Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "county budget"

County sued over cuts in health care

2010-07-15T05:25:21Z

On July 23, The Sacramento County Superior Court will hear a team of attorneys argue that the recent budget cuts made to the County Medical Indigent Services Program are in violation of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.

Lead Counsel Stacy Wittorff from Legal Services Northern California and Abbi Coursolle from the Western Center on Law and Poverty will represent the petitioners in the case of Poole v. County of Sacramento in an effort to maintain what medical services the County offered prior to the recent passage of the 2010-2011 county budget.

At least 725 county employees will be laid off, and program budgets will be heavily reduced as a result of the county budget approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 17 in a 3-2 vote. With that vote, the county balanced the budget, closing a $181 million deficit.

The petitioners in the case include two chronically ill recipients of county health care and Sacramento homeless services provider Loaves & Fishes.

Once Executive Director Libby Fernandez of Loaves & Fishes learned of the budget cuts, she sprung into action.

“When I heard they were going to cut 50 percent of primary care and two of the clinics, I called Legal Services of Northern California,” she said.

Loaves & Fishes has been working with the homeless in Sacramento since 1983. The organization provides many services to the homeless, including health and legal services and a school for homeless children.

“We have a pretty good sense of what the needs and lack of services are out there,” Fernandez said.

Wittorff said that the county has specific obligations to provide last-resort medical care for those who can not otherwise get it.

“They have absolutely fallen below the line of their legal obligation,” she said.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner issued a temporary restraining order on July 1 that blocks the cuts from taking effect. The July 23 hearing will decide whether Sumner issues a preliminary injunction. This would extend a hold on the cuts until the fall, when the case can be heard in full.

“The cuts in medical services may have a significant impact on the county’s ability to provide medically necessary services promptly and humanely as the Legislature has required by sections 17000 and 10000 (of the California Welfare and Institutions Code),” Sumner said.

Sumner’s order also puts a temporary stop to five-week waits for active dental abscesses and reducing the number of physicians on staff. Without the restraining order, patient appointments would have been reduced by 100 per day, with delays of several months, according to a press release from LSNC.

“We would concede that there is a legal obligation to provide medical services to our indigent population,” County Counsel Bob Ryan said.

The county is arguing that how these services are provided is open to interpretation, especially in these fiscally troubling times, and that the new budget does meet the obligations of the county.

The County Medical Indigent Services Program is for seriously ill residents who are uninsured, do not qualify for Medi-Cal or other programs, and cannot otherwise afford medical care.

Supervisors Roberta MacGlashan and Roger Dickinson voted against the budget’s general fund allocations. Supervisors Don Nottoli, Susan Peters and Jimmie Yee voted in support of passing the budget.

Dickinson objected because he said he thought it did not make social services a higher priority.

“We have an obligation, a duty, particularly as a county, to address those who are the least among us,” he said.

Supervisor Don Nottoli said he felt a responsibility to pass a budget for the county, even with the included compsomises.

“The bottom line is that there’s not sufficient funding,” Nottoli said. “Yes, we prioritize, and we make decisions.”

Staff Reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report.

Some local groups could feel county budget pain

2010-06-17T03:22:58Z

While Sacramento County’s budget problems are likely to result in harsh cuts to public safety and social services departments, some of the smaller budget cuts are raising concerns among certain organizations.

Sacramento County’s elected leaders are expected to decide this week whether to cut funding from several groups, including the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Board of Supervisors plans to approve the county’s budget Thursday or Friday. Hundreds of employees could lose their jobs as the supervisors address a $181 million budget gap.

The Sacramento Tree Foundation, which promotes and administers tree plantings, may receive no funding from the county this year. Last year, the foundation received $10,000.

Colleen Cadwallader, the foundation’s development director, told the supervisors Wednesday that trees are crucial to local communities. In the past 30 years, views on the importance of trees have changed, she said.

“No longer viewed as a mere amenity, we now know that trees help to create walkable communities, save energy, absorb air pollutants, reduce stormwater runoff, sequester carbon and increase the overall quality of our lives,” Cadwallader said.

At the same time, the county may cut funds from the "events support" arm of the Sacramento Sports Commission. Members of the commission promote the region as a site for sports events.

The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau also faces possible cuts. County administrators have proposed that the bureau receive $122,385 in county funds, down by half from the $244,769 it received last year.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County approves budget, severe cuts include child services

2009-10-03T03:02:11Z

Severe budget cuts to Sacramento County programs and controversial layoffs for 186 employees in the Child Protective Services unit are part of the 2009/2010 fiscal year budget that was approved by the Board of Supervisors Friday. The county, which had faced an immense budget gap of $76 million, laid off 300 workers last month.

The total budget the supervisors approved is $4.2 billion. Around $1.9 billion of that total is the county’s general fund. More than 700 county employees have been laid off since July.

CPS has faced criticism from the county’s grand jury and MGT of America, Inc., a management consulting firm, over child fatalities. Ann Edwards-Buckley, director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, told The Sacramento Press outside the meeting that the cuts to CPS will harm children’s safety.

“As I've said before, I’m concerned about the welfare and safety of children in our community — that we won’t be able to do the same kinds of things that we’ve been able to do in the past,” Edwards-Buckley said. “So, kids may stay longer in foster care, waiting for family reunification. They may stay longer in an unsafe home.”

The entire budget was approved by four of the five supervisors.

Supervisor Roger Dickinson voted against significant parts of the budget including the general fund, saying the cuts harm the community. “I think this budget does not adequately consider our fiscal circumstances, either currently or for the future,” Dickinson said.

Approval of this budget means that the county would need to make deeper cuts in the upcoming years and “decimates” the county’s ability to protect important segments of the community, he said.

Dickinson is running for Assemblyman Dave Jones’ seat in 2010 against two current members of the Sacramento City Council, Lauren Hammond and Kevin McCarty.

The county’s contentious plan to shorten work schedules for about 7,000 employees represented by unions is still unresolved. The approved budget says that the the plan will go into effect if the supervisors do not pass a different plan on Oct. 20.

Dickinson voted against the proposal for shortened work schedules. “I’m not willing to be on record supporting that,” he said.

Photo of Roger Dickinson by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Physicians, advocates concerned about planned county health cuts

2009-10-02T03:39:19Z

Health advocates and physicians made last-minute comments on Thursday opposing planned cuts to county public health programs. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, which faces a $76 million budget gap, is expected to approve a budget Friday with major cuts to programs.

The board’s final budget hearing for the 2009/2010 fiscal year will start at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 700 H St. Earlier this month, the board approved layoffs for 300 county employees.

Zachary Hold, a primary-care physician, said additional proposed cuts to public health would lead to patient deaths. The cuts would also increase the amount of time patients would wait to see a medical professional, he said, pointing out that the wait times are already lengthy. Hold works as a physician part-time for the county in addition to his employment with the University of California, Davis. He noted that he was not speaking on behalf of UC Davis.

“I recently took care of a woman at the evening clinic who sounds like she’s been having little heart attacks for about two or three weeks,” Hold said. “And I wonder if she had gotten access in a more timely fashion -- three or four months ago even -- we would have been able to prevent her admission to Sutter, which is where she is right now.”

“There will be more deaths as a result of more cuts to the health system,” Hold noted.

Joseph Iser, director and public health officer of the Yolo County Department of Health, also raised concerns about the planned cuts. He said that proposed cuts to Sacramento County’s communicable disease program and public health laboratory would harm public health in nearby counties. Addressing the supervisors, he said that if the county is not able to administer tests to diagnose diseases or track foodborne illnesses, “you directly impact the health in your surrounding counties too.”

Photo credit: Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County lays off 300 staffers, 700 since July

2009-09-23T03:20:59Z

Sacramento County’s elected officials laid off 300 employees Tuesday, which brings the total number of layoffs to more than 700 since July, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst.

Susan Peters, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, said at the Tuesday board meeting that the layoffs were needed in response to the ailing economy. In her comments, she foreshadowed possible upcoming layoffs to address the county’s $76 million shortfall. “I honestly don’t think that this is the last time you’ll see us back here with position reductions,” Peters said.

“And we may be able to tweak a few things next week, but it’s not going to be very much, if anything,” she added. “I’m sorry the economy is the way it is, and I wish there was some way we could patch together this budget that no one would be hurt.”

Many more budget-related developments are expected to unfold in the coming weeks. The board approved layoffs Tuesday, but hasn’t yet passed its final budget for the current fiscal year. It has planned new budget hearings to take place Sept. 29, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. The final budget is now scheduled to be approved Oct. 2, according to Mark Norris, administrator of the county’s Internal Services Agency.

County unions, including United Public Employees Local 1 and the Sacramento County Alliance of Law Enforcement, are likely to continue battling with the supervisors. Unions are strongly protesting a county plan to create shortened work schedules for about 7,000 employees.

Christa Yous, an investigative assistant with the Department of Human Assistance, told the supervisors that she has received a pink slip from the county and is on a future rehire list. With her voice shaking, Yous said she has become “the face of the terrible economic turmoil that’s before this county.”

Photo of Supervisor Susan Peters by Kati Garner.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County: New budget gap on top of $68 million shortfall

2009-09-17T03:15:43Z

On top of its current $68 million shortfall, Sacramento County has a new $8.1 million budget gap from falling sales tax revenues, Sacramento County officials told the Board of Supervisors Wednesday.

The new budget gap means that layoffs — in addition to the 382 currently proposed — are a definite possibility, which is unfortunate, said County Executive Terry Schutten in response to a question from The Sacramento Press.

The Board of Supervisors was scheduled to make final decisions today to balance its 2009/2010 budget. However, the situation changed in light of new information that the county’s sales tax revenues are plummeting again. The board now plans to make its final budget decisions on Tuesday.

Planned budget cuts include the 382 layoffs and shortened work schedules for about 7,000 employees, according to the most recently updated information available Wednesday from county spokesman Zeke Holst.

Schutten said that county executives met on Monday and nearly balanced the supervisors’ final budget priorities.

“However, at 4:45 p.m. ... on Monday afternoon, our chief operating officer received notification from our tax consultant that, for the last quarter, our sales tax were down 26 percent. And for the entire year-to-year, our drop was approximately 14 percent,” Schutten told the supervisors.

Those figures create a $4.1 million gap, he explained. The county lost another $4 million in revenues from sales taxes that are collected statewide and then delivered to local governments for public safety programs, Schutten said. The loss of the sales tax money that goes to public safety programs will affect the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department and District Attorney’s office.

Meanwhile, the vice chair of United Public Employees Local 1 told the supervisors that the union would make concessions on retirement benefits if the county drops its proposal to shorten the work schedules for about 7,000 employees represented by unions.

“As a show of good faith yesterday, UPE is willing to defer the Retiree Health Savings Plan accounts that we have, which potentially saves the county millions of dollars," said Beverly Kearney, vice chair of UPE Local 1. "We’re hoping that this will save jobs and mitigate layoffs.”

But Schutten told The Sacramento Press after the board meeting that UPE’s proposal would not garner the savings the county needs. UPE’s “main concern was the retirement health care account, and that’s for $8 million,” Schutten said. "Of that $8 million, only $1.9 million is local dollars. So it’s not near enough to cover the shortfalls that we have. It was a good suggestion. We certainly appreciate it, and look forward to working with them.”

Photo of Supervisor Roger Dickinson by Kati Garner.

Photo of presentation on sales tax by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County managers protest suggested budget cut

2009-09-12T01:56:39Z

Sacramento County managers are strongly opposing a suggestion from Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli to cut a benefit that helps employees save money for retirement. A representative from the Sacramento County Management Association (SCMA) told the Board of Supervisors on Friday that managers are making sacrifices to assist the county, and are not being treated fairly.

“We keep hearing by public comment that managers need to take more cuts,” said Sue Elliott, acting president of SCMA. “Yet, we feel we have done our part.”

Elliott made her remarks during the board’s fourth day of final budget hearings. The most recently updated figure for the county’s budget deficit is $68 million. Unions are vehemently protesting the the county’s plan to lay off 350 employees. In addition to the layoffs, the board has said it plans to cut 16 hours per month from the workload of county employees who are represented by unions.

The county's final decisions are expected on Sept. 16.

Elliott told the board that managers’ concessions include furlough days and the elimination of a cost-of-living pay increase. The 2.9 percent cost-of-living raise for managers was cut for the 2009/2010 fiscal year, she said.

Nottoli suggested Thursday that the board consider cutting the deferred compensation benefit for managers. Elliott said the benefit costs about $1.1 million annually, with $335,000 coming out of the general fund.

Elliott said that managers were being treated unfairly by the board, noting that employees represented by the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the Sacramento County Probation Association maintained their cost-of-living increases. She acknowledged that sheriff’s deputies and probation employees “put their lives on the line,” but contended there is unequal treatment among employee groups.

Elliott made her remarks the day after the executive director of United Public Employees Local 1 said the county was cutting rank-and-file workers while keeping jobs for officials. “You’re too top-heavy,” Ted Somera said in comments to the board. “You have too many chiefs.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County budget hearing draws big protests; union calls for Schutten to step down

2009-09-11T03:46:01Z

It would be an understatement to use the word “passionate” to describe the emotions of the hundreds of people who gathered in the Board of Supervisors' chambers for Thursday's budget hearing. The word “livid” would best describe the mood of the crowd as elected officials considered making $48 million in cuts to county social services programs.

The supervisors are planning to cut more than 360 positions as they face a new budget gap of more than $54.5 million. In addition to the scores of planned layoffs, the board proposes cutting 16 hours per month from the workload of county employees who are represented by unions. The supervisors will hold another budget meeting tomorrow and are scheduled to decide the final budget on Sept. 16.

Supervisor Susan Peters said the county's finances are being harmed by the recession and state cutbacks. "Unfortunately, today's economic circumstances have not changed — again, due to the national and state economic decline," she said. "That's a cold, hard economic fact. And compounding that are cuts imposed upon us by the state of California."

Ted Somera, executive director of United Public Employees Local 1, told the board that the county was cutting rank-and-file workers while maintaining jobs for many officials.

“You’re too top-heavy,” he said. “You have too many chiefs.” Somera’s union alleges that the county’s plan is illegal.

Somera’s remarks received loud applause from the audience. When protesters of the cuts made their remarks to the board, audience members reacted loudly with applause and cheering. Some even exchanged high-fives.

Outside the doors of the board’s chambers at the County Administration Building, the United Public Employees Local 1 collected signatures from people who support firing County Executive Terry Schutten. The union said it had nearly 600 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

During the morning session, about 250 people filled the supervisors’ chambers. About 320 people attended the afternoon session, filling the chambers and packing into the overflow seating area in the lobby.

Supervisor Don Nottoli suggested the board consider cutting a deferred compensation benefit for managers, adding that he wanted to discuss the idea during budget deliberations. The benefit, which helps employees save for retirement, has a general fund cost of about $390,000 per year, he said.

“As we’re looking at this, I certainly want us to have that conversation,” Nottoli said. “And again, I know there’s sensitivity to it.” The crowd cheered in response to his suggestion.

Also Thursday, Ann Edwards-Buckley, the county’s director of Health and Human Services, delivered dismal news to the board about how the cuts would harm the Child Protective Services (CPS) program. CPS has faced criticism over child fatalities from both the county’s grand jury and MGT of America, Inc., a management consulting firm that reviewed the program.

The $14.9 million in cuts to CPS would create a “weakened infrastructure necessary to provide oversight, accountability and improvement as identified in the MFT and Grand Jury report,” according to Edwards-Buckley's presentation to the board.

Dominic Bobo, a 17-year-old who was in foster care since he was 7-years-old, urged the board not to cut jobs for social workers. At times, “life was just so stressful that sometimes I just wanted to stop,” he said. “But it was my social workers that helped to push me through and keep me going.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County faces heat from health advisory board

2009-09-10T03:15:21Z

The county’s planned budget cuts to local health services drew withering criticism Wednesday from a member of the public health advisory board and public interest attorneys. During the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors’ second day of final budget hearings, critics charged that the cuts were unlawful and decided in a “closed-door” process.

The supervisors are planning more than 360 layoffs and cuts to numerous county programs to address a budget gap in excess of $54.5 million.

Wednesday’s hearing addressed proposed cuts to health services in numerous areas including immunizations, California Children’s Services, Community Health Promotion & Infectious Disease Prevention, Community Disease and STD Control & Epidemiology and Pharmacy and Support Services.

Ann Edwards-Buckley, director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, said planned cuts to the California Children’s Services program would affect 300 children. “There will be 300 children per year that won’t receive medically necessary physical or occupational therapy,” Buckley told the Supervisors.

Stephen Goldberg, a staff attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, told the supervisors that proposed cuts were being considered for programs that are mandated by law. “The California Children’s Program is specifically for disabled children,” Goldberg said. “The scope of the CCS program is mandatory.”

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, a member of the Sacramento County Public Health Advisory Board said the advisory board and community health clinics are “terribly disappointed” with the planned cuts. Marty Keale, who represents community clinics on the advisory board, harshly criticized the county’s process of budgeting for public health.

“From start to finish, that process has been dominated by closed-door decision-making, based largely on rushed, narrowly defined data collection and analysis,” he said. "And now we all face the mess that’s being presented to you today.”

Nav Gill, the county’s chief operations officer, disagreed. “From our side, it’s still a very collaborative process,” he said. Many of the proposed cuts are based on recommendations from county staffers, he said.

Jim Hunt, the acting director of the Countywide Services Agency, also responded to Keale’s comments. Hunt said that he and Buckley have been active participants in the Sacramento Healthcare Improvement Project. They have pushed the agenda of how the county “should reshape healthcare delivery for the Medi-Cal and population and uninsured in Sacramento County,” Hunt said.

Keale said his complaint did not concern that project. “Our issue has been with the budget process — strictly the budget process,” Keale said.

Supervisor Roger Dickinson said reform is needed to address the county’s problems with its public health programs. “This hearing to me just punctuates the point that we have an unsustainable scheme at this point — and a barely rational one as well — that requires systemic reformation.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County's layoffs/reduced hours plan is "illegal," union alleges

2009-08-28T01:20:24Z

A union that represents Sacramento County clerical workers and social workers is alleging that the county government’s plans to cut 360 positions and reduce employee hours are illegal. In response, the county’s labor relations director said the county’s plans are “perfectly legal.”

The United Public Employees Local 1 is fighting county management’s planned cuts to positions and hours. County Executive Terry Schutten outlined county management’s proposal for the layoffs and cutbacks in an Aug. 24 memo that can be read here.

Schutten’s memo says the county now has a $54.5 million deficit. Plus, $7.8 million will need to be cut from the county’s budget because building activity is poor, Schutten wrote.

The county has proposed to cut 360 positions on Sept. 27. County management is also planning to take 16 hours per month out of the work schedule of county employees who are represented by unions. A new schedule with the decreased work hours is planned to start Nov. 8.

“We believe Mr. Schutten’s proposal is in direct violation of our contract in many ways,” Ted Somera, executive director of UPE Local 1, told The Sacramento Press Thursday. “We will fight this. We believe, like I said, it’s illegal.”

The union notes on its website that UPE members currently hold roughly 238 of the positions that are proposed to be eliminated.

Though Somera said UPE Local 1 is fighting Schutten’s proposal, he also noted that the union is open to holding talks with county management.

“We’re not even interested in entertaining their proposal,” Somera said. “What we’re interested in is what we can do collectively to mitigate layoffs, as well as to continue to provide those services to the communities.”

Sacramento County Labor Relations Director Steve Keil said he appreciates Somera’s willingness to meet with county managers. The county has sent an invitation to meet with UPE Local 1, as well as all other county employee groups to discuss how the proposal would be implemented and alternatives that may come from the unions.

In response to Somera’s allegation that the proposal is illegal, Keil said, “Obviously, we disagree.” The cutbacks of positions and work hours would be made through a process that is “perfectly legal,” Keil said.

The layoffs of county employees will create “a hardship in terms of our ability to provide services,” Keil said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.