‘We Are Innocent Victims’ : As Layoffs Loom, County Workers Are Angry, Worried and Frustrated

The county has always told its employees they were one big family, but when the heads of the household announced layoffs Thursday, that close-knit clan began to disintegrate.

“This ‘county family’ crap is totally unreal,” said Robert D. Wilberg, a union activist who works as a groundskeeper for the county parks. “We’re not a family. We’re the workers.”

Donna Baird, who oversees a staff of 12 in the tax collector’s office, implored her people not to panic. Privately, she was hopping mad.

“We want to form a group and see that the Board of Supervisors is put out in the streets!” she said, as a co-worker nodded vigorous assent. “We are innocent victims, sitting over here doing our jobs. And now we’re done?”

The supervisors tried to cushion the blow by repeatedly reminding employees that it was time for the “county family” to make sacrifices. But no one knew which of the 16,000 employees would lose their jobs as supervisors slash $40.2 million in salaries over the next six months.

The move comes three weeks after the supervisors say they were forced to declare bankruptcy because of a crisis that is siphoning $10 million a month from county coffers.

“This is just a drop in the bucket,” said Larry Bales, who has 26 years with the assessor’s office. “Aw, you haven’t seen nothing yet.”

“They need to start cutting management . . . who make a lot more money than us peons,” said Lisa Williams, 28, a receptionist in the auditor-controller’s office. Williams was especially fearful because she recently gave birth prematurely and faces massive medical bills that are only partly covered by insurance.

“I’m going to keep a good attitude, to try and serve the public the best I can and keep going,” said Crystal Jacklin, 30, who has worked in the tax collector’s office for six months.

Laid-off workers will be the first to feel the pinch. In time, everything and everyone will be touched by the county’s financial free-fall. The cutbacks will affect all county services, from parks and beaches to waste disposal and law enforcement.

In the courts, Presiding Orange County Superior Court Judge James L. Smith said administrators will look everywhere for extra dollars. But cutbacks will inevitably weaken the county’s ability to provide legal defense for the poor. Shorthanded public defenders will now have to assume a greater burden.

“By golly, if someone can come in here and tell me how the public defender’s office is going to do $3.7-million more worth of work with the same resources, it will be the modern-day equivalent of the fishes and loaves miracle,” Smith said.

At least one union official--who represents 70% of county workers--tried to remind the supervisors of their employees’ longstanding loyalty.

“A dark day in the county has just been made darker by the Board of Supervisors,” said John H. Sawyer, general manager of the Orange County Employees Assn. “I’m shocked and disappointed that the county would treat its employees so cavalierly. This is the most destructive action the board could take.”

But moments after supervisors enacted the cuts, over Sawyer’s protests, word began to spread that the ax was looming.

“I called my kids up,” Bales said. “I got two kids in college, and I said, ‘Well, you may not be going to school next semester. You may not have a car.’ I’ve been trying to get my kids to pay attention to the fact that this may happen.”

Rather than fear, most employees said their first reaction was bitter resentment toward the supervisors and former Treasurer Robert L. Citron, widely blamed for the risky strategy that led to a $2.02-billion loss in the county’s investment pool.

“Why is it that no one is interested in the justice of this?” asked a longtime recorder’s office employee, who declined to give his name for fear of jeopardizing his job.

“There are only five to six people who had authority over Citron, and they seem to be the only people emerging intact,” he said. “I accept responsibility for my actions and I’m wondering why I have to accept responsibility for theirs.”

Outside the Hall of Administration, four employees from the treasurer’s office sat waiting to hear some news about the layoffs. One woman, who asked that her name not be used, scanned a document outlining the salary cuts and said: “What a merry Christmas.”

Ken Carlson, a county mechanic for 15 years, said: “They (the supervisors) should all be fired. . . . This whole thing is ridiculous. Now I’ve got to go back to my shop and tell the guys the bad news.”

Job Cut Overview

The county layoff procedure will involve evaluating both job performance and actual need for the position. In some cases, individuals will be laid off; other scenarios include closing entire offices.

* Health, safety, welfare and other essential services will not face drastic layoffs.

* Employees with special skills or unique knowledge necessary to county operations will not be laid off.

* Departments may close or consolidate entire divisions or units.

* Layoffs will be based on employment status, performance reviews and length of county service.

* Temporary and probationary employees will be among the first laid off.

* Notices will be delivered by mail or in person two weeks before the effective date.

* Regular and recently promoted employees may seek lower-level jobs in lieu of layoffs.

LAYOFF POINT SYSTEM

The layoff order will be computed according to a point system. Workers with few demerits and high seniority will be among the last to go.

REHIRING PROCESS

For two years, the county will keep a list of employees who have been laid off or moved to lower-level jobs.

* Those laid off last will be the first rehired.

* Rehired personnel may be reinstated at or below their previous level of employment.

* Benefits accrued before layoff will be restored, including sick leave and seniority.

Source: Orange County Operations Management Council; Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times