Knabe praises county spending plan

Los Angeles County this week unveiled its 2012-2013 budget, totaling nearly $23.8 billion. The proposed budget, which by state law must be balanced, does not require dramatic cuts in critical services or employee layoffs.Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe issued the following statement: "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 lacounty.gov.

********** Published: April 19, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 01