Supervisors OK Mittermeier’s Reorganization

A government reorganization plan that would cut 241 jobs won approval Tuesday from the Board of Supervisors despite protests from equestrians, hikers and others who fear the changes will hurt recreational services.

County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier said her proposal will save the county $11 million in administrative and overhead costs by combining departments and slashing layers of management.

The most controversial element of the restructuring calls for the Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department to be folded into a new Public Facilities and Resources Department, which will also handle public works, flood control and maintenance services.

Critics fear the merger will lessen the clout of parks managers, reduce the county’s focus on improving recreational areas and enable officials to divert parks funds for other purposes.

“Parks don’t belong with public works. It should be independent,” said Ilse Byrnes, a San Juan Capistrano resident and trails volunteer. “This [plan] will only hurt the parks.”

Other speakers, including members of the county Harbors, Beaches and Parks Commission, urged supervisors to create a separate parks department. But county officials said such a move would cost at least $1 million.

Mittermeier defended the reorganization, saying most of the cost savings will be placed back into parks, flood control and other programs facing sharp funding cuts because of the county’s 1994 bankruptcy.

Consolidation of the parks department, for example, is expected to save $2 million that could be used to build park restrooms or nature trials.

“There is no intention to harm this program, despite what other people might think,” Mittermeier said. “If you notice any difference, it will be an improvement” in service.

The new Public Facilities and Resources Department will enable engineers, maintenance employees and others who now work for one program to also do work for other programs, resulting in a need for fewer employees, she said.

Supervisors William G. Steiner and Jim Silva said they take the concerns of park users seriously and will closely monitor the new government structure to make sure parks services don’t suffer.

“I felt we should give [Mittermeier] authority to do this,” Steiner said. “But I still consider harbors, beaches and parks to be a very high priority. It’s definitely not going to be placed on the back burner.”

Also Tuesday, Supervisor Don Saltarelli’s proposal to redraw supervisorial district boundaries received a cool reception from the rest of the board, which failed to act on the item.

Saltarelli has long criticized the current supervisorial map, and in particular his 3rd District, which stretches from La Habra and Brea in the north into the South County cities of Lake Forest and Mission Viejo.

Saltarelli said the board has a rare opportunity to redraw the districts in a “nonpolitical environment” because three members--himself, Steiner and Board Chairman Roger R. Stanton--are lame ducks with no vested interest in the outcome.

Saltarelli’s plan would move Fullerton, La Habra and Brea from the 3rd District to the 4th District. The new 3rd District would take in most of Tustin, Irvine, Yorba Linda and Orange, while Mission Viejo and Lake Forest would move from the 3rd District to the 5th District.

Steiner and Silva said the three new supervisors who will join the board in January should have a voice in the redistricting effort and proposed a six-month series of public hearings on the issue.

Nonetheless, Saltarelli said he might bring his boundary changes back to the board next month.

“If we don’t do it now, it will never get done, and we’ll have to live with the horrible map,” he said. “At some point, we have to bite the bullet.”

Stanton said he wanted more time to examine Saltarelli’s proposal, but said he might consider it at a later date.