Politics & Government

UPDATE: Police And Fire Budget Shortfalls Reviewed

The District Attorney's Office and Fire and Sheriff's departments are together facing a $19.2 million overage in the 2010-11 fiscal year, which ends June 30.

5/4 UPDATE: Riverside County's financial position is stronger thanks to austerity measures and spending discipline -- moving the county closer to a balanced budget -- but there are plenty of challenges ahead, officials told the Board of Supervisors today.

"We're not declaring victory yet,'' said Executive Officer Bill Luna. "The board recognized the problem and took the steps necessary to manage it. Now we're seeing the fruits of that.''

In a third-quarter budget update for the 2010-11 fiscal year, the
Executive Office reported that a roughly $47 million deficit projected seven months ago had been reduced by almost half.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Small increases in property and sales tax revenue, lower labor costs and operational fine-tuning contributed to the reduction, according to the report.

Chief Financial Officer Ed Corser described the budget picture as generally "positive,'' expressing confidence that the county's double-A bond rating should hold, with no impact to its borrowing power.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The report indicated that public safety agencies were facing year-end
shortfalls totaling $19.2 million, just over half of that in the Sheriff's
Department.

Lake Elsinore and Wildomar contract their police and fire services through the county.

In a letter to the Executive Officer, Sheriff Stan Sniff asked that the
county appropriate $10 million to cover his department's lingering budget gap, largely a result of higher personnel costs tied to the opening of new jail pods at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

The board is expected to address the overage during budget hearings
slated to begin in mid-June.

Supervisor Marion Ashley advocated tapping reserve funds to eliminate a $5 million deficit in the District Attorney's Office budget.

"We shouldn't make the D.A. make up for something he didn't cause and give him a break,'' the supervisor said, alluding to the actions of D.A. Paul Zellerbach's predecessor, Rod Pacheco, who left office in December.

If the board elects not to absorb the sheriff's, D.A.'s and fire chief's
budget shortfalls by drawing down reserves, those deficits will roll over into the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The county is expected to end the current fiscal year with $184.1 million in reserves -- down from $360 million three years ago.

Outside of public safety, only the Department of Public Social Services is projecting a sizable deficit in the current fiscal year -- $5.6 million -- stemming from expanded caseloads. However, state and federal funds were expected to help the agency meet its commitments, according to the report.

Supervisor John Tavaglione, president of the California State Association of Counties, suggested putting off budget hearings until there's clarity on "where the state is going.''

Luna replied that it was pointless, saying, "We can get our job done
and then prepare for the worst.''

Questions remain about the governor's realignment plans, which call for shifting more state-run services -- such as adult parole and child welfare -- to counties. Budget analysts also weren't able to confidently estimate the potential impact of an "all cuts'' budget at the state level.

Gov. Jerry Brown has been pressing for a continuation of the elevated
tax rates established by his predecessor's 2009 emergency budget resolution.

But the idea has met resistance in the Legislature.

Brown signed bills in March that cut $11.2 billion from the state's $26
billion deficit by siphoning money from voter-created programs and cutting funds for welfare, education and taxpayer-subsidized health care services.

Going into 2011-12, the Sheriff's Department is projecting a deficit of
$26 million to $81 million without increased appropriations from the general fund.

Sniff told the board last month that he would be forced to cut up to 300 patrol and correctional deputies, deactivate special investigative units and close several facilities without more money.

Supervisor John Benoit said that non-public safety agencies had had to brook "very painful'' cuts as part of the county's three-year cost-containment strategy and exempting the Sheriff's Department from spending cuts would mean downsizing other departments further -- something he opposed.

Board Chairman Bob Buster reiterated his desire for the sheriff to provide a detailed explanation of his department's organizational structure to help the board understand how cuts will affect operations.

"A lot of assumptions are institutionalized,'' Buster said. "We need more information ... What's the actual workload of the folks out there?''

According to the third-quarter budget report, the value of the county's
property tax roll is expected to slip another half-percent in the next fiscal year. Assessed values countywide declined 15 percent over the last two years as foreclosure activity surged.

Discretionary revenue is expected to drop from $592 million this year to $582 million in 2011-12. --City News Service and Toni McAllister contributed to this report.

5/3 ORIGINAL POST: Riverside County's public safety agencies will end the current fiscal year millions of dollars over budget unless the Board of Supervisors allocates reserve funds to cover the shortfalls, according to a report the board is slated to review today.

The Executive Office's 60-page third-quarter budget update showed the District Attorney's Office and Fire and Sheriff's departments are together facing a $19.2 million overage in the 2010-11 fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Lake Elsinore and Wildomar contract their police and fire services through the county.

Outside of public safety, only the Department of Public Social Services is projecting a sizable deficit -- $5.6 million.

“Dipping into reserves to cure shortfalls deepens the county's budget deficit,'' Executive Officer Bill Luna wrote in an introduction to the report. “Therefore, the Executive Office continues to recommend that all departments do everything within their authority to maximize external revenue opportunities, reduce expenditures and draw down departmental reserves to close projected shortfalls before year-end.''

The public safety agencies' projections improved slightly from second-quarter estimates released in early February, when the D.A., fire chief and sheriff were anticipating an aggregate $24 million overage in the current fiscal year.

Each department head was able to reduce red ink slightly through personnel adjustments, use of unanticipated revenue and other fine-tuning, according to the report.

In a letter to the Executive Officer, Sheriff Stan Sniff asked that the county appropriate $10 million to cover his department's lingering budget gap.

“Operational flexibility has been exhausted over the last several years, and a balanced budget cannot be achieved without significant program cuts or a budget solution,'' Sniff wrote. “In the interim, we will continue to pursue budgetary savings wherever possible.''

During a budget workshop last month, Sniff told the board he expected to start the next fiscal year $30 million to $81 million in the red without increased appropriations from the general fund.

The announcement ignited a heated debate among the supervisors about whether to backfill the sheriff's budget. Sniff said he would be forced to cut up to 300 patrol and correctional deputies, deactivate special investigative units and close several facilities without more money in 2011-12.

The loss of Proposition 172 safety sales tax revenue, higher labor costs and increased commitments to run the new jail pods at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning were some of the factors weighing on the sheriff's budget.

Possible solutions to the 2011-12 budget challenges will be announced in June. Meantime, the Executive Office recommended that the board not tap reserves to erase the sheriff's current-year deficit.

The county is expected to end the year with $184.1 million in reserves -- down from $360 million three years ago.

Fire Chief John Hawkins and District Attorney Paul Zellerbach told the board in February they would likely have to roll their deficits into the next fiscal year.

Neither has ruled out further workforce reductions. Hawkins has proposed consolidating or closing several fire stations.

The Department of Public Social Services' deficit stems from expanded caseloads. However, state and federal funds were expected to help the agency meet its commitments, according to the report.

The budget update questioned the impact of the governor's realignment plans, which call for shifting more state-run services -- such as adult parole and child welfare -- to counties.

Budget analysts also weren't able to confidently estimate the potential consequence of an “all cuts'' budget at the state level. Gov. Jerry Brown has been pressing for a continuation of the elevated tax rates established by his predecessor's 2009 emergency budget resolution. But the idea has met resistance in the Legislature.

Brown signed bills in March that cut $11.2 billion from the state's $26 billion deficit by siphoning money from voter-created programs and cutting funds for welfare, education and taxpayer-subsidized health care services.

According to the third-quarter budget report, the value of the county's property tax roll is expected to slip another half-percent in the next fiscal year as residential and commercial values continue to slump. Assessed values countywide have declined 15 percent in the last two years.

Discretionary revenue is expected to drop from $592 million this year to $582 million in 2011-12.

Bright spots in the report included signs that sales activity is perking up, with sales tax receipts increasing 4.1 percent in the last quarter compared to the same period a year ago. The county's share of Proposition 172 revenue may also end up being 10 percent higher than projected in the current fiscal year, according to the EO. --City News Service and Toni McAllister contributed to this report.


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