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| Fed $ save some Santa Clara programs |
| By Mercury News |
| Published: 05/06/2009 |
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Federal dollars help save some Santa Clara County safety net programs By Karen de Sá - Mercury News An infusion of federal dollars from the Obama administration is expected to reduce some of the severe cuts to Santa Clara County social services that had been all but assured just weeks ago. Painful cuts still loom. But in his spending plan for the 2010 fiscal year, the county's chief executive now proposes some new protection for emergency psychiatric care and drug and alcohol treatment. And with the vital role of public health nurses thrust suddenly into the spotlight amid the swine flu epidemic, fewer of those nurses may now be laid off. Board of Supervisors President Liz Kniss said the federal support is unprecedented and without it, "our financial boat would barely be afloat." Supervisors will spend the coming weeks considering acting County Executive Gary Graves' plan to address an ever-burgeoning $273 million shortfall before voting on the final $3.9 billion budget in June. By all measures, Graves' proposal is good news only in relative terms. Dramatic cuts to lifeline services for homebound elderly, the disabled and unemployed families remain the budget's driving theme despite the federal relief, which will provide $41.4 million in the upcoming fiscal year. That money will go in part to softening the blow to the public health department, which had been planning on cutting the number of nurses by 40 out of 88. Graves now calls for reducing the work force by 32 positions, preserving some of the public health nurses who battle The county's Department of Alcohol and Drug Services will be able to save some adult outpatient and residential treatment programs that had been slated for elimination. And the hospital system's Barbara Arons Pavilion will continue providing 50 beds for acute psychiatric patients, instead of seeing the number of those beds cut in half. Still, Graves described the county as "fatigued and struggling" after eight consecutive years of budget cuts. And he warned of "a future with little promise" amid the global economic meltdown. Noting his three-decade career, Graves said: "I can say with no hesitation that the financial circumstances facing Santa Clara County are unlike any I have seen." And there's a good chance his proposal will be upended as soon as next month, given the economy's "extreme volatility." County budget analysts are getting used to pencils with erasers. The size of the projected deficit here has grown 24 percent since December — and spiked again as recently as last month, when the county assessor revealed that plunging home values would cut $29 million in property taxes that were expected to fund core human services. Meanwhile, state funding continues to be as unpredictable as ever, with vanishing resources for homeless shelters and food banks, family cash assistance programs and medical coverage for the uninsured. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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