Supervisors Seek Cutback Strategy : Budget: Leaders looking for the right combination of cuts and reserve spending.

Ventura County leaders would have to slash as many 124 jobs from county government to keep their promise to spare law enforcement from further cuts and still eliminate a budget deficit approaching $20 million.

Or they could cover the entire deficit by hitting their $23.5-million reserve fund and avoid the painful cuts altogether.

Tempting as that alternative sounds, all five members of the Board of Supervisors said Monday they have no intention of wiping out most of their reserves in a single year. Rather, they are looking for the right combination of budget cuts and reserve spending to balance the 1994-95 budget.

They hope to make this year’s reductions part of a three-year downsizing plan that could reduce the budget in an orderly fashion and eliminate the panic that has overtaken county government every July in recent years.

“This is a better approach than whacking off the top, and that’s what we’d be doing” under an 18% cut proposed for most county agencies, Supervisor John K. Flynn said.

Under that proposal, officials said Monday, the county’s poorest residents would lose access to cataract operations or dialysis treatment. Six parks could be shut down. And a program helping war veterans could be eliminated.

Only the criminal justice departments would be spared in the reductions, which could save some $9 million to $12 million in spending while eliminating the 124 jobs. Last year’s budget cuts, which affected public safety workers, sliced 200 jobs from the county payroll.

Despite the deep cuts proposed, the supervisors would still not reach their goal of cutting $15 million from the $880-million spending plan.

“Where is the rest of the money going to come from?” Supervisor Maria VanderKolk asked. “How are we going to get through this without touching public safety?”

In March, the board pledged to spend $24 million in Proposition 172 sales tax revenue to expand the criminal justice agencies, chiefly the sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices. That money, combined with $83 million in county funds already committed to public safety, would restore all cuts made to the departments since 1990.

Now, faced with $10 million in unexpected state cuts, some board members want to reduce spending for the criminal justice agencies.

But Sheriff Larry Carpenter and Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury argue that the supervisors would be breaching the trust of the voters, who approved Proposition 172 with the understanding that the money would be spent only on public safety.

Flynn agrees with that reasoning. “I think the voters have told us what to do,” he said after Monday’s meeting.

But his colleagues argue that without any cuts from public safety, the rest of the county agencies would have to bear 18% cuts. That could mean:

* Ventura County Medical Center would take its $1-million cut in services to the poor. Low-income patients would no longer receive open-heart surgery, cataract operations or dialysis treatments.

* Recreational Services would close or begin charging fees at six local parks, including Saticoy, Oak View, El Rio, Casitas Springs, Piru and Nyeland Acres. Six larger parks could close or be leased to private agencies.

* The Animal Regulation Department would shut down its Simi Valley Holding Facility and cut the workers who now handle livestock, marine mammal and wildlife calls.

* The Public Social Services Agency would shut down its veteran services office and eliminate the four staff jobs there.

* The Medical Examiner’s office would lay off four of its nine employees, including two coroner investigators and two workers on the pathology staff.

“Can we exempt public safety, when at the same time we are decimating the other departments?” Supervisor Maggie Kildee asked Monday. She said later she is undecided whether public safety cuts will be necessary.

“That,” said Supervisor Vicky Howard, “is going to be the last resort, as far as I’m concerned.”

The supervisors urged budget analysts to come forward with information on a variety of alternatives, including offering early retirement and reduced health benefits for county employees; folding smaller agencies into larger departments; and sending workers home for three to four days without pay.

Supervisors will receive information on these proposals today, along with details of a possible three-year downsizing plan.

Under that proposal, proposed by Flynn, board members would direct agencies to reduce spending to a certain level or cut entire programs over a period of time. By dipping into reserve funds in the meantime, the cuts could be done in a “thoughtful and humane” fashion, Flynn said.