CLASH: RivCo Supervisors Call on District Attorney to Rethink Budget Strategy

RIVERSIDE, CA - A move by District Attorney Mike Hestrin to rein in expenses by limiting when law enforcement agencies can seek assistance filing search warrant requests met with criticism this week from several county supervisors, who questioned his approach to management.

"He chose to immediately reduce small yet essential services rather than thoughtfully look for efficiencies," said Board of Supervisors Chairman John Benoit. "It appears he prefers political pressure, but I hope he will reconsider his announcement and work with the county to find more appropriate, long-term savings that won't harm his mission or the community."

According to county officials, 24 hours after Hestrin clashed with the board Tuesday over its denial of increased appropriations to cover his office's 2016-17 budget gap, the D.A. put area law enforcement agencies on notice that after-hours requests for assistance filing search warrant affidavits would no longer be indulged.

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The apparent cash-saving tactic struck Benoit, Supervisor John Tavaglione and Executive Office staff as an ill-advised response to the board's recommendation that the district attorney find a more efficient way of doing business to conserve funds.

"It is not an unexpected move from a first-term D.A. who hasn't managed through financial adversity before and had to look for efficiencies," Benoit said. "I hope he will take a breath, and that this challenge helps him become a strong manager."

The D.A.'s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Executive Office noted that the budgeting process for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, got underway six months ago, and all agencies were warned that spending thresholds would have to remain about where they were in 2015-16.

Even with austerity measures in place, the District Attorney's Office's budget is 10 percent larger than in the previous fiscal year, when appropriations totaled $105 million.

• SEE ALSO: Lake Elsinore Supervisor Distances Self From County, DA Budget Battle

Hestrin began 2016-17 with an $18 million hole. During the final budget hearing Tuesday, he requested an additional $12 million to cover anticipated expenditures, indicating he could get by without the full $18 million. Grappling with deficit spending and a need to hold county reserves above $150, the board agreed to allocate only $6 million.

"We will bust our appropriations in 2017," Hestrin replied. "Do we begin the process of layoffs, or wait for additional funding from somewhere? Time is of the essence."

More than two-dozen agencies requested increased revenue to meet expenses that will exceed the spending thresholds set by the Executive Office. Sheriff Stan Sniff's structural budget gap exceeded $30 million. The board voted for an additional $20 million to try to fix his department's imbalance.

County CEO Jay Orr noted that general fund dollars going to many agencies are well below pre-recession levels of seven years ago. The Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector is down 63 percent; the Department of Environmental Health down 78 percent; and the Department of Public Health down 59 percent, he said.

Public safety agencies have had to bear minimal cuts by comparison, according to county officials.

Tavaglione, who on Tuesday challenged Hestrin's decision to hire an additional 18 people and approve more than 40 promotions in the last two months, said the board had no alternative but to hold the line on spending, even if it meant saying "no" to the county's top prosecutor.

"Some people might not have expected that," Tavaglione said. "But there is no money, and unless we control costs now and for the next five years, it will place our county in financial peril."

In its 570-page report to the board last month, the Executive Office pointed to ballooning detention health expenditures, along with cost-of-living adjustments, merit pay increases and other benefits guaranteed to many of the roughly 23,000 employees under collective bargaining agreements as putting a squeeze on the general fund. The county's reserve pool is expected to shrink from $200 million to $150 million over the next three years.

Initial suggestions that the county spend reserves down to $100 million to cover agencies' deficits were rejected by the supervisors.

The approved 2016-17 budget is $5.43 billion -- 2 percent over the 2015- 16 spending plan.

– By PAUL J. YOUNG, City News Service

(Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone)