Workshop on County Budget Is Tonight

County officials will usher in a month of budget deliberations tonight by holding a public workshop designed to explain the county’s $3.6-billion spending plan.

The budget maintains county services at their present level and does not repeat the massive cuts in department spending that occurred last year as the county struggled to recover from its December 1994 bankruptcy.

Orange County emerged from bankruptcy in June by selling $800 million in bonds and using the proceeds to pay off creditors. But the 1996-97 fiscal year budget still bears the mark of the bond crisis: The county will spend $77.9 million on debt service this year compared to $7.3 million in 1995.

Board of Supervisors approved a preliminary 1996 budget in June. At the time, some supervisors raised concerns about the roughly 100 new positions it would create. The board adopt a final budget in September.

A revised budget workbook released last week listed more than $100 million in additional funding requests that county department heads hope the Board of Supervisors will consider during upcoming hearings.

But budget officials said little additional money is available to fund the requests. Moreover, some supervisors said they want to spend any excess funds to retire county debts early and avoid hefty interest payments.

The budget workshop runs from 7 to 9 tonight at 1501 E. St. Andrew Place in Santa Ana. A second workshop runs from 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Century High School in Santa Ana.