County Officials Fear Deep Health Care Cuts : Budget: The governor’s proposed reductions could play havoc with a host of programs and affect the Medical Center.

Already facing a $16-million budget deficit, Ventura County could be forced to cut deep into its health care programs if Gov. Pete Wilson pushes through his latest spending cut proposals, county officials said Tuesday.

“If the governor is successful, it could be very, very harmful to the county of Ventura,” Chief Administrative Officer Richard Wittenberg told the Board of Supervisors. “What the governor has done now has really put us in a terrible spot.”

Under Monday’s proposals, Ventura County and its cities would have to ante up another $4 million in property taxes on top of the $36 million that county and city governments have already surrendered to the state this fiscal year. Ventura is one of only 12 counties being asked to pay more because the state contends the counties miscalculated their earlier payments.

Wilson also calls for further reductions in Medi-Cal funding, cuts sure to affect the Ventura County Medical Center.

On top of that, the governor wants to dip into $8 million in federal funds the county has secured for mental health, jail counseling, public health--and even the DARE drug education program.

Ventura is one of the leaders in using the federal program, which brings in $500 million across the state. Wilson’s proposal would keep as much as $165 million of that before passing it on to the counties.

“They will be taking our federal dollars,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee said in disbelief.

“How do they do this?” Supervisor Vicky Howard asked. “What is the mechanism?”

“It has to pass through their hands,” Wittenberg said. “That’s the problem.”

Wilson announced the proposed cuts Monday, asserting that the federal government had backed him into a corner by refusing to pay its share for illegal immigrants.

Wittenberg said the governor was actually responding to a recent meeting with New York City bond counselors, who refused to lend California any more money until the state reduces a deficit that is estimated at $4 billion.

“The reason he is scrambling is the state can’t pay its bills in July,” Wittenberg told the board.

Wilson’s problems were confounded when his staff members revealed Tuesday that they made a $2.7-billion accounting error in the budget released a day earlier.

But efforts to cut the state’s deficit could only exacerbate Ventura County’s shortfall. Ranked high by independent consultants assessing fiscal responsibility, the county nonetheless is facing a $16-million deficit at the end of the budget year in June.

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That deficit arose, Wittenberg said, in large part because of the state’s demand for local real estate tax money. Also, he added, the county board committed $24 million in sales tax revenue from Proposition 172 to law enforcement, following the mandate of voters who approved the new tax.

Other counties, however, used the revenue to make up for the money paid to the state.

Supervisors indicated no willingness to back away from their commitment.

“We are pretty well locked into a whole section of the budget, the criminal justice system, that we don’t want to cut,” Kildee said. “That means the cuts will have to come from the rest of the budget.”

Wittenberg said he had planned to recommend before the board’s budget hearing next week that it spend $8 million in existing funds and cut another $8 million from future spending.

But now, Wittenberg said, he does not know how large a deficit the county will face. “We have to go on a very severe and difficult course,” he said.

He took the first step Tuesday morning, asking county Mental Health Services Director Randall Feltman to withdraw a proposal that would have cost another $331,000.

Feltman agreed to go ahead with plans for turning the county department into the Medi-Cal manager for all Ventura County clients using county or private mental hospitals. But he will not receive funds for four additional employees to administer the managed-care plan.

“We’ve got to stop (spending on) all the new programs,” Wittenberg said. “As creative as people have been, we simply don’t have the money.”

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The issue rose again as the board considered hiring 12 new employees for Casa Pacifica, a new emergency shelter and residential-care center for abused children.

“It’s a wonderful program, but the timing could not be worse,” Wittenberg said.

Already, state cuts in foster-care funding have forced the county to pay $711,500 annually for the center, built with public and private funds.

County supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday to support the new center, but acknowledged that they would look for new ways to fund the yearly expenses.

County department heads acknowledge they are bracing for further budget cuts. James Isom, director of the Public Social Services Agency, said he has submitted a budget calling for a 2% reduction, but now expects a 15% to 20% loss.

The federal government requires his agency to provide services for all but two of the agency’s programs, veterans services and the ombudsman for the homeless. “Those are the programs that are going to get hit,” he said.

Public Health Officer Gary Feldman said he has delayed announcing new initiatives until he is sure the county can afford them. His agency could be particularly hard hit if the state takes the federal funding designated for human services agencies. In recent years, those funds have paid all the administrative costs for public health.

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“The governor takes the money, and there’s no compensation for the costs,” Feldman said.

It is particularly ironic since California’s counties discovered the funding source and had to persuade the state to help them obtain the money, said Barbara Fitzgerald, deputy director of the social services agency.

Under Senate Bill 910, the state agreed to serve as a conduit, passing the money from the federal government to the counties. The counties agreed to pay the state’s administrative costs.

Now the state wants to take a larger share--as much as a third of the funds coming from the federal government.

Supervisor Howard suggested that the board write to federal and state lawmakers, alerting them of the cuts that could hit Ventura County particularly hard.