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Santa Clara County executive Pete Kutras confirmed the long-feared cuts to the county budget on Monday, and it doesn’t look good for anyone.
“We don’t see any relief in sight,” Kutras said about the budget situation, calling it “painfully devastating” and “depressing.”
It’s been no secret over the last few months that the Board of Supervisors had some difficult decisions to make about choosing which programs and jobs stay and which ones go. Although specific jobs were not named today, Kutras painted a rough picture of those that will suffer.
“Basically, every program area is going to see cuts,” he said.
County departments have had to cut $145.8 million, nearly 20 percent of the county’s discretionary revenue and four times more than the amount reduced in each of the past two years.
The biggest cuts will be in the areas of mental health, drug and alcohol services and public health, but the district attorney, sheriff’s office, department of corrections and public defender can also expect cuts, Kutras said.
“The public health, mental health and alcohol and drug services departments rely heavily on discretionary funds to provide services beyond the mandated level,” Kutras said. “Consequently, these areas are hard hit as the general fund does not have the capacity to continue non-mandated services at the level of past years.”
A total of 480 full-time county positions will be eliminated when the budget is approved in June, according to a statement from the county. The budget will be approved on June 15.
“The reductions and other solutions proposed to meet the projected $227.2 million shortfall are painfully devastating,” Kutras said. “In some instances, it will mean the elimination of vitally needed community services.”
The county has considered and acted on several ideas to help mitigate the deficit. The county will issue the first of as many as three pension obligation bonds in June that should save the county $6.84 million this year. A 911 fee for unincorporated areas of the county should bring in $500,000 in 2008 and $1.5 million each year after.
But the county can still expect another three years of deficit reductions, Kutras said.
Local 215 spokesman Brian O’Neill said the cuts were counterproductive. “This will cause an increase in emergency room costs and fill our jails,” he said. “In the long run this is not going to solve our budget problems. We need to still look for more revenue from the state and federal government.”
According to Amy Carta with Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospitals, health and hospital services will likely lose 352 jobs and must cut $105 million from its budget. Six of the eight services within that system are looking at major cuts, including mental health services, which will have to cut service from 18,000 clients to 11,000. Drug and alcohol services will have to stop treating 39 percent of its outpatient clients and cut 44 percent of permanent beds.
Those who will be most affected are the uninsured, Carta said.
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