RivCo Public Safety Agencies Facing Projected $60 Million Shortfall

By PAUL J. YOUNG, City News Service:

Riverside County’s public safety agencies are expected to end the current fiscal year in the red, overextended by around $60 million, according to a report that the Board of Supervisors will review Tuesday.

The county’s first-quarter 2014-15 budget update is scheduled to be presented to the board during its policy agenda. The 76-page document highlights areas of concern that warrant the supervisors’ attention.

County Executive Officer Jay Orr wrote in an introduction that he was “cautiously optimistic” about economic conditions overall but noted that “future policy actions may be required to address certain ... funding issues” plaguing several departments.

“I recommend continuing to monitor those budget units and deferring action to address those matters until later in the fiscal year,” Orr said.

Topping the list of budgetary challenges was the sheriff’s department. According to the Executive Office, the agency is staring at a $46 million deficit, mostly a result of union-negotiated salary and benefits increases for sworn personnel.

The shortfall compares to a $39 million projected deficit during the first quarter of 2013-14. That was whittled down to around $10 million by last May.

Along with personnel expenses, Sheriff Stan Sniff is contending with growing costs associated with staffing the future East County Detention Center, slated to open in late 2016, and increasing the number of deputies available in unincorporated communities.

The District Attorney’s Office is projecting a year-end deficit of $9.5 million -- the first time in more than three years that the agency has had any significant shortage of funds.

Outgoing D.A. Paul Zellerbach told the board in September that salary and benefits increases negotiated under a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Riverside County Deputy District Attorneys Association were driving the agency over budget.

The D.A.’s office relies on the county general fund to cover the largest chunk of its yearly outlays.

According to the budget report, the fire department ended the last fiscal year with a shortfall and is on track to end the current one about $4.6 million in the red. Higher labor costs comprised the biggest portion of the overage. However, fire station maintenance and repairs were also contributing factors, county officials said.

The Department of Probation reported a roughly $215,000 deficit, apparently from increased expenditures tied to the new Youth Treatment and Education Center, which is replacing the 41-year-old Van Horn Youth Center in Riverside.

Unlike the last two years, the budget report did not amplify financial woes weighing on the Riverside County Regional Medical Center, even though on paper the Moreno Valley hospital remains $41 million in the hole.

Orr pointed out that, thanks to the work of a cadre of consultants hired at a cost of nearly $28 million, the medical center’s deficit had been cut in half in less than a year. Outgoing hospital administrator Lowell Johnson predicted RCRMC would end the current fiscal year with a balanced budget.

The report indicated the Riverside County Information Technology Department, which has been undergoing a sweeping reorganization since 2012, is projecting a $3.8 million shortfall. That’s in addition to $4 million in uncovered carry-over expenses from prior years. Former RCIT chief Kevin Crawford left the department in August.

County officials said most other agencies are operating within budget and should end 2014-15 on target.

According to the report, in the last quarter, sales tax receipts were up by nearly 7 percent in unincorporated communities compared to a year ago, while the number of new residential building permits had dropped close to 50 percent.

Officials noted that the state and national economies continue to show signs of strengthening, buoying the county’s prospects for growth.

The report stated the county has about $24 million in discretionary cash on hand and just over $200 million in designated reserves.