LOS ANGELES COUNTY : With Eye on Capitol, Reed Asks Delay in County Cuts

Citing uncertainty over pending legislation in Sacramento, Los Angeles County Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed is recommending that potentially devastating budget cuts in law enforcement and other programs be delayed until September.

That recommendation and other revisions are contained in new budget documents released Monday, just two days before the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to begin hammering out a final spending plan for its $14.7-billion fiscal 1994-95 budget.

Reed’s new budget projections contain good and bad news for the county. On the plus side, state and county officials have reached a tentative agreement that could free up more than $530 million in health-related funds, which would essentially maintain services levels in the Department of Health Services.

However, Reed projects that the county will still face a $300-million shortfall that would require deep cuts in public safety programs, including the offices of the sheriff, district attorney and Probation Department.

Much depends on whether the county can push through legislation that would relieve it of having to spend fixed amounts for certain health care programs--money that could be used to reduce the impact of budget cuts planned for other departments.

Reed said the county will pursue the changes when the Legislature reconvenes in August.

In the interim, Reed proposes to use various board reserves to keep several departments going, including $6.9 million for Children’s Services, $2.8 million for the Museum of Natural History, $8.1 million for Parks and Recreation, $4.8 million for the county assessor’s office and $5 million to maintain service levels for the next six months at county libraries.