County Budget Avoids Drastic Cuts to Services : Finance: Doomsday warnings prove false. But officials warn of severe reductions if voters reject an extension of the temporary half-cent sales tax.

No libraries will close, only one fire station will shut down and far fewer layoffs than anticipated are needed to balance the 1993-94 budget for Ventura County government.

After months of doomsday warnings, the county budget reductions made last week were only a fraction of the dramatic cutbacks predicted by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year. But, officials say they are not celebrating yet.

If the voters in November reject plans to make a temporary half-cent sales tax a permanent revenue source for local government, they say general services could be slashed by 25%. Law enforcement efforts could be sliced 15%.

Pessimism is running high and the board already is gearing up for another round of budget decisions in the late fall.

“We have been on a real roller-coaster ride, and that ride is not over yet,” Supervisor Vicky Howard said. “With the sales tax in the balance in November, we have to be very careful.”

Howard said that persuading the public to approve the sales tax, which will provide the county with $29 million a year in funding, will be an arduous task. One taxpayer group already has vowed to campaign against the tax, contending the county has been exaggerating its financial difficulties.

“I see it every year,” said Jere Robings, president of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers. “They pull their hair out and cry, ‘Oh, what a dire situation the county is in.’ Then presto, everything is OK. I believe it has tarnished their credibility with some people.”

But Howard defends the official characterization of tough times. “We didn’t cry wolf,” she said. “We are still facing a grim future.”

Since January, when Gov. Pete Wilson announced his plans to transfer $2.6 billion in property taxes from local governments to the schools, county officials have said they could be forced to hack spending by $50 million to $60 million.

The cuts, they said, would have included a loss of up to $20 million for the County Fire Department, and another $36 million for the county’s General Fund.

At that time, County Auditor Controller Thomas O. Mahon told the supervisors to prepare to slash up to 400 positions, about 6% of the county’s work force. Fire Chief George Lund predicted he would be forced to close 18 of 32 fire stations. And Library Agency Director Dixie D. Adeniran said she could be faced with closing 12 of 16 library branches.

But once the dust settled, the Legislature agreed to exempt fire departments from cutbacks. And, at the urging of Wilson, the lawmakers also opted to extend the half-cent sales tax to help local governments make up for the property tax shift.

The sales tax was set to expire July 1. But under the plan approved by lawmakers, it was extended until the end of the year. And, Wilson has called for a statewide election in November, when voters must decide whether to make the tax permanent. A majority vote is needed to pass the measure.

With the tax extension and the Fire Department’s reprieve, the shortfall in state funding for Ventura County dropped to about $13.8 million.

Last Tuesday, the supervisors adopted an $836.2-million budget that largely protected the county’s law enforcement system and health-care services from sharp reductions. Other departments were forced to cut their spending by 12.5% to 16%.

“With all the wringing of hands, we are not as bad off as we thought we were going to be,” Supervisor John K. Flynn said. “I think people are very relieved because they felt it could have been worse.”

In an unprecedented bailout, the supervisors agreed to transfer $1.6 million from the General Fund to boost library services, which suffered a 40% loss in state funding this year.

Although no libraries are scheduled to close, operating hours will be sharply reduced starting Aug. 2.

The Fire Department’s Ventura Avenue facility is the only station targeted for closure. It will shut its doors Thursday.

Overall, the county’s 1993-94 budget is $43.1 million larger than last year’s fiscal plan, but county officials say the numbers are misleading because some funds have been counted twice for accounting purposes.

Chief Administrative Officer Richard Wittenberg said that in reality, total spending only grew by about 1%--attributed mostly to increases in federal and state mandated welfare programs.

Under the final spending plan, county officials said as many as 200 positions will be cut from a wide array of county departments. About half of the lost positions could result in actual layoffs, officials estimate.

But some county agencies--such as those in charge of welfare and child support efforts--actually added jobs because of state and federally ordered increases in workloads.

Balancing the gains against the losses, the county work force increased by 44 jobs this fiscal year for a total of 6,738 workers.

“If the state had not extended the sales tax, clearly we would have had to do far more layoffs,” Howard said. “We are now telling departments to go ahead and figure out what they are going to do if the sales tax doesn’t pass.”

In the meantime, the county’s top officials are planning an extensive effort to plead their case to the public. Within the next few months, county Sheriff Larry Carpenter and others plan to launch a major public relations campaign to persuade the voters to approve the tax.

“We are not in favor of new taxes,” Undersheriff Richard S. Bryce said. “But we feel an extension of the existing tax is absolutely essential for the county.”

He said without the sales tax proceeds, the Sheriff’s Department might be forced to cut detectives and close the jail inside the East Valley Sheriff’s Station. “We couldn’t offer anywhere near the current level of service,” he said.

Although Robings said his group plans to oppose the tax, officials for another Ventura County taxpayer group said they have not yet made a decision on the matter.

“Like all new taxes, this is obviously a concern,” said Michael Saliba, executive director of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. “Our board is going to talk about this on Monday.”

Supervisor Maria VanderKolk said she holds out little hope for passage of the tax.

“We will have about a month and a half between the vote and the time the extension ends,” VanderKolk said. “During that time, we are going to have to work very hard to figure out services we simply are not going to do anymore. Right now, we’re on pins and needles.”

Ventura County Budgets, 1990-94 * APPROPRIATIONS (in millions):

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 General fund $402.2 $424.2 $428.7 $434.2

This fund pays for police, court, health, welfare and general government services. The budget is up mostly because of increases in health and welfare. In this fund, more than half of costs are mandated by state and federal programs.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Enterprise funds $77.1 $92.7 $111.6 $111.1

Most revenue is received by the 850-employee Ventura County Medical Center, where patient load is up 43% in three years. Also includes income from two county airports and recreation district. Most money raised cannot be spent for non-related services.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Fire Department $47.7 $49.0 $44.9 $45.7

The 444-employee fire district serves eight cities and all unincorporated areas. Budget, which is funded by the state, is restricted generally to use for fire services. Although state legislators had proposed cutting the department’s budget by up to 40% earlier this year, they agreed to exempt fire services from any reductions.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Flood Control Dist. $40.4 $46.6 $56.9 $56.3

The district oversees flood control activities countywide. District fees, assessed against property owners, can be used only on flood control projects.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Waterworks District $25.3 $24.9 $28.1 $29.4

The agency runs four water districts in unincorporated areas. Its budget is up because of construction projects. Fees to district can be used only for water and sewer projects.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Road fund $20.4 $17.5 $15.8 $14.3

The fund, overseen by the public works department, contains money from sales and gasoline taxes and federal grants. Funds can be used only on road and transportation projects.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Library fund $9.3 $10.3 $8.5 $6.9

The 77-employee district provides library services in Ventura, Port Hueneme, Ojai, Moorpark, Fillmore, Simi Valley and unincorporated areas. The state cut the library’s budget by 40% this year, however the county transferred $1.6 million from its general fund to help the libraries absorb the blow.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Other funds $8.1 $13.8 $13.9 $13.6

These funds finance special air pollution, community service, sanitation and environmental control districts. Fees are paid directly by residents and businesses for services.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Internal service funds $67.8 $78.8 $84.7 $124.7

These funds represent the money exchanged in transactions among county departments.

FY ‘90-’91 FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 Total budget $630.5 $679.1 $793.1 $836.2

About 75% of expenditures in the proposed budget are mandated by state and federal programs. Any cuts must come from the other 25%.

Ventura County Work Force

The list includes selected departments in the county’s General Fund, which pays for police, court, health, welfare and most other basic government services. Special funds have been set up to pay for fire, library, water and flood control services.

GENERAL FUND

General government

Difference FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 ‘92-’94 Assessor 141 129 113 -16 Auditor 87 77 73 -4 Chief admin. office 37 36 33 -3 Board of Supervisors 25 25 25 0 County counsel 37 35 35 0

Public protection

Difference FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 ‘92-’94 Sheriff (police) 654 627 624 -3 Sheriff (jail) 346 335 310 -25 District attorney 195 185 179 -6 Public defender 60 57 57 0 Corrections services 335 317 291 -26 Municipal Court 149 149 162 13 Superior Court 151 155 154 -1 Animal regulation 61 54 49 -5

Health & sanitation

Difference FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 ‘92-’94 Public health 182 138 114 -24 Mental health 335 383 381 -2 Health care admin. 257 34* 10* -24

Public assistance

Difference FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 ‘92-’94 Welfare maint. 420 491 532 41 Welfare admin. 76 81 83 2 Children’s services 146 144 143 -1

Internal services

Difference FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 ‘92-’94 Info. systems 149 140 129 -11 Maint./grounds 147 143 103 -40

Difference FY ‘91-’92 FY ‘92-’93 FY ‘93-’94 ‘92-’94 TOTAL GENERAL FUND 4,860 4,638 4,424 -214 TOTAL SPECIAL FUNDS 1,930 2,056 2,314 258 GRAND TOTAL 6,790 6,694 6,738** 44

* The reduction to health care managers reflects only a change in the department in which they are counted, not a loss of jobs.

** The total of 6,738 jobs includes about 400 vacant positions. A voluntary hiring freeze was implemented in January.