New Twist in Budget Process

Orange County released its proposed 2000-01 budget Monday with a new twist: It is the first time officials will be held responsible for meeting set goals, with the threat of losing future funding increases if they aren’t met.

Orange County joins at least three other California counties--Santa Clara, Santa Barbara and San Diego--in including a series of performance indicators within government budgets for each department to meet.

Overall, Orange County’s bottom line hasn’t changed: The county expects to spend $4.01 billion in the fiscal year beginning July 1, a 4% increase over this fiscal year. There are 16,242 county employees, a 1.4% increase.

The difference lies in the details. Previous county budgets merely listed dollar amounts for the prior year and proposals for the coming year. The new budget workbook adds a mission statement, goals and four or five specific objectives tied to business plans drafted by each department.

For example, the Probation Department will now track the percentage of people committing new crimes while being supervised on probation, as well as the amount of restitution and fines recovered from probationers for crime victims. The results will be reported in the following year’s budget.

The new system was pushed by Supervisor Jim Silva, who joined the board just weeks after the county’s disastrous bankruptcy was declared in December 1994.

“It’s very important for taxpayers to know what they’re getting for their money,” Silva said Monday, “and this is one way to demonstrate that benefit at the same time we make county government more accountable.”

Santa Clara County was the first county in California to link its budget in 1995 to tangible results, said Mary Lou Fitzpatrick, the program’s coordinator. The change was made at the prodding of Silicon Valley businesses wanting assurances they were getting the most for their tax money.

“It’s working, probably in more subtle ways than we originally thought,” Fitzpatrick said. “This kind of culture change in an organization doesn’t happen overnight.”

In San Diego County, budget performance indicators were drafted after a review by citizen groups that evaluated each department.

Orange County focused its program not only on tracking numbers and percentages but in tracking results compared to other areas within and outside the county, said Christine Altmayer, a consultant hired 18 months ago to help develop the plan.

“What’s unique about Orange County is that they’re not just tracking the output but the outcome,” she said.

In January, Orange County released its first Annual Community Indicators Report, a report card of how the county was faring compared to other places, under headings such as child abuse reports, beach closures and crime statistics. The report card will be updated annually, said Assistant County Executive Officer Michael Ruane.

Some government watchdogs questioned whether the public truly was involved in setting the new goals, and whether poor results might be excused for a popular manager but used to punish an unpopular manager.

“As a member of the public, we feel shut out of the process completely,” said Bruce Whitaker, a member of the Committees of Correspondence, which became active in county government after the bankruptcy.

“If I worked in county government, it would be my fear that this would be another means to increase top-down control,” he said.

Ruane said the performance measures “take the personalities out” of budget evaluations.

Orange County plans two days of budget hearings this week. The budget is scheduled to be adopted June 20.

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Where the Money Goes

A look at Orange County’s 2000-01 recommended budget:

Source: Orange County