Los Angeles County Supervisors Approve $16.9 Billion Budget Proposal That Eliminates Health Department Jobs
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved a $16.9 billion fiscal year 2003-2004 budget plan that spares some proposed budget cuts but eliminates nearly 2,000 jobs, mostly in the county health services and child support services departments, the Los Angeles Times reports (Fox, Los Angeles Times, 6/24). Under the plan, developed by Los Angeles County Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen, about 2,000 total county jobs would be eliminated through attrition -- except in the health department, which would see layoffs (California Healthline, 4/15). As part of the plan, county officials plan to eliminate 79 physician, 152 nursing and 210 administrative positions at Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center by June 30 as part of a 16% budget cut over the next three years. The eliminated jobs at King-Drew could reduce county expenditures by as much as $30 million per year (California Healthline, 6/5). Some cuts to mental health programs were spared in the final budget, the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 6/24).
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