County Faces Cuts Under Davis Budget

Under Gov. Gray Davis’ budget plan, Ventura County government would lose $26 million in state revenue, with health and social services for the mentally ill and poor facing the largest budget cuts, officials said Tuesday.

The reductions would come on top of a $17.6-million budget deficit that prompted officials to begin belt-tightening months ago.

If the final numbers are anywhere close to projections, hundreds of county jobs would be slashed to close the gap, said County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston.

But Johnston cautioned that the state’s budget negotiations are just getting underway.

Some of the more draconian cuts proposed by Davis may be restored by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, he said.

“All of this is changing as we speak,” Johnston told the Board of Supervisors.

Budget managers have scrambled to tally the potential hit to Ventura County since the governor released his revised budget plan last week.

Davis said a weakened economy and lower tax receipts have left the state with a $23.6-billion deficit, about one-third of the general fund. He proposed a combination of tax increases, program reductions and debt refinancing to close the hole. About $1.2 billion would come in cuts to county-operated programs.

In Ventura County, the biggest dollar loss would come in health services for the poor. The county would lose $2 million from lower Medi-Cal rates and more than $6 million in special funding it receives to provide mental health services.

Combined with cuts in administrative programs, the reductions would leave the Health Care Agency with a $9.8-million revenue loss, officials estimate.

Social service programs would also see significant cuts from a 20% reduction in state funding for administrative chores.

The effect of an $8.9-million reduction could mean longer waits to sign up for public aid, delays in investigating fraud against seniors and higher caseloads for social workers, said Barbara Fitzgerald, Human Services Agency director.

If changes are not made, her agency may have to eliminate or scale back some programs, she said.

Health Care Agency chief Pierre Durand said the loss of mental health funding could necessitate a restructuring of how those services are delivered. But he said it is too early to make hard decisions.

“We are watching carefully every step [in the Legislature],” he said. “The loss is significant, but we hope that some will be put back.”

Public safety programs would take a $1.8-million cut under the Davis plan and another $6 million would come out of library funds and general government programs.

The Legislature is expected to pass a final budget sometime next month, in time for the beginning of the new fiscal year July 1. That is when the effect on Ventura County can be better assessed, Johnston said.

In the meantime, however, the Board of Supervisors must begin its own hearings on the county’s $1.1-billion budget. Those hearings are expected to begin June 17.

Uncertainty at the state level will make the budget process even more difficult, officials said.

“It’s hard to plan because we don’t know for sure which programs are going to be cut and which aren’t,” Supervisor Steve Bennett said. “It really means you have to be preparing for the worst, but also you have to maintain flexibility. So it’s important to hold some money in reserve because we don’t know for sure where we’re going to need it.”