Fresno Co. shortfall could balloon to $30m; Mims says public safety takes back seat.
Fresno County's budget shortfall next year may be much larger than officials originally revealed, and law enforcement officials say they may be forced to cut prosecutors and sheriff's deputies to help close the gap.
A budget proposal details how county officials plan to divide up discretionary revenues -- cash that supervisors spend as they see fit. Under the proposal, the Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office could lose millions of dollars.
Health and social services departments could gain millions.
County officials acknowledge that the proposed budget for 2008-09, which starts July 1, may have a larger shortfall than they let on last month when they pegged it at $10 million. They've now bumped it up to about $15 million. But County Administrative Officer Bart Bohn said it's likely much larger than that -- and may exceed $30 million.
The county's top law enforcement officials, including Sheriff Margaret Mims and District Attorney Elizabeth Egan, say their departments could be devastated if the county's budget proposal goes through. Mims said her department needs an additional $35 million to avoid laying off deputies and closing several floors of the jail. Egan said her department is short $4 million and could lose 55 prosecutors.
Both criticize the supervisors for not being more transparent about the budgeting process. They say budget allocations are being discussed by a committee of two county supervisors and a few department heads in meetings that are closed to the public.
County supervisors say they are being open, but that the economic downturn means every department -- even law enforcement -- must make concessions.
"The sheriff and the DA don't want to admit this, but there's less money. That's the reality we live in," said Supervisor Susan Anderson, who sits on the committee with Board Chairman Henry Perea. "We are going to have to cut back, and we're going to have to downsize county staff."
Supervisor Bob Waterston said he's tired of people -- including elected department heads -- blaming the supervisors for the tight budget.
"It's very easy to sit there and point fingers at us and say we're to blame," he said. "But there is no money. Every one of them needs to come up with a better way to manage the money they have."
No decisions about the budget will be made until hearings begin in mid-June.
The biggest fight between departments comes down to the discretionary money. About 80% of it is typically divided among the four public safety departments -- sheriff, district attorney, public defender and probation.
But next year, under the proposal being circulated, other county departments would benefit from more discretionary money. Budget documents show that the Department of Behavioral Health would receive nearly four times what it received this year. Employment and Temporary Assistance would receive double what it got this year.
Anderson said the increase in Behavioral Health is to bail it out for overrunning its budget this year by $2 million. Anderson said the board is trying to ensure that mental health programs aren't cut as they have been in the past.
Julie Hornback, director of Employment and Temporary Assistance, said her department would receive more discretionary money to avoid cuts in public assistance programs. State reimbursements that were once used to cover some of the costs are unavailable for the coming year.
But Mims and Egan say county supervisors aren't being forthright about how they intend to hand out the county's discretionary dollars. Egan called the budget process a "smoke screen" and said it has become a way for the supervisors to cut critical law enforcement positions without having to do it publicly. Egan also believes the county has more discretionary money than it's letting on.
Mims said her budget could be cut by $17 million below what she received this year.
County supervisors "are not putting public safety first," she said. "I would be much more comfortable if they would say it's a tough budget year; we're cutting public safety."
County supervisors say the sheriff and DA are inflating their shortfalls and need to reorganize and reprioritize to save money.
"There's no question that the sheriff, like every other department in the county, is feeling the pressure of less revenues," Perea said.
"But she is taking the political tact of, 'let me paint the worse-case scenario I possibly can and pressure the board to give me what I want.' "
Perea added that to give Mims what she wants would mean "the complete elimination of other departments in the county."
The projected shortfalls in the sheriff and district attorney's budgets remain a moving target. Every county department is required to submit final budget revisions to the county's executive budget committee -- which will prepare the overall budget -- by Monday.
Although Perea and Anderson sit on that committee, other supervisors say nothing is final until a vote is taken.
Supervisor Phil Larson said he doesn't know the shortfalls individual departments are facing. But, he added, he won't tolerate huge cuts to law enforcement if Mims' projection hold true: "That means there are going to be less patrolmen and that means lawlessness in the county, and I'm not going to stand for that. All I can say is it hasn't been voted on yet."
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At Data Center: Fresno County budget
