Layoffs, Service Cuts Foreseen in L.A. County

Three weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed his share-the-pain budget for the coming year, California’s largest county put a price tag Monday on its portion of the burden: a $459-million loss that could trigger more than 4,600 layoffs.

If approved by the state Legislature, the budget would rip substantial holes through Los Angeles County government. The Sheriff’s Department stands to lose $108 million, about 6% of its budget, while the Department of Parks and Recreation would lose about $24 million.

For the first time, most of the county’s 37 departments released detailed accounts showing where the program cuts might be made come July, when the final state budget is due.

Among the possible effects: The county might close parts of its five jails and release all inmates convicted of misdemeanors.

Sheriff Lee Baca could be forced to eliminate anti-gang programs, suspend search-and-rescue operations, slash homeland security and cut the number of patrol cars in unincorporated areas.

The district attorney’s office, which faces a $25-million cut, said it would eliminate divisions that specialize in prosecuting family violence, sex crimes, major fraud and organized crime. The county coroner predicted a “severe reduction” in its ability to promptly perform autopsies and recover bodies from hospitals, homes and public places.

Lifeguard patrols would be trimmed by 30% at county-run beaches -- which constitute 31 miles of coastline visited by more than 18 million people each year. Since staffing “is already at a bare minimum, this curtailment may result in very large areas of unguarded beaches,” said an official of the Fire Department, which oversees lifeguards.

David Janssen, the county’s top budget officer, said he would not recommend program cuts or layoffs until at least May, when the governor revises his budget. But he warned that after two years of belt-tightening, Los Angeles County doesn’t have much fat left to trim.

“It’s a serious problem,” said Janssen, who will present the budget report to the Board of Supervisors today. “Our departments have already made pretty significant reductions, and we’ve already used most of our undesignated reserves. We’re already at zero salary increases for our employees.”

As departments trim programs to save money, they would also lay off workers. The Probation Department said it expected to dismiss 1,693 people, and the Sheriff’s Department said it would lay off 1,314 people under the state’s budget proposal.

In Sacramento, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger said the governor had tried to shield counties from even deeper cuts by restoring some money they lost when he cut the car tax.

“Based on the need to close a $14-billion budget gap, the governor had to make a number of very difficult decisions,” said H.D. Palmer of the Department of Finance. He added that county officials are welcome to suggest alternatives.

Most of the pain for local governments stems from the governor’s plan to shift property taxes from counties and cities and toward schools. That move alone would cost the county $289 million. In addition, the governor is proposing to cut specific programs and defer payment for others.

Los Angeles County officials said they do not anticipate major cuts to health or foster-care services.

The Department of Parks and Recreation, however, stands to lose as much as 24% of its budget, which could force closure of the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and 28 swimming pools that offer free swimming for thousands of children.

Ten of the county’s 84 public libraries would have to close and the rest would see their hours cut, according to the budget report. Even building maintenance at the new Walt Disney Concert Hall would suffer. Local leaders and the county’s influential employee unions said they would use the next several months to lobby against the proposed cuts.

“We’re going to mount a strong campaign to discourage the governor and the Legislature from following through on the governor’s plan to rip off property tax revenue from local governments,” said Bart Diener, assistant general manager of Service Employees International Union Local 660. “The last time this was done in 1992, it plunged Los Angeles County into the deepest fiscal crisis in our lifetimes.”