Supervisors Face Tough Decisions on Budget Deficit

As spending on everything from mental health to animal-control services has slowed in recent years, payroll costs for a growing county work force have soared.

Since 1991, total payroll--including salaries and benefits for about 5,000 general government employees--has shot up from $198.1 million to $279.8 million, according to county records.

A major part of that growth is attributed to increases in public safety personnel the past three years, from 42 new attorneys and staff members in the district attorney’s office to 340 additional sheriff’s deputies and workers at the Todd Road Jail.

Another significant factor is the roughly $6 million in pay hikes granted the past two years to managers and employees, despite the fact the county at the time was operating with a deficit.

Now the Board of Supervisors finds itself once again facing a huge budget shortfall--estimated at $17.8 million--and likely layoffs as it heads into the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The only reason supervisors have managed to avoid a major financial breakdown in the past is because they were able to draw heavily from reserves and savings to cover operating expenses.

But Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon warned the supervisors recently that county reserves have dropped to an all-time low and that the days of dodging the budget bullet are over. Reserves have plunged from $39.9 million in 1993 to $18 million today.

The board’s failure to deal with its persistent budget problems has already hurt its standing in the financial community, Mahon said. Wall Street recently lowered the county’s credit rating because of its operating deficit, a move that will make it more expensive to borrow money in the future.

If supervisors fail to make significant cuts this year, Mahon said, the county’s credit rating could be further damaged.

“We have assured the rating agencies that we will be making cuts, that we will not be using reserves,” he said. “If we fail to perform, then [the county’s credit rating] could very well be lowered again.”

The auditor said he believes layoffs are inevitable because personnel costs represent more than half of the county’s $500-million general fund budget. Despite millions of dollars in budget cuts in the past four years, he said, county departments added 545 full-time employees.

“Personnel costs are by far the single-largest expenditure in the general fund,” Mahon said in a June 9 budget report to supervisors. “Control of these expenditures is critical if the budget is to be balanced.”

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Supervisor Frank Schillo, the only board member to vote against employee pay increases during the past two years, said the consequences of those decisions have now come back to haunt the board.

“We should not be giving salary increases to people when we have a deficit,” he said. “At some time, it has to stop.”

Like Mahon, Schillo said layoffs cannot be avoided.

“It all comes down to people,” he said. “Some people are going to have to be cut.”

Barry Hammitt, director of the Service Employees International Union Local 998, which represents 4,000 county employees, said the county’s budget problems extend beyond the mere pay raises given to employees in recent years.

Hammitt places a large part of the blame on an ordinance adopted by a majority of the board in 1995 that shields the Sheriff’s Department and other public safety agencies from budget cuts. Schillo and Supervisors Judy Mikels and John K. Flynn supported the measure.

The ordinance also steers more than $30 million in sales tax money collected annually under Proposition 172 to public safety agencies. In addition to the Sheriff’s Department, these include the district attorney, public defender and corrections services agency.

While public safety has gone untouched, Hammitt said, the county has been forced to slash health-care budgets, contributions to libraries, senior nutrition programs, animal-control services and other programs to balance its books.

“If the board cuts the budget this year and lays people off and doesn’t address the Prop. 172 issue, general government is going to be left in a death spiral,” Hammitt said. “Unless they stop this obscene throwing of money at public safety, then you’re going to have an ever-shrinking pot of money to take from one [department] to feed another.”

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But Sheriff Larry Carpenter said the public safety ordinance is not to blame for the county’s budget problems. He defended the ordinance, noting that more than 47,000 residents signed a petition in support of the ordinance because they want public safety to be the county’s top priority.

“The people in this county have indicated that they are still willing to tax themselves to put deputies on the street,” he said.

Carpenter said it costs his department $14 million a year to operate the 2-year-old Todd Road Jail, which was built to help ease jail overcrowding. If the money did not come from Proposition 172, he said, then it would have to come from elsewhere in the county budget.

“Without Prop. 172, we would be worse off than we are now,” he said, adding that his department returned $4.2 million in unexpected revenues and other unspent money this year to the county general fund.

Another source of blame for the county’s financial troubles is Sacramento.

Chief Administrative Officer Lin Koester said the county is still reeling from the loss of $80 million in local property tax revenue that legislators snatched away over the past five years to help solve the state’s own fiscal problems.

Aided by a recovering economy, state lawmakers this year have promised to return at least $2.7 million to the county, not nearly enough to right its budget, officials said.

In the end, regardless of who or what is to blame, the county is still stuck with a $17.8-million deficit. Moreover, the auditor-controller is already forecasting a $10-million shortfall for next fiscal year.

So where to cut? Who to cut? And by how much?

These are the questions supervisors will be wrestling with over the next two weeks as they struggle to approve an overall $870-million spending plan for the new fiscal year.

One option presented to the board by Koester’s office is a 9.2% across-the-board departmental cut. Some officials said last week that this may turn out to be the most appealing budget solution, because it would give individual department heads the responsibility for making their own cuts.

“Everybody keeps coming up and saying, ‘My department is sacred, and you better not touch it,’ ” Schillo said. “But we can’t keep saying that we’re not going to cut anything. We’re all in the same budget boat. So maybe a 9.2% cut for everybody is the way to go.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County Employees’ Salaries and Benefits

(Figures in millions of dollars)

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1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 GENERAL GOVERNMENT Chief administrative office $2,434.0 $2,548.5 $2,442.8 Auditor-controller $3,699.7 $4,077.5 $3,727.1 County counsel $2,740.3 $2,822.1 $2,819.8 Personnel $3,310.6 $3,322.0 $3,053.2 Board of Supervisors $1,649.9 $1,679.7 $1,660.3 Assessor $5,946.6 $5,879.0 $5,403.6 Treasurer-tax collector $1,446.5 $1,527.1 $1,531.3 Other $1,439.7 $1,626.8 $1,549.8 TOTAL $22,667.3 $23,482.7 $22,187.9 PUBLIC PROTECTION District attorney $11,985.2 $12,234.5 $11,821.9 D.A. child support $6,453.5 $7,415.1 $9,449.0 D.A. workers comp. unit $0.0 $0.0 $180.9 Fish & Game prosecution $0.0 $0.0 $78.3 Public defender $4,418.2 $4,369.1 $4,376.2 Sheriff-police services $33,926.5 $34,138.9 $36,913.7 Sheriff-court services $6,375.2 $6,545.1 $6,047.3 Sheriff-detention services $16,646.7 $16,498.7 $17,350.2 Corrections services $14,951.2 $14,459.8 $15,000.5 Planning/Building & safety $4,543.5 $4,700.2 $4,590.4 Animal regulation $2,190.1 $2,085.1 $1,969.0 Other $6,529.2 $7,013.8 $6,967.8 TOTAL $108,019.3 $109,460.3 $114,745.2 HEALTH CARE Administration* $8,736.6 $1,733.1 $580.1 Medical examiner $747.1 $849.5 $780.1 Mental health $15,124.9 $17,369.1 $19,559.3 Public health $6,483.3 $4,882.5 $5,379.2 Environmental health $2,802.5 $2,873.1 $2,928.6 Other $5,196.0 $7,710.9 $8,263.7 TOTAL $39,090.4 $35,418.2 $37,491.0 PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES Administration $3,126.8 $3,391.0 $3,471.9 Adult services $3,452.7 $3,303.0 $3,451.1 Children’s services $6,021.0 $6,464.3 $6,193.7 Employment services $0.0 $0.0 $0.0 Income maintenance $14,069.3 $16,810.1 $17,671.8 Senior nutrition $785.2 $794.4 $800.2 Other $251.0 $257.1 $1,140.2 TOTAL $27,706.0 $31,019.9 $32,728.9 EDUCATION Library services admin. $111.6 $118.2 $118.0 Farm advisor $143.7 $130.9 $126.3 TOTAL $255.3 $249.1 $244.3 Special accounts, contributions $408.1 $401.1 $0.0 TOTAL GENERAL FUND $198,146.4 $200,031.3 $207,397.3

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* Health care administrative costs were transferred to various general fund and Ventura County Medical Center departments in 1993-94.

Source: Ventura County auditor-controller

County Employees’ Salaries and Benefits (continued)

(Figures in millions of dollars)

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1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 GENERAL GOVERNMENT Chief administrative office $2,613.6 $2,202.4 $2,211.3 Auditor-controller $3,606.1 $3,736.9 $3,998.1 County counsel $2,613.2 $2,383.2 $2,578.8 Personnel $2,557.5 $2,266.5 $1,649.4 Board of Supervisors $1,775.7 $1,764.3 $1,861.3 Assessor $5,189.4 $5,375.9 $6,567.0 Treasurer-tax collector $1,449.7 $1,535.7 $1,657.9 Other $1,591.9 $1,726.7 $1,582.4 TOTAL $21,397.1 $20,991.6 $22,106.2 PUBLIC PROTECTION District attorney $13,675.9 $14,248.1 $15,444.9 D.A. child support $10,443.9 $11,226.6 $11,837.0 D.A. workers comp. unit $220.9 $480.5 $504.2 Fish & Game prosecution $62.5 $77.5 $78.0 Public defender $4,861.7 $5,154.4 $5,304.3 Sheriff-police services $44,713.0 $47,463.3 $51,264.1 Sheriff-court services $0.0 $0.0 $0.0 Sheriff-detention services $27,486.3 $32,694.5 $35,349.6 Corrections services $16,405.0 $18,004.4 $18,848.0 Planning/Building & safety $4,303.9 $4,087.3 $4,235.7 Animal regulation $1,913.1 $1,863.3 $1,988.7 Other $22,535.9 $23,309.6 $24,437.1 TOTAL $146,622.1 $158,609.5 $169,291.6 HEALTH CARE Administration* $501.3 $296.7 $3,601.4 Medical examiner $812.8 $840.1 $842.5 Mental health $22,864.2 $23,063.8 $22,886.4 Public health $6,033.8 $6,567.4 $6,434.1 Environmental health $3,110.7 $3,287.7 $3,496.9 Other $8,672.4 $8,918.8 $9,350.4 TOTAL $41,995.2 $42,974.5 $46,611.7 PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES Administration $3,650.7 $3,269.9 $3,396.1 Adult services $1,309.8 $264.8 $162.7 Children’s services $6,588.5 $7,482.2 $8,460.8 Employment services $2,454.6 $2,558.8 $2,574.5 Income maintenance $18,150.3 $18,672.2 $19,035.7 Senior nutrition $782.9 $809.9 $766.4 Other $1,628.8 $2,153.6 $1,193.6 TOTAL $34,565.6 $35,211.4 $35,589.8 EDUCATION Library services admin. $140.5 $138.1 $140.6 Farm advisor $125.6 $123.6 $126.7 TOTAL $266.1 $261.7 $267.3 Special accounts, contributions $0.0 $0.0 $6,000.0 TOTAL GENERAL FUND $244,846.1 $258,048.7 $279,866.6

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* Health care administrative costs were transferred to various general fund and Ventura County Medical Center departments in 1993-94.

Source: Ventura County auditor-controller

County’s Full-Time Employees

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

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‘91-92 ‘92-93 ‘93-94 ‘94-95 ‘95-96 Chief administrative office 34 33 31 29 26 Auditor-controller 87 77 73 72 72 County counsel 37 35 34 33 32 Personnel 54 48 44 34 38 Board of Supervisors 25 25 25 25 25 Assessor 140 128 113 96 106 Treasurer-tax collector 35 34 34 32 34 Other 28 28 28 29 32 TOTAL 440 408 382 350 365

‘96-97 Chief administrative office 24 Auditor-controller 72 County counsel 31 Personnel 21 Board of Supervisors 25 Assessor 131 Treasurer-tax collector 34 Other 27 TOTAL 365

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PUBLIC PROTECTION

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‘91-92 ‘92-93 ‘93-94 ‘94-95 ‘95-96 District attorney 195 184 179 209 205 D.A. child support 165 185 292 292 271 D.A. workers’ compensation unit 0 0 0 3 3 Fish & Game prosecution 0 0 0 1 1 Public defender 60 57 57 65 65 Sheriff-police services 542 513 543 620 627 Sheriff-court services 92 92 81 88 0 Sheriff-detention services 343 331 310 467 562 Corrections services 332 314 291 347 346 Planning/Building and safety 82 82 76 62 66 Animal regulation 61 54 49 47 47 Other 164 169 161 149 150 TOTAL 2,333 2,283 2,355 2,667 2,660

‘96-97 District attorney 221 D.A. child support 270 D.A. workers’ compensation unit 6 Fish & Game prosecution 1 Public defender 69 Sheriff-police services 632 Sheriff-court services 0 Sheriff-detention services 561 Corrections services 363 Planning/Building and safety 62 Animal regulation 47 Other 148 TOTAL 2,699

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HEALTH CARE

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‘91-92 ‘92-93 ‘93-94 ‘94-95 ‘95-96 ‘96-97 Administration 251 31 10 9 3 126 Medical examiner 9 9 9 9 9 9 Mental health 334 362 390 426 439 414 Public health 169 133 114 125 133 116 Environmental health 56 53 52 55 56 56 Other 142 203 206 207 210 192 TOTAL 961 791 781 831 850 913

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PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES

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‘91-92 ‘92-93 ‘93-94 ‘94-95 ‘95-96 ‘96-97 Administration 76 81 83 81 70 70 Adult services 87 78 79 31 4 4 Children’s services 146 144 142 145 173 176 Employment services 0 0 0 59 59 55 Income maintenance 420 491 532 534 532 519 Senior Nutrition 38 38 38 37 37 33 Other 6 5 28 32 53 30 TOTAL 773 837 902 919 928 887

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EDUCATION

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‘91-92 ‘92-93 ‘93-94 ‘94-95 ‘95-96 Library service administration 1 1 1 1 1 Farm advisor 4 3 3 3 3 TOTAL 5 4 4 4 4

‘96-97 Library service administration 1 Farm advisor 3 TOTAL 4

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TOTAL GENERAL FUND

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‘91-92 ‘92-93 ‘93-94 ‘94-95 ‘95-96 ‘96-97 4,512 4,323 4,424 4,771 4,807 4,868

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Source: Ventura County auditor-controller