More Money, Workers Will Be Needed to Meet O.C. Needs, Reports Say

As it struggles to recover from bankruptcy, the county government will need more money and more employees to handle the increasing needs for law enforcement, health and social services, according to detailed reports released Monday.

The sobering conclusion comes from business plans that each of the county’s departments and agencies has been developing over the last year.

The plans cited efforts to keep costs down and improve efficiency, but they also stressed the need for additional resources to face challenges ranging from a larger elderly population to more violent juveniles.

Among the most acute needs were cited by public protection agencies. The Sheriff’s Department, for example, said it will need tens of millions of dollars to complete a 1,000-bed expansion at the Theo Lacy Branch Jail and move forward on a proposed expansion of the James A. Musick Branch Jail.

Sheriff Brad Gates said both projects are needed to reduce jail overcrowding, which results in the early release of inmates. Another high-priority project is construction of the Saddleback Sheriff’s Station in Lake Forest to serve rapidly growing South County communities.

The Probation Department expects demand for Juvenile Hall beds to exceed 800 a day by 2000. Juvenile Hall was designed for 374 inmates but currently houses 450 to 500 on any given day. An expansion of the hall and construction of an additional detention facility--perhaps in the South County--will be needed, the department said.

Probation officials also said added security is needed to deal with increasingly violent inmates.

The Marshal’s Department said the courthouse in Santa Ana is in desperate need of an airport-style security system to detect weapons. Such a system would cost several hundred thousand dollars to purchase and operate.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi is seeking funds for construction of a new wing of the courthouse that would house the district attorney’s office and the Orange County Grand Jury. The wing would cost about $42 million.

Beyond law enforcement, other county departments also expressed needs for more resources, especially after suffering 5% to 40% budget cuts during the county’s bankruptcy.

The auditor-controller’s office said it is “having difficulty” completing some types of financial reports and other functions because of funding shortages. The office of internal audits said more staffing would allow them to perform more audits more frequently.

The Social Services Agency said it could require substantial funding increases depending on how the state Legislature and Gov. Pete Wilson finalize welfare reform.

The business plans were released two days after a weekend Board of Supervisors retreat, during which supervisors discussed the need to hold down costs as the county continues its emergence from bankruptcy.

Several supervisors said they favored using any available funds for early repayment of bankruptcy-related debts rather than increasing department budgets.