Supervisors Stymied on Key Budget Areas

The Board of Supervisors concluded three days of budget hearings Thursday without resolving several crucial financial issues.

The most pressing concern is funding for the county’s trial courts. The proposed $3.6-billion budget would allocate enough money for the courts to operate for only nine months of the current fiscal year.

A bill now in the state Legislature would provide the county with $41 million that could keep the courts running through the end of the fiscal year. But officials said this week that the bill probably will not be signed by Gov. Pete Wilson before the legislative term ends Saturday.

Though another bill might be proposed later on, officials said, the county might have to make up for some, if not all, of the $41-million shortfall.

Another unresolved issue is funding for a new South County courthouse. At the request of Supervisor Marian Bergeson, the board directed the county’s executive officer, Jan Mittermeier, to meet with a private developer to create a plan for the $65-million project and report back in 60 days.

But the county has yet to determine how it would pay for its share of the courthouse, which would be part of a larger commercial development.

The supervisors also decided to increase the county’s contingency reserve to $12 million from $5 million. Mittermeier wanted to boost it to $22 million.

The board supported a proposal by Supervisor Jim Silva to move half of the contingency money into a fund for early repayment of debts related to the county’s 1994 bankruptcy filing.

Supervisors are set to vote on a final budget plan Sept. 26.