County Department Heads to Detail Fiscal Challenges at Budget Hearing

The heads of several Riverside County agencies will spell out for the Board of Supervisors Monday what financial challenges lie ahead in the current fiscal year.

The board approved a “working” 2014-15 budget of $4.76 billion in June. That spending plan is expected to be formally ratified on Sept. 23 -- with adjustments made in accordance with whatever comes out of today’s “budget impact hearing,” according to county Executive Office spokesman Ray Smith.

For several years, the board has postponed implementing all components of the budget before the June 30 deadline to see what transpires during the state budget process. About a third of the county’s non-discretionary funds originate from the state.

Smith said no “dramatic” budget announcements are expected this morning.

The sheriff, district attorney and CEO of the Riverside County Regional Medical Center will be the first to address the board.

In June, interim RCRMC Chief Financial Officer Chris Hans told the board that while the Moreno Valley hospital continues to face “significant challenges,” the financial picture is improving, with next year’s deficit projected to be $20 million instead of $82 million.

The troubled hospital is undergoing operational reforms being implemented by consultants hired at a collective cost of more than $28 million. The Executive Office has expressed confidence that the 18-month overhaul will result in ongoing annual savings of $55.5 million -- enough to erase the medical center’s red ink within a few years.

According to sheriff’s spokesman Jessica Gore, the agency contended with “a considerable structural budget deficit” in the previous fiscal year, largely stemming from annual salary hikes guaranteed in a collective bargaining agreement with the deputies’ union.

The sheriff’s department received nearly $10 million in additional general fund support to cover cost overruns in 2013-14.

Gore said a “similar deficit” has appeared on the horizon for 2014-15, but Sheriff Stan Sniff will outline today how the agency and county Executive Office intend to contain the red ink.

The department is also in the process of expanding its correctional and line deputy staff by 500 under a board-directed plan to increase the number of patrol personnel in unincorporated communities and have jail guards in place when the East County Detention Center in Indio opens in 2016.

According to District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Hall, the D.A.’s budget is balanced at $99 million. But District Attorney Paul Zellerbach will be asking for an additional $10 million to cover anticipated “needs” between now and June 30, when the fiscal year concludes.

— City News Service.

(Photo via Shutterstock)