Supervisors Allot $1.4 Billion During Budget Hearings

County supervisors tentatively approved $1.4 billion in spending Tuesday for the current fiscal year, including $20.3 million to plan how to integrate commercial airline operations at John Wayne Airport and the El Toro Marine base when it is abandoned by the military in 1999.

The action came during the second of three days of public hearings on the $3.7-billion 1997-98 budget, which focused on public protection, environmental resources and other government services.

While reviewing the County Jail budget, Supervisor Jim Silva convinced his colleagues to order a study of the costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants. He estimated that as much as $12 million is spent to house illegal immigrants in county jails, with another $6 million in probation costs.

The other supervisors agreed to Silva’s proposal, but only after Supervisor Todd Spitzer, a former deputy district attorney, succeeded in getting the public defender’s office excluded from the study. Defendants have a constitutional right to counsel, regardless of residency status.

The budget hearings conclude today with presentations on the county’s proposed capital improvements and debt service for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Increases in the budget for airport planning received the most attention Tuesday, though a controversial $6-million price boost came from two contracts that supervisors approved with 3-2 votes in July.

Supervisors Thomas W. Wilson and Todd Spitzer, whose South County constituents are generally opposed to a commercial airport at El Toro, questioned why the planning budget ballooned from the $13.9 million estimated in June to $20.3 million.

“Whatever the cause, I’m astonished to no end,” Wilson said. “This is not an anti-airport or pro-airport issue. How can a county fresh out of bankruptcy prudently take on a $20-million program for anything?”

Spitzer said the fact that costs could rise $6 million in the span of weeks is one reason South County residents don’t trust the county’s planning process.

“No taxpayers want to give the airport planning process a blank check,” Spitzer said.

The cost surge results largely from two of three contracts originally estimated at $5.2 million but actually totaling $11.1 million after negotiations, said Courtney Wiercioch, in charge of the airports’ master-planning process for the office of County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier.

“We did the best [estimate] we could with the information we had,” Wiercioch said.

She said county staff had been unable to find a comparable project elsewhere in the country and were thus unable to compare notes on what the final costs would be.

Silva noted that both Wilson and Spitzer had supported additional requirements for the master-plan contract that raised its cost. At Wilson’s request, the board added a base flight demonstration that will cost $2 million; another $1 million was added to the second contract to allow a coalition of South County cities to plan a non-aviation use for the base.

Supervisor Charles V. Smith said the $20-million cost is reasonable for planning what will eventually be a $1.4-billion project to integrate John Wayne Airport and commercial reuse of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Voters approved a future commercial airport for El Toro in two countywide votes.

The planning funds will come from federal airport money and base-reuse grants from agencies like the U.S. departments of Labor and Commerce and the state’s Trade and Commerce Department. So far, the county has received about $4.1 million in federal grants for El Toro planning costs.

In other budget-related actions Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors:

* Approved $628 million in spending for public protection, including the Sheriff’s Department, marshal’s office, district attorney’s office and county courts. Of that cost, $110.5 million will come from locally generated tax dollars.

* Approved $533 million for environmental resources, including public facilities, parks and recreation, the landfill system and county roads. Only $5.7 million will come from local tax money; the bulk is covered by fees and other revenue.

* Approved $276 million in spending for other government services, including the auditor-controller’s and the treasurer-tax collector’s. The board refused a request by Assessor Bradley L. Jacobs for another 14 positions because he has refused to apply for a state grant that would pay for the workers.