials) do, they at least do it on time,” Schneider said.

Cities were also reeling from news of the governor’s spending plan.

William R. Hodge, executive director of the League of California Cities’ Orange County division, could only laugh when told that Wilson said he would work with municipalities to determine the method for cutting their funds. “You mean I get to pick the rope to hang myself with?” he quipped.

Cuts in funding for special districts could also mean more increases in fees for sewers and other services. Hodge called it a “back-door” tax increase.

Ken Stone, Anaheim’s budget director, said the state proposal could cost the city about $2.2 million. The financial difficulties for Anaheim come at a time when the city is deep in negotiations with the Walt Disney Co. about a $3-billion expansion of the amusement park that is expected to be completed with help from the city.

“There is a misconception in Sacramento that cities are fat cats,” said Kristine Thalman, Anaheim’s director of legislative affairs. “We cut the fat. We cut the meat. Now, we’re down to the bone.”

Debra Kurita, Santa Ana assistant city manager, said the governor’s budget would affect services such as parks, maintenance, police and fire. Just in the past two years, Kurita said, the state’s raid of municipal revenue or the creation of additional fees has cost Santa Ana at least $12 million.

“We anticipated some cuts but nothing like this,” Kurita said.

College administrators were also talking in Draconian terms.

At UC Irvine, anticipated budget cuts would result in “Depression-style education,” said William H. Parker, associate executive vice chancellor. “This can only be described as a fiscal disaster for the university.”

At Cal State Fullerton, officials braced for another round of reductions after already cutting their programs to the bone last year, when student fees were hiked 40% and the college was still forced to lay off some staff members and drop hundreds of classes.

Amid the gloom, there was a glimmer of hope. The governor’s budget included $29 million for construction of new facilities at UC Irvine and another $26 million for buildings at Cal State Fullerton. “It’s ironic,” said Parker of UC Irvine. “The good news is we’re building for the future. The bad news is next year’s budget cuts are going to be without precedence.”

Times staff writers Kevin Johnson and Dave Lesher contributed to this report.

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