Lack of Funds Could Delay O.C. Base Closures

Although cutbacks in civilian jobs may start “early next year,” the commander of the El Toro and Tustin Marine Corps air stations warned in a recent letter that budget shortfalls may prevent the bases from closing on the schedule mandated by law.

As part of the military’s realignment plans, both bases are supposed to close--trimming billions in annual maintenance and operational costs from the federal budget--by 1999. Recently, the Marines even announced they hoped to accelerate the withdrawal and shut down both bases by 1997.

But the letter from Maj. Gen. P. Drax Williams to base civilian employees raised questions about whether the Marines will be able to move their helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to the Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego by either deadline.

“We have a problem: not enough money for the move to Miramar,” Williams wrote to civil service employees, who number roughly 2,150.

“It now appears that both El Toro and Tustin will remain open until at least 1999. We will move a few units to Miramar before then as funds become available. This could change, but right now it looks as if we may not be able to meet our 1999 closure date,” Williams wrote.

The budget shortfall is also likely to force the Marines to trim their civilian work force “by early next year,” Williams continued. He did not say how many jobs would be cut.

“The base appropriated-fund budget has been reduced by $5 million for 1995,” Williams wrote. “The reduction occurred because of the overall Department of Defense budget cuts and in anticipation of base closures.”

The announcement took some local officials by surprise, but an El Toro spokesman suggested that Williams’ statement simply makes clear that without additional money previous schedules can’t be met.

Christine Shingleton, assistant city manager for Tustin and the city’s coordinator for the base closure there, said Wednesday that she was surprised by Williams’ letter. Shingleton said she met with Williams two weeks ago, and he did not mention the possibility of such a long delay.

“We talked about 1997 being unlikely (for Tustin), but not 1999,” Shingleton said.

Master Sgt. Don Long, an El Toro spokesman, insisted Wednesday that the Marines are still trying to meet their self-imposed deadline to close the bases early.

“We are still making the effort to move. But it’s all dependent on funding. We’re ready to move and are making plans to make the move. We’re still trying to meet our timelines,” Long said.

He said the letter from Williams was an effort to keep civilian employees “informed of the (closure) process and assure them we’re doing everything possible to make the transition as comfortable as we can.”

Base officials are currently working with the U.S. Department of Labor to establish job training classes for civilians who will lose their jobs when the closures are completed, and the letter offered assurances that some will be able to transfer to jobs at Miramar.

According to Marine Corps figures, closing El Toro and Tustin and moving troops and equipment to Miramar will cost about $1.6 billion. This is the amount requested by El Toro officials from Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington and expected to be forwarded to the Navy Department. The Marines are a part of the Navy, which controls the purse strings.

But the military, which is bound by a 1993 law to close and realign several bases within six years, has been hampered by a critical shortage of funding almost from the outset. Congress appropriated about $1.1 billion in the 1994 fiscal year to implement the 1993 closures and realignments, but about $508 million of that was used to help pay for the earthquake disaster in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Lt. Cmdr. Jackie Yost, a Navy spokeswoman in Washington, said the Navy has only received $438 million this fiscal year to implement the closures and realignments mandated last year, including the moves from El Toro and Tustin to Miramar. Yost refused to say how much of this money will be given to the Marines for El Toro and Tustin.

However, Williams’ letter said the Navy “doesn’t have enough money to move their squadrons” out of Miramar and “we don’t have enough money to move ours to Miramar.”

Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham (R-San Diego) has warned for several months that the schedule for closing the Marine bases and realigning Miramar is unrealistic, given the lack of funds. On Wednesday, Frank Collins, a spokesman for Cunningham, said Congress is looking for ways to come up with enough money to fund the base closures and realignments required by law in 1993 and 1991.

“It’s a major funding problem,” Collins said. “There’s not enough money to complete the closures mandated by Congress.”

More closures and realignments are scheduled in 1995, but Collins said there is a move in Congress to delay those until 1997.