Posted by the Fresno Bee at 06:19 PM on Friday, Jun. 17, 2011
The reporter can be reached at kalexander@fresnobee.com, 559-441-6679.
Read the full article HERE.
It didn't take long for Fresno County supervisors to decide how to spend $11.3 million they didn't think they had a day earlier.
The Board of Supervisors agreed Friday that the unanticipated revenue – which surfaced Thursday after a faulty budget projection was corrected – would be used to save the jobs of sheriff's deputies who had faced layoffs.
"It's the right thing to do to make this a priority," Sheriff Margaret Mims said.
Supervisors had been struggling to come up with what they thought was a roughly $30 million shortfall. Now that they realize the gap is just $20 million, they have scrapped their plan to lay off nearly 65 deputies and a dozen prosecutors in the District Attorney's Office.
Mims' 968-person department already has seen its ranks cut by 25% over the past three years. Patrol deputies have been among the casualties, as have correctional officers, which has prompted Mims to close three floors of the Fresno County Jail and release thousands of inmates early.
District Attorney Elizabeth Egan has said that cuts have hampered her ability to prosecute criminals.
The Board of Supervisors spent the past week debating its budget and still hasn't approved the $1.64 billion spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.
But supervisors ended the week with several recommendations, which will go up for a vote at their Tuesday meeting.
The recommendation not to cut public safety is among the most popular with county watchdogs.
"I go all over the county, and everyone recognizes that they're not immune to crime," said Marilyn Kelarjian, president of the Fresno County Sheriff's Neighborhood Watch Association. "It's good to see the county is paying attention to our needs."
Other public services won't fare as well. The agreements reached Friday cut some departmental budgets by more than 10%.
Under the tentative plan, the county's park system would not see as much maintenance, and some parks would have scaled-back hours. Inspection of agricultural goods would slow. And enforcement of health codes and building regulations could stall.
The cuts also mean that dozens of county workers are likely to be laid off, a decision that will be made once department managers get their final budget numbers.
Like other cities and counties, the weak economy has hit Fresno County hard, prompting a third year of decreased spending.
The Board of Supervisors maintains discretion over $259 million of the total budget. The rest is tied to state and federal mandates.
The final budget decisions expected next week are likely to center around what projections should be made for the coming year, including how much the county should anticipate getting in labor concessions.
The budget plan drafted by the County Administrative Office assumes many departments will cut employee compensation by 10%, a target that Supervisor Henry Perea has called unrealistic.
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