Cuts cause safety fear

Local lawmakers said they approved of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commitment to cutting state spending, made as he unveiled his budget proposal last week at a Sacramento news conference. But as they prepared to cut spending, city and school officials braced for impact.

Schwarzenegger proposed cutting about 10% of the state budget across the board during a Sacramento news conference Thursday, in a move he hopes will make up for the state’s $14.5-billion deficit.

Some of the more controversial cuts include closing 48 state parks — about 20% of them — releasing 35,000 nonviolent inmates determined to be “low risk,” and significant cuts for education, which may include suspending Proposition 98, a measure intended to maintain certain minimums for state education funds. Local state-run beaches, including Huntington, Bolsa Chica, Doheny and San Clemente State Beach, would also face lifeguard reductions under the governor’s plan.

Mayor Debbie Cook said she expected shortfalls from a slowing economy to trickle down to Huntington Beach, and the resulting debate might not be easy.

“People generally know how to prioritize, but they don’t know how to implement their priorities,” she said. “A lot of these issues become emotional, and then all of a sudden priorities go out the door.”

Huntington Beach City School District Supt. Roberta DeLuca said her staff was well aware of the proposed cuts, but it was far too soon to react to something that could change significantly in the legislature.

“We really need to find out further what it all means,” she said. “He has to go to the state legislature to go into the fiscal emergency session. It’s really very premature.”

State Sen. Tom Harman took issue with Schwarzenegger’s across-the-board approach, calling some functions like public safety too important to cut. He said he strongly opposed releasing prisoners early.

“I’m concerned about his approach,” he said. “I like the idea of cutting spending, but not using a meat-ax approach and cutting 10% from everything. It’s not one-size-fits-all.”

Assemblyman Jim Silva spoke of similar concerns, worrying about cutting education too much and opposing any early release of prisoners.

“I’d like to see some major cuts made,” he said. “It’s nice to say ‘across the board,’ but I don’t think we should be cutting education until other programs get cut, like social programs that have been earmarked for the big cities.”

Another common thread: no new taxes. Both the governor and his legislative allies insisted the new budget should not include a tax increase, and expressed doubt the Democrats would try to pass such a measure.

Some also expressed tentative interest in the governor’s perennial proposal to amend the state constitution and tie state spending with projected revenue.

Harman joined calls for no new taxes but warned against some increased fees in the governor’s budget, saying they amounted to the same thing.

“We can solve this problem without a tax increase,” he said. “The governor says we can, and I think we can. But he’s got to be candid about it. A fee on property insurance — that’s a tax.”

Silva said he and fellow Republicans would not support any new taxes, so cutting spending was the only solution.

“The state of California doesn’t have money for everything,” he said. “You don’t spend your rent money on a ski boat and get evicted because you didn’t pay.”

For now, the plan will go before legislators for approval. The adoption of a state budget requires a supermajority — 2/3 of the body — to pass, giving the Republican minority significant leverage.