County Departments Get List of Possible Budget Cuts

Looking to erase a projected $38-million deficit over the next two years, Ventura County supervisors Tuesday gave department managers a list of potential budget cuts and asked them to analyze the potential impact on services and programs.

The preliminary budget plan calls for cuts ranging from less than 1% in some small departments, such as animal regulation, to a whopping 38% in the health-care agency and 25% in welfare services. The Ventura County Medical Center would also have its budget reduced by 29%.

“It goes without saying that these will not be the final cuts,” Supervisor Susan Lacey said. “There are still a lot of things that need to be decided.”

Under the preliminary budget plan, those departments with the greatest amount of overspending would suffer the largest cuts, said Supervisor Frank Schillo, who along with board colleague John Flynn drafted the plan.

“That’s the way it should be,” Schillo said. “To me, across-the-board cuts are not acceptable.”

Under the plan, other departments and agencies including the resource management agency, assessor, auditor-controller, personnel, chief administrator’s office--even the Board of Supervisors--would incur cuts ranging from 11% to 19%.

Also, the budget plan calls for the county to extend the pay-back period on the $207-million debt owed on its employee pension plan from 13.5 years to 30 years.

Flynn said this alone could save the county more than $3 million this year. But he said this would eventually cost the county more money to spread its debt over a longer period.

“It’s a way to help us with our immediate problem,” Flynn said. “But we’re going to pay more for it in the long haul. In the long run, we’re going to pay several million dollars using this change in the amortization schedule.”

Board Chairwoman Maggie Kildee said she was reluctant to support the stretched-out payments. “My concern is that we’re not really cutting back on what we’re spending,” she said.

But Flynn and Schillo said that once the county has balanced its budget, expected by 1997, it could make advance payments toward the county’s retirement system. These advance payments, they said, would reduce the added costs of the extended payments.

“I think that’s a sound plan,” Schillo said.

The board directed department heads to report back on the proposed budget cuts later this month.

“All we’re trying to do is give some direction so we can get people working (on the budget) today, so we can get moving,” Kildee said.

Although she agreed that the final cuts will probably not mirror those in the preliminary plan, Kildee warned that the board will have little choice but to make some deep cuts in programs and services.

“As difficult as it is, we have to make real cuts,” she said. “It’s important that we don’t pretend we’re not going to have to do that.”