[Supervisor Mike Antonovich] – Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich issued the following statement on the Chief Executive Officer’s proposed $23.8 billion budget for 2012-13:

“The state’s rising deficit continues to impact every school district, county and city in California.

“Los Angeles County’s 2012-2013 proposed budget of $23.8 billion is $565 million less than last year.  Due to the Board’s fiscal discipline we did not increase entitlements and ongoing spending during the economic boom.

“The partnership between labor and management, along with a review of all programs that are funded above state requirements reduced spending while maintaining public safety and other vital services. The unions agreed to no raises for the fourth year in a row, which has significantly held down costs.

“The CEO is estimating that Public Safety Realignment will create a deficit of approximately $6 million by the end of this fiscal year alone.

“Meanwhile, violent crimes have increased 0.82% and serious property crimes reported have increased by 6.09% in Sheriff’s patrol areas countywide for the first quarter of 2012 as compared to the same timeframe last year.

“Property crimes are rising in other parts of the County outside of the Sheriff’s jurisdiction.”

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Statement from Supervisor Don Knabe

“While other levels of government are facing huge cuts in programs, our conservative budget practices in the good times continue to soften the blow. As we manage decreased revenues and increased demand on our safety net services, our labor partners have worked with us to avoid layoffs and furloughs. County employees are also to be commended for finding creative ways to cut costs on the services that are so valuable to our county residents.

“The modest growth we are seeing in the economy has resulted in a decrease in our caseloads, and our reform efforts continue to reduce our costs to ensure that limited resources are reaching the people who need them most.

“I remain concerned about two key areas that could affect our budget; one, the unknown impact of the state’s realignment programs which are already proving to be underfunded and two, the recent news from the county assessor indicating a potential loss of $50 million in revenue.   Last week the Board ordered an immediate audit so that we can manage the situation quickly and with limited service impacts, if possible.”

The Board of Supervisors will conduct public hearings on the budget at its May 16th meeting.  More information is available at www.lacounty.gov.