County Budget Calls for $1.6 Billion in Cuts : Finance: One hospital, 41 fire stations and four jails would close. Welfare and probation departments also hit.

Los Angeles County officials Friday called for a staggering $1.6 billion in cuts and more than 9,500 layoffs in a proposed 1993-94 budget that includes devastating reductions in funds for law enforcement, fire protection, hospitals and other county services.

Facing the worst fiscal crisis in county history, Chief Administrative Officer Harry Hufford’s budget plan would force the closure of at least one public hospital, 41 fire stations, four jails, eight sheriff’s stations and 23 parks.

Under the plan, the district attorney would stop prosecuting misdemeanors, while the Probation Department would lay off about one-sixth of its sworn officers, eliminating programs that monitor the county’s most violent felons.

“This budget is a modified disaster,” Hufford said. “Our efforts will be to find more revenue. We need relief from the state and federal government.”

Hufford blamed most of the shortfall on Gov. Pete Wilson’s plan to transfer property tax revenue from local government to schools. County officials will use their grim budget forecast as a lobbying tool in their effort to persuade legislators and Wilson to fund county programs.

“The ball is in their court,” Hufford said. “They are well-warned, well-informed and well-advised. They should take responsibility for their decisions.”

Under Hufford’s plan, the county budget would be pared from $13.9 billion in fiscal 1992-93 to $12.3 billion in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The county’s 86,000-strong work force--the largest in Southern California--would be reduced 11%.

Hufford will present the budget to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The board is scheduled to hold hearings on the proposed cutbacks beginning July 20, with a final budget to be adopted Aug. 3.

The supervisors will face a number of tough decisions. Will they fund sheriff’s deputies at the expense of public health? Will they close parks and libraries so that they can keep prosecutors in county courtrooms?

Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said she believes that even if the board’s Sacramento lobbying efforts prove successful, the county will still face an 8% cut in services.

“That’s the best we can hope for,” she said. “Let’s face it, there will be a budget that curtails services tremendously. We have to face the idea that some libraries and other facilities will close.”

Although Wilson has proposed a $2.6-billion statewide shift in property tax revenue away from local governments, Hufford based his budget on the assumption that the Legislature will approve a much smaller tax shift of $1.3 billion.

State Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys) and other members of the Los Angeles County delegation in Sacramento have led an effort in support of a reduced property tax shift and greater funding for local governments.

“We’re going to keep fighting to further reduce the impact (on local governments), but the choices are limited given the grim fiscal picture of the state,” said Steven Glazer, a spokesman for Roberti.

Libraries and fire protection are especially hard hit in the proposed county budget because state officials have proposed a $132-million reduction in the special districts that fund those services.

Besides closing fire stations, the county fire department would eliminate 16 paramedic squads. Ten public libraries would close--a similar number closed last year--and hours at the remaining libraries would be reduced 50%.

Law-enforcement programs would face similar reductions because, unlike federally funded health and welfare programs, they rely almost entirely on county-distributed property tax revenue.

Undersheriff Jerry Harper said the proposed $108.4-million cut in the Sheriff’s Department budget would be especially devastating given the $88-million cut inflicted on the department last year.

“This is absolutely irresponsible to take the local property taxes and apply it other state programs,” Harper said. “They’re leaving the people of Los Angeles County largely defenseless.”

Sheriff Sherman Block began closing two jails last week, then relented when the Board of Supervisors agreed to provide temporary funding. Those jails, and two others, may close Aug. 1 if Hufford’s budget recommendations are enacted. About 7,000 inmates could be released.

“I’m frightened for my family and friends,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Springs. “And I know I’m not alone in this.”

The district attorney’s office is facing a $25.9-million cut in its budget, including the elimination of 251 prosecutors.

In the Probation Department, direct, face-to-face oversight of released convicts by sworn officers would become a thing of the past. All cases would be transferred to a computerized monitoring system.

Programs that provide for more intense supervision of high-risk offenders would be eliminated. Each probation officer would handle a caseload of more than 5,000 released convicts, contacting their charges by telephone and mail.

“We’re talking about people who have committed manslaughter and other violent crimes that involve the use of weapons,” said Shirley Bolinger, a Probation Department administrator. “This plan jeopardizes public safety.”

But perhaps the most dramatic cuts will come in the Department of Health Services, which runs the county’s six public hospitals. Health officials have presented a variety options for eliminating more than 4,000 jobs.

One calls for the closure of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, another for shutting down Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is also threatened, along with Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar.

“If you close a hospital, people will die,” said Dan Savage of Service Employees International Union, Local 660, which represents county hospital workers. “Nurses and doctors will tell you that, even under the current conditions, people are dying needlessly because of overcrowding.”

At a time when welfare caseloads are at an all-time high--one in six county residents receives some sort of government relief--Hufford’s proposed budget also includes a $9-million reduction in the Department of Public Social Services. The jobs of 200 welfare caseworkers would be eliminated.

“This city, the county and this entire region cannot afford to take a step back in services to the poor,” said Gilbert Cedillo, general manager at Local 660. “The county safety net has been stretched to its limit. This is bad public policy.”

No corner of the county bureaucracy would be spared the budget ax. At least 110 workers would be laid off in county museums, and lifeguard services would be eliminated at eight state beaches.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Ed Edelman discounted suggestions that the county was creating a grim, worst-case budget to scare the public into supporting county programs.

“The time for crying wolf is long past,” Edelman said. “The wolf is at our door and we’re about to be devoured.”

Times staff writer Aaron Curtiss contributed to this story.

Painful Proposals

Los Angeles County’s $12.3-billion budget for 1993-94 includes proposals for $1.6 billion in cuts. Here are some of the proposed cuts, although changes are likely before the budget receives final approval from the Board of Supervisors in August.

PUBLIC SAFETY

* Sheriff: $108.4-million cut proposed. Close eight of 20 patrol stations and four of 10 custody facilities, resulting in loss of 4,400 jail beds.

* Fire: $107.3-million cut proposed. Close 41 of 127 fire stations.

* District attorney: $25.9-million cut proposed.

* Probation: $52.4-million cut proposed.

* Courts: $58.1-million cut proposed.

HEALTH CARE

* Health services: $191.6-million cut proposed. One or more facilities may have to close.

* Mental health: $42.1-million cut proposed.

SOCIAL SERVICES

* Children’s services: $6.9-million cut proposed.

* Public social services: $9-million cut proposed.

QUALITY OF LIFE

* Library: $23.5-million cut proposed. Close 10 libraries and reduce service hours by 50% at remaining locations.

* Beaches and harbors: $8.1-million cut proposed. Terminate lifeguard and beach maintenance services at eight state beaches and Hermosa Beach.

* Parks and recreation: $8.9-million cut proposed.

* Museums: $5.3-million cut proposed. Reduce or eliminate education, exhibitions, research programs and gallery renovation, reduce public operating hours.

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

* County administration: $35.2-million cut proposed.

Source: 1993-94 Los Angeles County Proposed Budget

Compiled by Times researcher NONA YATES