It’s that time again. Governor Brown issued his proposed budget a little ahead of schedule (a staffer accidentally posted it to the web!). This year is a lot like last year – a combination of tax increases and deep cuts to services. As usual, the lion’s share of the cuts will fall on the most vulnerable in our communities. Should these cuts go through as proposed, 179,000 low income families and 109,000 physically disabled individuals across Los Angeles County would lose their benefits. This will create a new demand for services at the county level at a time when our caseloads are higher than ever.
The resources may go away, but the problems won’t. Once again, Sacramento is looking to fix its budget problems on the backs of counties. It is my hope that the Governor and Legislature will defy the disappointing trend of the last several years and actually come to agreement on a budget that is reasonable and supportive of our core responsibilities at the local level.