2 Supervisors Offer Cuts of $25 Million

Two Ventura County supervisors are proposing to shave millions of dollars from a mounting budget deficit largely by eliminating hundreds of jobs, dipping into reserves and reducing financial support for county health services over the next two years.

The proposal by Supervisors John K. Flynn and Frank Schillo calls for the formation of a cost-cutting team to reduce the county’s work force by 300. It also proposes to use $14 million in reserve funds to reduce the county deficit, and to cut the county’s contribution to the Health Care Agency by $1.5 million.

Schillo said the proposal, which includes a wide range of other cost-saving measures, would cut spending by an estimated $25 million. He said he considers the proposal to be a starting point for discussion, and he is open to other suggestions.

“There may be a dumb idea or two in there--prove it to me,” he said.

Flynn said he and Schillo came up with the proposal because they want the board to take a greater role in making final budget decisions, instead of relying too heavily on staff.

“It’s time that the elected officials take charge of such things as budgets,” Flynn said.

But board Chairwoman Maggie Kildee said she was “sort of dumbfounded” to get the letter, since she and Schillo met Monday with county officials to discuss budget matters and he did not mention it.

Kildee said she also was surprised because the board is scheduled to discuss the budget at its April 18 meeting, at which time county departments will be told how much to expect their budgets to be cut next year.

That figure has not been determined, Kildee said, because the size of the deficit has not been nailed down yet. County financial officers have estimated the deficit at $46 million, while Flynn and Schillo said they believe the figure is closer to $38 million.

Both supervisors and staff will hold a number of meetings before April 18 to determine the extent of the county’s fiscal crisis and how best to deal with it, Kildee said.

Flynn said he believes staff members have too much control over financial decisions. He also accused supervisors of moving too slowly on budget issues.

“The board just needs some direction, and . . . we’re not moving quickly enough,” he said. “We’re not addressing the key issue here, and that’s the deficit.”

Schillo, however, took a more conciliatory approach in explaining his role in devising the cost-cutting plan.

“John Flynn and Frank Schillo are not the only two people on this board who are concerned about (the deficit) and have been coming up with ideas to work on this,” Schillo said. “But I have a sense of urgency to get this thing going.”

The proposal, which will be discussed by the board Tuesday, recommends taking $14 million out of reserve county funds to go toward deficit reduction, leaving $13 million in reserve accounts.

The plan also calls for the elimination of about 5 percent of the county’s work force, through attrition and possible layoffs. That figure is somewhat arbitrary, Schillo conceded, but it “seems comfortable, although I can’t say which people would go or which jobs.”

The budget for major maintenance projects, such as roof repairs, would be cut in half to about $2 million under the cost-cutting proposal. The county’s contribution to the Health Care Agency, which runs the county hospital, would be reduced $1.5 million under the plan. The county contributes $5.5 million annually to the hospital budget.

Flynn and Schillo also advise looking into a sheriff’s proposal to save $1 million by allowing certain sentenced prisoners to wear electronic monitors and live at home.

The supervisors’ budget-cutting proposal also suggests placing controls on travel expenditures, long distance telephone calls and use of cellular phones.