$1 BILLION BUDGET WINDFALL REAL-ESTATE BOOM WILL HELP COUNTY ADD DEPUTIES, AID HEALTH SYSTEM.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer The real-estate boom and conservative fiscal policies created a $1 billion windfall for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, which supervisors decided Monday to spend hiring hundreds of deputies and propping up the ailing public health-care system. This dramatic reversal in fortune comes after years in which the Board of Supervisors slashed public services Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing private provision of services. to balance its budget. Just a couple of months ago, the supervisors deadlocked on the proposed budget, fighting over whether to save the health system or spend available funds on pet projects. But on Monday, those squabbles had faded as the supervisors voted 5-0 to approve a $19.6 billion budget for 2005-06 - up 9 percent from this year's $18 billion budget. The windfall - $1 billion more than the $18.5 billion budget proposed in April - comes from an additional $88 million in property tax revenues, $77 million in new state and federal grants and a combination of various funds left unspent this fiscal year. ``This budget is a step in the right direction,'' Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San said. ``Adding more than 1,200 sheriff's deputies and other public safety enhancements overcomes the past failures when the board did not support law enforcement needs.'' He attributed the bonus to voter-approved Proposition 1A, which protects local governments from state raids on their coffers, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's fight for a balanced state budget. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. credited the board's own conservative fiscal policies for the windfall, which is in addition to the $309 million surplus the county discovered late last year. ``One of the reasons we're in this situation is because we've had a good couple of years in property tax and sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. growth,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``But the primary reason we're here is because this board has refrained from doing some of the things that our colleagues in other counties have done. ``We are one of the last of the Mohicans when it comes to fiscal responsibility in the private sector. We take some heat for it from interest groups who think we ought to be going crazy funding every Christmas tree Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. ornament that could be imagined.'' In recent years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time supervisors cut about $200 million from Sheriff Lee Baca's budget, forcing him to close several jails and release most inmates after serving only 10 percent of their sentences. But since the supervisors began restoring funds to Baca's budget last year, he has been reopening jails and inmates are now serving about 30 percent of their sentences. With an additional $135 million, Baca expects to hire up to 1,200 more personnel, including more detectives and deputies to patrol unincorporated areas, Antonovich said. Assistant Sheriff Paul Tanaka Paul K. Tanaka. Mayor, City of Gardena. Assistant Sheriff, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A 23 year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Tanaka has recently been promoted to Assistant Sheriff of Los Angeles County under Sheriff Lee Baca in said the additional money would allow him to hire 833 additional personnel - a good start to restoring the jail system. ``Our goal is to get to the point where everybody serves their full sentence,'' Tanaka said. The supervisors also allocated $125 million to the Health Department, which for years has teetered on the brink of collapse under the burden of treating millions of uninsured people. The extra funds have reduced the projected deficit from $1.4 billion to $955 million in fiscal 2008-09. The deficit in July 2006 - when the supervisors are expected to begin making cuts in health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract - is now projected at $197 million, instead of the previous forecast of $435 million. ``What this does is keep pushing the cliff out,'' said Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, director of the Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
The supervisors also voted to spend $25 million to renovate and build homeless shelters. A recent census survey found there are 91,000 homeless people on any given night in the county, including 7,500 families. There are now only 5,240 emergency shelter Emergency shelters are places for people to live temporarily when they can't live in their previous residence, similar to homeless shelters. The main difference is that an emergency shelter typically specializes in people fleeing a specific type of situation, such as battered beds. ``This will be the largest single investment we have made out of the general fund since I've been here,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``I think we can significantly ratchet up our services in this county with this money. ``It's really a national shame that we are in this position. When I first got elected to the City Council, we didn't have homeless people on the streets outside of Skid Row skid row a run-down area frequented by alcoholics. [Am. Culture: Misc.] See : Alcoholism Skid Row district of down-and-outs and bums. [Am. Usage: Brewer Dictionary, 1008] See : Failure . Now, if the homeless were their own city, they would be one of the largest cities in the county.'' In another action, the supervisors discussed contracting out services at the beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center, which has been plagued with repeated lapses in patient care. An unannounced inspection last week could result in revocation of the hospital's state license and force the closure of clinical units and services. ``Contracting with a private health care organization with the requisite experience and qualified personnel is a cost-effective solution to handle the day-to-day operations at King-Drew Medical Center,'' Antonovich said. As a way to further bolster the health department's funds, Yaroslavsky asked officials to study boosting the county's trauma care and emergency room parcel tax - also known as Measure B - by a legally allowed amount, based on medical inflation rates. Garthwaite said they could generate up to $34 million a year by boosting the parcel tax. ``It's an important piece of the puzzle,'' Chief Administrative Officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive David Janssen said. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: COUNTY BUDGET WINDFALL Daily News |
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