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By BRETT WILKISON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Fixing Sonoma County’s budget woes could cost hundreds of county employees their jobs this year and cut more deeply into a wide array of government services, especially public safety programs.
Community policing and gang prevention efforts, correctional facilities for youth offenders and required legal representation for some criminal defendants are all on the line, officials said.
The job and program cuts, which could affect up to 13 percent of the county workforce, are potential outcomes of a preliminary budget proposal that would slash county spending at all departments by 25 percent.
Of about 500 potential job cuts, 300 could come from departments supported mainly by county funding, including primarily public safety, while the remainder would come from health and human services, transportation and public works and other departments, which are supported largely by state and federal dollars.
The county’s overall budget exceeds $1 billion, with about $377 million of that classified as county generated and controlled dollars.
Unlike cuts in recent years, most of the positions at risk are currently filled, officials said.
Sheriff Steve Freitas’ 640-member office could bear the largest of the cuts, losing up to 100 jobs, including sworn personnel. He called the plan “dramatic,” saying it would take his office “back to basic patrol functions.”
Freitas and other county leaders cautioned that the proposal was a starting point in the budget planning process, which begins today at the Board of Supervisors meeting and will stretch through June, when supervisors are set to approve a budget for the fiscal year beginning in July.
Today: Budget workshop
Feb. 15: Adjustments to current budget
April 19: 3rd quarter review and fee hearings
April 26: Decision on retirement incentives
June 1: Proposed 2011-2012 budget released
June 20-June 24: Budget hearings (and following week if needed)
Still, any final proposal along the preliminary lines would significantly reduce staffing and services in the criminal justice system, including the jails, courts and probation, law enforcement leaders said.
“We wouldn’t be able to handle the (current) caseload,” said John Abrahams, the public defender, whose 50-member office would lose up to a third, or 11, of its attorneys. “This is the beginning of an ongoing discussion.”
Already that discussion differs from preliminary proposals in the previous two years, which sought to close deficits while avoiding deep cuts to public safety.
Those moves, and a grab bag of other solutions used to close past budget gaps are either no longer sufficient or available, officials said.
“The sooner we’re able to confront this new fiscal reality, the better off we’re going to be in the long term,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Efren Carrillo, who called the coming budget year, “the worst that Sonoma County has ever faced.” Job cuts and layoffs numbering in the hundreds appear likely, he said. “That number is yet to come. Not every department is going to take that 25 percent.”
But law enforcement and justice-related departments likely will share more in the cuts than they have in previous years, county officials and others said.
In the past two fiscal years, deficits of roughly $62 million and $22 million, respectively, resulted in the elimination of nearly 300 jobs, but only about 95 layoffs. For those budgets, public safety departments were asked to take cuts of about 10 percent or less, while most others slashed 20 percent from their spending. The majority of the lost positions were vacant.
“We’ve cut so far into other programs, there’s almost nothing left but to cut into public safety,” said Ed Clites, president of the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association, which represents more than 500 employees in the Sheriff’s Office and probation department.
Also, because public safety accounts for more than half of all money from the county’s general fund — the pot filled mostly by property tax revenues — it has to account for a larger share of the cuts, officials said.
By the latest estimate, the county’s general fund, which also supports administration and fiscal services and pays for staff and programs throughout county government, is short $36 million.
The actual deficit could be higher, in excess of $42 million, if supervisors decide not to tap into special reserves.
Last year, supervisors used $11.7 million of those funds, including tobacco tax money and property tax penalties, to help close a nearly $62 million general fund budget gap.
County Administrator Veronica Ferguson has recommended the current board not touch the remaining special funds.
Other tools used to close previous budgets may also not be available, Ferguson said.
Expansion of a furlough agreement expected to save the county about $6.5 million over this fiscal year and next is unlikely because the county won’t be in contract negotiation with the majority of its employees, she said.
A freeze on staff training dollars, which saved about $1.5 million this fiscal year, is also set to expire, she said.
Two other tools, eliminating unfilled jobs first and offering a package of retirement incentives, will both be explored, Ferguson said. But cuts to the now 3,700-member workforce, which accounts for up to two-thirds of county costs, will remain the central solution, Ferguson said.
“This is a year to take a look seriously at what services we’re going to continue to deliver,” she said about the downsizing. “I think this could set the new baseline for the county.”
State and federal funding reductions and the shift of some services to local governments could compound the problems.
Chief Probation Officer Robert Ochs faces a state proposal to transfer all state youth offenders to county control. At the same time, under the county proposal, his department could lose 77 of his 290 employees, plus the Sierra Youth Center for girls, the Probation Camp for boys and a number of alternative detention programs.
The Sheriff’s Office faces a related state proposal to transfer low-level state offenders to the county jail system.
“We’ve been asked to look at what that would mean,” Ochs said of the county and state proposals. “It’s still a little too early to tell.”
District Attorney Jill Ravitch could not be reached Monday for an interview about the county proposal.
Unions are certain to oppose layoffs and press their case for more cuts where they say the savings are greatest, at the managerial level.
“We need to explore efficiencies at all levels of the organization,” said Caroline Lopez, a field representative for SEIU Local 1021, the county’s largest union, with more than 1,800 workers. “We can’t balance a budget on cuts alone.”
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@non-safety city worker
My hope is that this congress will further reduce our contributions to the U.N. and slash foreign aid.As well as demand more concessions and cooperation from those countries that take our assistance.
I understand your point,I just don’t find your criticisms to be very compelling.
@ Josh Stevens
Actually, it’s .1% not 1%, but you have a point. But even in real dollars, Japan gives more than we do. Our donations tend to be very politically motivated, and little goes to the countries that need it most. In terms of the blood that we spend, and their being ungrateful, let’s look at the record. Saddam was a jerk, and killed 10s of thousands of his own people, so we go in there and lose a few thousand of our troups and kill 100s of thousands of civilians – so which is better…? Was that really something they should be grateful about? I’m not saying that we don’t do good things abroad (I was in the Peace Corps in my younger days, and my students were very grateful), but frankly, we have a history of supporting pretty repressive governments. That seems to be getting better lately, but we have a lot of guilt on our hands from before. But back to the original point. We are the richest nation on earth, yet we do less than some other countries in actual dollars spent to help those less well off, and MUCH less than most developed countries in terms of a percentage of our wealth.
@ bear…
So apparently you didn’t catch it when Governor Schwarzenegger pointed out early on, when revenues were up, that California didn’t have a revenue problem, it had a spending problem. The same is true at the federal level.
Tax revenues are higher than ever, yet our government at all levels still runs massive deficits. Why would that be, do you suppose?
Your posturing with Bush era talking points, which were as wrong then as they are now, fails to acknowledge the real root cause of the problems before us.
This article is very upsetting. I have a daughter that is currently in the girls program at ‘Sierra Youth Center’, we have struggled for over a year and when I finally am able to find and get the help we need to get my daughter back on track, they threaten to close it down. She has been there for about two months and the changes I have seen in her are remarkable. I am finally getting my 16-year old daughter back from drugs and homelessnes and here they are saying they are getting rid of it. What are they going to do with all of these young children, throw them back out on the street? Good job…punish the ones that needs the help because the suits can’t manage the finances !!!!
@non-safety city worker
1% of US GDP is a hell of alot more than 7% of Belgium’s GDP.
Stingiest? This country has spent alot of blood and treasure helping all kinds of people around this world,many of whom are frankly ungrateful.
You need to inform yourself better.
@Joe Public
You mistakenly assert that county welfare funds are going to help “illegals” This is against the law and has been for some time. You must be a citizen to receive TANF or welfare to work or public monies. Look it up. Also why mention how much money we give to Mexico and then say this is “not about race”? If not then why single out Mexico and the money that US gives them? Especially since I believe we give more to Israel etc….
@Joe Public,
Actually, while the US may give “B”illions in foreign aid, we are one of the stingiest givers in the developed world. As a percentage of GDP, or national wealth, the US ranks last among the top 22 developed countries, giving only .1%. The United Nations has targeted .7% GDP for development assisstance… And the US is highly selective in who receives its aid – over 50% goes towards middle income countries in the middle east, not the ones who actually need it.
Dear Clueless Friends,
It’s revenues that are falling, due to republican-inspired deregulatory economic policies that resulted in criminal fraud on the part of lending institutions, banks and investment firms That’s the short list. And let’s not forget the “send jobs to China and India” policies of Clinton, Bush and democratic party invertebrates.
No indictments yet? That’s because Obama is running for a second term. Any hope of fixing this economy rests with leaders who do not expect a second term.
And let’s not forget the 9/11 fkup and the unwinnable wars that followed. Real thanks to democratic invertebrates.
But 500 fewer County jobs means way less in terms of services. “Smaller government is good?” And these employees will not be spending money at local businesses. I fail to understand why government employees are so villifed, when their money is just as good as someone employed in the private sector.
After all, anyone can with the right education and experience can apply for a public sector job. But you might discover it isn’t a lot of fun, and involves major paycheck deductions that no one seems to acknowledge.
Please also remember that so-called “public money” is divided into an almost infinite number of categories. So road money can’t be spent on public safety. And LOTS of other money can only be spent for specific purposes. Don’t believe me? Look it up. Thank your legislators.
I wonder how much of working people’s taxes the Cities, County & State is going toward “illegal” immigrants? DO NOT get “Illegal” confused with “Legal”. This country was built on legal immigration, but is falling apart partly due to Illegal immigration. Whether we’re paying to give some a helping hand or incarcerate others who help themselves in other ways, can we really afford to keep doing this for citizens of another country? We all, or at least most of us want to, held those in need, but the truth is this country has enough of it’s own to take care of. We already give Mexico and other countries “B”illions and billions of dollars every year not counting what those who come here receive. The money is vanishing along with the businesses who don’t want to get taxed out of existance and the people who have figured out that it is their money not a government’s to spend and give to the charities how they choose so they move to where they can live this way. There is no race assigned to an illegal immigrant and illegal is illegal. If I illegally entered someone else’s home and ate food paid for buy someone else then got caught, I should expect that that owner must pitch in to buy me a home of my own and maybe free college classes as well.
Missing from this article and virtually all PD articles on government budget shortfalls is any information on cause. Why? Which is one of the basic questions every journalism student learns he is expected to answer in a well-written news article.
Is revenue falling? Are expenses rising? If so, which ones. Why?
Will laying off more employees solve the problem or merely delay addressing it for another year, while core functions of government continue to decline?
We have two new supervisors. Is expecting them to bring a fresh look at what’s become the standard short-term fix–fire a few more employees–too much to ask?
At least they are thinking about it, and appear to be having an honest discussion. In the times in which we find ourselves, there can be no sacred cows.
To expand on the comment below, finding ways to flatten organizations, and eliminating multiple levels of management or administration, is a very good way to make an impact early in the process.
Government agencies need to learn to cut from the top down. It saves more money and has less impact on the general public, who, after all are paying for everything.