Supes Approve New Budget, Cut 153 Positions

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a $4.84 billion operational budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The spending plan represents a 2.3 percent decrease from the $4.96 billion budget adopted for the current fiscal year while county officials expect the budget for fiscal 2012-13 to decrease to $4.52 billion.

"This proposed budget will allow us to efficiently manage and enhance service delivery and recognize the changing needs of our residents while maintaining our commitment to the county's capital programming, in spite of a slow economic recovery and rising retirement contributions,'' said Donald Steuer, the county's chief administrative officer.

The budget eliminates 153 positions for various reasons, including the end of temporary federal stimulus grants, consolidation and increased efficiency, and the end of contracts with the court system. The hardest-hit departments are the Planning and Land Use, which will lose 32 positions and the District Attorney's Office, which will lose 31 positions. Over three years the office has reduced it workforce by keeping more than 100 positions vacant, Ray Fernandez, deputy chief administrative officer for the Public Safety Group.

The county will cut funding for a probation program that oversees about 1,000 drug offenders, leaving them with minimal supervision or services. Seven positions related to the monitoring of high-risk sex offenders and drug offenders will be eliminated, Fernandez said.

Funding for departments in the Land Use and Environment Group will be reduced by 16 percent, mostly because of diminishing federal stimulus funds and the transfer of the County Fire Authority into the Public Safety Group.

"Departments continue to grapple with economic downturn in resulting funding and staffing reductions,'' said Sarah Aghassi, deputy chief administrative officer for the Land Use and Environmental Group. "LUGE will
continue to aggressively seek grant funding, despite such dollars becoming increasingly scarce.''

The county is working to switch to digital imaging to reduce the amount of paper copying and to consolidate record-keeping into a single system that would be accessible countywide. The county expects to use less electricity -- about $2 million less, according to Mikel Hass, deputy chief Administrative officer for the Community Services Group.

Budget hearings are set to start June 6.

City News Service contributed to this report.