ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Summit Long Overdue

It should have happened long ago, but the Orange County Board of Supervisors has made a start. Beginning last week, and continuing today, the board is sitting with local legislators at a series of meetings to talk over what they might do--together--for the good of Orange County.

The most important topic of any such meetings must be the state’s budget crisis, and nowadays solutions necessarily must transcend lines of governmental jurisdiction. Like all counties, Orange County receives most of its funding from the state to implement state-mandated social services programs such as health and welfare. But the state’s budget faces a whopping $8-billion to $10-billion deficit, causing a budgetary crisis of historic proportions in Sacramento.

That means bad times for counties as well. At present, Orange County is staring at a $13-million deficit even while it is experiencing a rising demand for services. It can expect little help from the state.

The budgetary dilemma was the main focus of meetings last week with county Assembly and state Senate members. State senators got right to business, but the Assembly members spent too much time griping--mainly about inequitable state funding formulas and the Democrat-controlled Legislature (all but one member of the county’s delegation is Republican). But a dialogue was started, and that’s good.

Legislators attending were Assembly Minority Leader Ross Johnson (R-La Habra) and Assemblymen Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach), Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove), John R. Lewis (R-Orange) and Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), and state Sens. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), Frank Hill (R-Whittier) and Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim). Supervisors attending were Gaddi H. Vasquez, Don R. Roth, Thomas F. Riley and Harriett M. Wieder. Today, three members of the county’s congressional delegation--Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) and William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton)--will meet with the board to discuss such federal problems as airport safety and immigration policies.

The gatherings are part of Vasquez’s agenda as chairman of the board this year. Another round of meetings is planned for next fall. Cooperation is needed in tough economic times. It should have been happening all along. Even so, Vasquez should be commended for getting the ball rolling.