Lobbying Trip Leaves Supervisors Discouraged : Budget: State cuts would cost the county nearly twice as much as forecast. The loss would come on top of a $16-million shortfall already projected.

A lobbying trip to Sacramento left Ventura County leaders more discouraged than ever about state cuts that could strip as much as $10 million from the county budget.

“Probably yesterday’s meeting with our legislators was the most depressing that we have ever had,” Supervisor Vicky Howard said Thursday after a one-day trip to the state Capitol.

“They look at their situation and feel that they are worse off than we are. They will take funds wherever they can get them.”

In past years, the Legislature has scaled back some of its most severe proposals and spared Ventura and other counties from painful cuts. This year’s trip, however, brought news that Gov. Pete Wilson’s latest cost-cutting initiatives would cost the county nearly twice as much as earlier forecast.

That $10-million loss would come on top of a $16-million shortfall county leaders have already projected for the coming year’s budget.

Compounding the problem, Ventura is one of five counties statewide affected by three of the governor’s newly proposed cuts.

Under his plan, the state would seize more property tax revenues, take money back from county hospitals, and grab federal funds that counties use for human services.

“We have become what we call a ‘three strikes, you’re out’ county,” Howard told her fellow board members.

The only glimmer of hope, she added, is a legislative effort aimed at limiting the damage done to any one county.

Yet Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) and Senate Speaker Pro Tem Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria), seemed interested in the proposal that would affect Ventura, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Mateo and San Luis Obispo counties.

Legislators were less receptive to complaints that the brunt of the budget cuts fall on counties, not on city governments.

“There was a clear acknowledgment that what was happening wasn’t right, but there was also the acknowledgment that it’s easier to hurt the county than the cities,” said Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, who was part of Wednesday’s lobbying trip. “The cities have a louder voice and (they) just don’t want to deal with it.”

But county cuts could begin affecting city residents, said Supervisor Susan Lacey.

“The folks who are not going to get services are folks who live in cities. At some point, this isn’t going to work anymore,” she said. “If you live in a city, the number of people we could end up actually laying off could really hurt the economy. It’s going to hurt the economy of the cities, not just the county.”

Earlier this week, the supervisors asked its department heads to prepare budgets that reflect an 8% cut or an 18% cut, if law enforcement agencies were left untouched. In a daylong hearing Thursday, they began learning how agencies would suffer under another round of cuts.

Animal Regulation Director Kathy Jenks stressed that her staff is already stretched thin. Recently, one animal regulation officer had to deal with roosters from a Piru cock fight, injured seals on the beach and a horse on the highway all in the same afternoon.

Resource Management Director Thomas Berg said one option might be closing a county office in Simi Valley that allows east county residents to process permits without driving to Ventura. The proposal that produced glares from several supervisors.

Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail offered to have his staff take over custodial duties for his department rather than cut personnel. “We’re willing to empty our own trash, vacuum our own floors, clean our own bathrooms,” he said.

Several department managers complained of the internal fees they must pay other county agencies for cleaning, data processing and other tasks. The board agreed to address these agencies in their budget hearing Tuesday afternoon.