Knabe Reacts to L.A. County Budget

Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe is calling the 2012-2013 Los Angeles County Budget “conservative,” and says county employees are to be “commended” for helping reach a balanced budget.

The budget, released on Monday, totals nearly $23.8 billion, and does not require dramatic cuts in critical services or employee layoffs. By state law, it must be balanced. 

“While other levels of government are facing huge cuts in programs, our conservative budget practices in the good times continue to soften the blow,” Knabe, who represents Diamond Bar, said. “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.”

Some money is also being saved by reforms.

“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,” he said.

Knabe does remain concerned with two key areas that could affect the 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,” he said. “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 16 meeting.  More information is available here.