Sheriff, county hospital facing multimillion-dollar deficit
The Board of Supervisors next week will begin theprocess of figuring out how to address multimillion-dollar deficits confrontingthe sheriff’s department and the county hospital while balancing other countyagencies’ needs.
The first budget workshop focusing on appropriations for departments infiscal year 2013-14 will be held at the County Administrative Center, startingat 9 a.m. Monday.
“While the county balanced the 2012-13 adopted budget, going forward,significant risks and challenges remain,” county CEO Jay Orr wrote in hisintroduction to the 50-page workshop report. “Although the Executive Officeanticipates modest revenue growth long-term, beginning in 2013-14, the countyalso confronts steep cost escalations.”
He pointed out that labor costs will be steadily rising to meetobligations under a half-dozen collective bargaining agreements reached in thelast two years that call for automatic across-the-board cost-of-living andmerit pay increases for employees through 2016.
The county will also be making larger contributions to the CaliforniaPublic Employees Retirement System and will be dipping into the general fund tocover expenses tied to the new digital public safety radio network going livein July, Orr noted. The Indio East County Detention Center constructionproject, expected to be completed in three years, will further increase thecounty’s outlays.
Property tax receipts — the county’s primary source of discretionaryrevenue — are expected to grow around 2 or 3 percent annually over sameperiod, according to economists.
“Given the escalating costs and gradual revenue growth, balancing thebudget continues to require considerable restraint,” Orr said.
He did not mention layoffs, though in the midyear budget report inFebruary, reducing payrolls was one of the options put on the table to containexpenses. County agencies have cut more than 30 positions since July to keepcosts down, according to the Department of Human Resources.
According to budget workshop documents, the Riverside County RegionalMedical Center in Moreno Valley will be heading into the next fiscal year witha roughly $105 million deficit. Last month, RCRMC Director Doug Bagleyexpressed confidence much of the shortfall would be covered by one-time moneyand improved cost-recovery from patients.
However, a disparity in the state’s Medi-Cal reimbursement programformula was expected to keep revenue below a level commensurate with services,and Bagley also worried about a state practice of intercepting federalsubsidies due to the hospital.
The county, which provides about 5 percent general fund support for themedical center, was considering legal action.
The sheriff’s department will go into 2013-14 with a $54 million deficitat the level of appropriations anticipated in the workshop documents. Thesheriff estimated departmental revenue of $328 million and $219 million ingeneral fund support, compared to expenses totaling $602 million.
Since 2008, the sheriff’s office, which includes not only patrol butalso coroner operations and management of the Ben Clark Public Safety TrainingCenter, has lost 300 positions through attrition.
The supervisors have each expressed a strong desire to maintain theagency’s effectiveness, increasing the number of deputies on patrol andstaffing jails. The sheriff is seeking a 20 percent increase in general fundcommitments compared to four years ago. About a third of the sheriff’s budgetis made up of county revenue; the rest is generated through contract fees andgrants.
On paper, both the District Attorney’s Office and the Fire Departmentwere showing balanced budgets going into the next fiscal year. The D.A. said herequired 9 percent less in general fund commitments compared to 2008, while thefire chief was seeking 27 percent more in appropriations.
The 2013-14 fiscal year begins July 1.
