Hufford Outlines Proposed Cuts in Budget

Chief administrator Harry Hufford on Monday proposed a $1-billion budget that would end Ventura County’s years-long habit of overspending and drawing on reserves to make up the balance, a commitment he made to the Board of Supervisors when they hired him this year.

But the tough-love fix could be a bitter pill for some to swallow.

To shave $12.4 million from projected spending, Hufford has taken on Sheriff Bob Brooks and Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, proposing $5.5 million in reductions to their departments, the probation agency and the public defender’s office.

Hufford is also recommending that supervisors change the funding formula governing Proposition 172, the half-cent public safety sales tax, that would result in those four agencies receiving $5 million less than expected in the coming year. Brooks warned the plan could mean cutting 38 deputies from the force countywide.

Hufford’s proposed cuts include an array of programs, including a $2.6-million reduction to mental health services and the closure of three of the county’s public health clinics. Shuttering the Piru Medical Clinic, the Magnolia Family Health Center in Oxnard and the Sierra Vista Family Medical Clinic in Simi Valley would save the county about $1 million next year, Hufford said. Signs were to be posted at those clinics immediately to notify patients of the possible closures.

“Do I enjoy cutting services? Not particularly,” said Hufford, who today along with agency and department heads will formally present the plan to supervisors. “But my job is to present a balanced budget. This is serious stuff. We don’t want to hear the same thing next year, that the budget is out of control.”

As the county began to feel the pinch of last year’s $15-million settlement with the federal government over improper Medicare billing and $10 million more in associated costs, many administrators said they knew cuts were coming.

The recent downgrading of the county’s long-term bond rating--and Wall Street’s admonition to rein in spending practices--only solidified that prospect.

*

“It really doesn’t surprise me,” said Debra Shay, the office manager at Magnolia Family Health Center, where about 1,300 patients, largely low-income Latino women, receive gynecological and other health services.

“With all these things going on--the $15-million settlement--something was going to be cut,” Shay said. “But we serve the poor and underserved. They’re probably going to go, ‘Oh my gosh, where do we go now?’ We’re the only women’s clinic in this area.”

Overall, the county budget actually grew 11.7% over the previous year, the result of higher revenue flowing from property taxes and state and federal funding. And almost every department is recommended to receive more money this year, Hufford said. But guaranteed employee pay raises and inflationary costs eat up those increases, so the cuts he is proposing amount to reductions in services to the public.

In a memo accompanying the budget, Hufford said his plan is not a “cry-wolf” scenario but a realistic plan based on money the county can count on. County residents could wait longer for service from animal control, surveyors and property assessors, according to the budget plan, and fees could increase slightly for agricultural inspections and building permits.

The public defender’s office would lose one of its two Spanish-speaking interpreters. And at least 49 positions in departments across the county’s 7,500-employee force would be eliminated by closing out vacant positions. The job vacancy rate is now 11%.

Supervisors generally were supportive of the plan, although some said they would push to restore funds to health care or public safety.

“We’ve known since January that it was going to be a tough budget year for us,” said board Chairwoman Kathy Long. “The agencies need to understand the board is behind Harry on this.”

Hufford suggested some cuts may be spared. By the time final budget hearings begin--the first is scheduled for 6 p.m. June 26--the county should know how much additional funding it will get from the state. Sacramento lawmakers are preparing this week to send their plan to Gov. Gray Davis for his approval.

Hufford predicted a yield of about $3 million from a combination of state money, increased county property tax collections and the possibility of some spare change left on June 30 at the close of this budget year.

At the same time, the city of Ventura recently announced plans to withhold the sales tax it pays the county each year for services the county provides to city residents. If other cities join that effort, it could cost the county $2.6 million a year.

“It’s two steps forward and one step back,” Hufford said. “That could take all the revenue, just like that.”

Warnings from the investment community bolstered Hufford’s resolve not to build any of the county’s share of a national tobacco lawsuit settlement--about $15.3 million in the coming year--into his spending plan. He urged supervisors not to give in to temptation, even for the sake of bolstering health care programs.

Credit rating agencies consider the money an unreliable source that could dry up in a year or two, as tobacco companies face more costly lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Ventura-based Community Memorial Hospital hopes to turn the estimated 25-year tobacco payout of $260 million over to private hospitals through passage of a November ballot initiative. If voters approve that initiative, the county could have to pay back a portion of what it has spent.

Supervisors Frank Schillo and Judy Mikels said they would agree not to touch the money.

But Supervisor John Flynn said he’d rather spend the settlement on mental health services now and roll the dice on the private hospital’s chances with its proposed initiative.

“CMH has already interfered with us enough,” he said. “They don’t need to dictate our budget. We should allocate all of it.”

*

Hufford did preserve funding for two projects: the RAIN program, which provides transitional living for the homeless; and construction of the county’s Juvenile Justice Center, which will be built by 2003 and would receive $1.3 million from Proposition 172 funds this year.

But he is proposing about $710,000 in cuts to the Human Services Agency, some of which could impact the agency’s after-hours emergency response unit, under the cuts proposed by director Barbara Fitzgerald.

The majority of the cuts to mental health could effect juvenile delinquents under a plan that would reduce counseling programs.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Spending Cuts

Ventura County’s chief administrator has proposed cutting $12.4 million from county agencies and departments to balance the budget. As the chart shows, key agencies actually are still slated to receive an increase in funds compared with last year’s budget. But those increases are eaten up by inflationary costs and guaranteed employee pay raises. Their revised budgets would amount to a reduction in services.

*--*

Preliminary Revised 1999-2000 2000-01 2000-01 Agency (in millions) (in millions) (in millions) Assessor $8.0 $8.9 $8.5 District attorney $23.0 $24.7 $24.0 Health Care Administration $81.1 $87.0 $83.4 Human Services Agency $121.2 $129.4 $128.7 Sheriff’s Department $135.9 $145.2 $141.7 Probation $30.4 $31.4 $30.4 Public defender $7.2 $8.2 $7.9 1990-2000 2000-01 Pct. change County general fund $569.3 $610.1 7.2% Overall budget $952.9 $1,060.0 11.7%

*--*

Source: Ventura County chief administrative office