Newport Beach and Costa Mesa could feel the squeeze when Orange County slashes spending by about $1 billion this budget cycle.
The state of California is also slashing funding to local services, and more cuts could come if the state decides to scoop up more than $43 million in property tax revenues from the county to patch up its own budget problems.
Everything from bus routes and subsidized health care for families faces cuts in the coming year, Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach said.
“Costa Mesa is going to be hit a little harder because these things are going to affect the poor living in those areas,” Moorlach said. “But there also might be some loan brokers and car salesmen in Newport Beach who are on food stamps too, there are a lot of people who have been hit hard in this economy.”
The state could look at cutting funding to the Healthy Families program, which provides low-cost health care for children whose families otherwise might not be able to afford insurance, Moorlach said.
The state also could cut funding for the CalWORKs program, which provides food stamps, monthly income assistance, child care subsidies and job training for needy families.
Cutbacks to the program could affect the 1,148 CalWORKs recipients in Costa Mesa and another 119 recipients in Newport Beach, according to the Orange County Social Services Agency.
One bright spot, the OC Harbor Patrol, which oversees public safety in Newport Harbor, doesn’t face any budget cuts for the time being, said Frank Kim, Orange County budget director.
Although county officials are looking at cutting the Orange County Sheriff’s budget by millions in the next fiscal year, the Harbor Patrol won’t be affected because its funding comes from revenues from the harbor in Dana Point and the OC Parks Department.
There might be fewer new books on the shelves in the coming months at Costa Mesa’s three public libraries if the state decides to go ahead with a plan to borrow $2 billion in property tax revenues from cities and counties.
Public libraries could see their annual budget reduced by 8% if the Legislature decides to go a head with the plan, said Orange County Librarian Helen Fried.
Library officials don’t expect layoffs or reduced hours at Costa Mesa’s libraries, but the agencies’ budget for computer databases and new books would take a hit, Fried said.
