Whatever governor does, county faces bleak budget in 2004 Whatever governor does, county faces bleak budget in 2004 (December 31, 2003)

By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer

As California's Perils-of-Pauline budget show plays out week after week in Sacramento, San Mateo County planners are bracing for a bleak 2004, especially for programs helping its neediest residents.

December was full of high-profile news. New Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled back the vehicle license fee (VLF), and then partially restored payments to counties and cities, along with proposing another $150 million in cuts. Wrangling with the Legislature produced a $15 billion bond measure and a balanced-budget proposal for the March ballot.

January will disclose the full shape of the budget picture, when the governor delivers his formal budget proposal on January 9. It's anyone's guess what the Legislature will do with it -- and what money local governments will get to fund the services they provide.

In a year-end report December 10, Rose Jacobs Gibson, president of the county Board of Supervisors, warned of less access to health care, overcrowded jails, and longer lines at clinics.

"These cuts will have a real impact on the everyday lives of residents throughout the county," she said. "Those in our community who are most in need -- the elderly, the poor and the disabled -- will be disproportionately affected." Counties suffer disproportionately from state budget cuts because they provide key services, but get much less sales-tax revenue than cities do. Yet counties are responsible for providing health and human services, and operating the court system.

Restoration of funds, which were lost due to the VLF reduction, benefits cities far more than the county, noted Supervisor Rich Gordon. Besides, the restoration is only temporary. "This will get us through a couple of months," he said.

Budget cuts come on top of years when the state has been shortchanging local agencies by transferring property taxes, which primarily fund county services, to schools.

"San Mateo County simply cannot absorb these cuts," said County Manager John Maltbie. "These cuts represent an unprecedented attack on local government and the health and safety services we provide."

Cuts that have been proposed over the last month could affect a range of health and human services, and even road maintenance, according to a December 12 memo from Mr. Maltbie. VLF cuts could affect 20 percent of the county's general fund, or almost $45 million a year. The general fund represents un-earmarked money that the county has discretion to spend; it represents only about 20 percent of its $1.2 billion budget this fiscal year.

Seemingly small cuts can have a major impact on particular programs. For example, a $1.8 million cut in the county's In-Home Supportive Services program could cause almost a third of its 2,200 low-income and disabled clients to lose the care that allows them to stay in their homes.

"This makes no sense," said Health Services Director Margaret Taylor. "It will cost the state a lot more money to put these people in nursing homes. It's senseless."

Other proposed cuts in health services alone include:

** Proposed caps on enrollment in various programs, including Healthy Families, on January 1 could cost the county up to $1.8 million. This past year, some 2,800 new families signed up for the state-financed program; next year, wait-listed families could be thrown into the county's new Healthy Kids program, causing it to exceed its funding. "Healthy Kids is very much threatened," said Ms. Taylor.

** A 10 percent reduction in reimbursements to providers of Medi-Cal could cost the county Medical Center $250,000 to $500,000 a year. This cut would make it harder to recruit doctors to treat patients on Medi-Cal.

Other programs that may be capped include drug assistance for AIDS patients, and non-emergency medical services for immigrants, both legal and illegal.

The movie is not over

Even beyond January, Supervisor Gordon, for one, is not comfortable with the proposal for a $15 billion bond issue to relieve the state debt.

"We ought to have some form of tax increase to pay for part of the problem today, rather than entirely relying on a bond, which is debt and mortgages our children's future," he said.

Mr. Gordon views the drama playing out in Sacramento and throughout California a little like the old Saturday matinee serials that produced a crisis every week. And you'd have to tune in the next week to see how it worked out.

"The movie is not over; we are nowhere near the closing credits," Mr. Gordon said. "There are many, many scenes left to unfold before the final story of the budget and what happens to local governments can be told.

"And we don't know who the hero is yet."

Or, if there is one.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.