Diminishing property taxes and a tightening state belt means Orange County’s budget for next year will take $13 million in cuts.
Revealing what they called a “level” spending plan for 2008-09, county officials said the $6.6 billion is just $7 million more than last year’s, which they called ”zero growth.”
The cuts, which were revised after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed his new budget projections last week, will be made by reducing funds for juvenile probabtion camps, social services and health care.
Budget planners unveiled the document in the annual meeting with reporters today. Budget hearings are set for June 10 and June 11. Final adoption is expected on June 24.
Although projects of this year’s property tax growth was just half of last year’s, planners said they don’t believe they’ve seen the worst affects of the housing market crunch. Last year’s growth of 6.7 percent was cut to 3.3 percent for this year, said Frank Kim, director of the county’s Budget Office.
The county is seeing a 12 to 18 month lag in the impact because of yearly January assessment dates and delays in the appeals process, said Bob Franz, the county’s chief financial officer.
The $13 million in cuts are also thanks to a hiring freeze and amending multi-year contracts to cut costs, Kim said. The social services reductions will be made in child welfare services, adult protective services and general administration. Cuts at the Health Care Agency include $1.3 million in Medi-Cal and $1.1 million in managed care programs, he said.
Why not cut the Sheriff budget? We don’t need more police on the streets, we need the ones there to be community oriented and the public will assist them, however, they keep alienating themselves and creating an us against them mentality that is going to benefit nobody. We need to live within our means and stop giving illegals welfare and deport them as they are a majority of the California jail population or better yet charge Mexico for housing and welfare of it’s citizens.
That’s right…cut the benefits to the poor, cut taxes for the rich, then everything will be better…NOT! Everyone blames the illegals, but it’s our Government that allowed this problem to continue. Why doesn’t Congress take a pay cut or cut their benefits? Not damn likely!
How about cutting the furniture purchases for the Board of Supervisors and Tax Collected. Havent they spent several million is office remodeling in the past 2 years?
California is among the States having highest state income tax rate. Yet, California is going to bankruptcy for having to finance all the social services for illegals having their babies in the State. Everyone see the scenes on Orange County streets of chubby Mex housewives taking their children herd going shopping during working hours.
Think this through. Bloated corrections salaries and funding, worst roads inthe U.S., corruption and waste at every level of local and state
government, Iraq-war diversion while Mexico is now an out-of-control narco-trafficking empire, and devaluation of our currency to prepare us for the lowest common denominator….Our current system is obsolete.
Bold thinking and actions must now move ahead.