Mental Health Program Cuts Put on Hold : Government: The programs win a reprieve as supervisors vote to delay $4.7 million in cuts and look for budget-balancing options elsewhere.

Seemingly near death when the day began, San Diego County’s mental health program ended Tuesday breathing on political life support and with an improved chance of recovery as the Board of Supervisors postponed a planned $4.7-million cutback to search for other budget-balancing options.

After an impassioned debate in which the supervisors weighed harsh economic realities against critical health needs, the board, by a 3-2 vote, deferred final adoption of the county’s $1.9-billion fiscal 1992 budget to provide more time to explore a wide range of other potential service or manpower reductions that could minimize the impact on mental-health programs.

Under Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey’s proposed budget, most of the 109 beds at the 2-year-old San Diego Psychiatric Hospital would have been closed and mental-health workers laid off as part of a $4.7-million cutback needed to help offset a $30-million shortfall.

Trying to put that prospect in the most positive light, county Health Director J. William Cox noted that only 75 of the hospital’s beds are used for acute psychiatric care. Even with the proposed cutback, 22 to 30 of those beds would remain in use, and county officials hoped to contract for up to 15 additional beds in private hospitals, Cox said.

“So, the reduction could be . . . from 75 beds to 45, not (109) to 22,” Cox said. Other county administrators stressed that most of the personnel laid off at the psychiatric hospital could be transferred to other county health facilities.

Even so, San Diego Police Chief Bob Burgreen, mental health advocates and mental patients themselves warned the board that the proposed cutbacks not only would seriously curtail vital care programs, but also could increase crime and the number of homeless mentally ill people--and, perhaps, lead to more serious consequences.

“There are people in this county just as crazy . . . as that man in Milwaukee,” said psychiatric nurse Sue O’Brien, referring to confessed mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. “I’ve worked with them.”

After a succession of speakers urged them to look elsewhere for budget cuts, the supervisors agreed to do just that, postponing action on the proposed mental health reductions until at least next month.

“Any possibility that proposed reductions could add to the increased number of homeless and destitute in the streets cannot be tolerated,” Supervisor Susan Golding said.

Exhorting her colleagues to “explore any and all alternatives,” Golding proposed that the board postpone final adoption of the county’s fiscal 1992 budget--an action normally taken by Aug. 30--until perhaps as late as Oct. 2, the legal limit.

In the interim, Hickey’s staff will examine other possible cutbacks ranging from wage cutbacks and work furloughs for county staffers--options suggested by Golding--to reductions in county officials’ out-of-town travel and limits on the length of time able-bodied individuals can receive welfare benefits. At labor leaders’ suggestion, ways to eliminate duplication of services and streamline management also will be examined.

Because any mental health cutbacks probably would have a noticeable impact on downtown streets, Supervisor Brian Bilbray also proposed that the county ask city of San Diego officials to use downtown redevelopment dollars for mental programs--a suggestion that faces major political, if not legal, obstacles.

Should those paths prove economically or politically unacceptable, Tuesday’s action could simply be a temporary reprieve for the county’s public health hospital. However, Tuesday’s board debate made it clear that a majority of the supervisors prefer to at least scale back the proposed $4.7-million mental health cutback, even if it means confronting even tougher budget decisions next month.

By postponing adoption of a final budget, the board technically put a hold on about $20.5 million in overall cuts in county departments, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer June Komar told the supervisors. If those cuts are not formally enacted until October, the passage of six additional weeks could cost the county up to $1.5 million, she explained.

As a result, county administrators recommended that the board adopt the proposed budget Tuesday, allowing planning for those cuts to proceed. Doing so, Komar emphasized, would still leave the board with the option of adjusting the mental health budget next month, when it was scheduled to formally enact the reductions.

Golding, however, argued that adoption, rather than postponement, of the budget would put the board in the more difficult position of, in essence, having to undo a previous action.

In an effort to preclude the budget gap from widening by the estimated $1-million-plus figure, certain expenses will be frozen pending the board’s final action.

Bilbray and Supervisor Leon Williams concurred with Golding, while supervisors John MacDonald and George Bailey--both of whom expressed concerns that any delay could worsen the county’s already serious fiscal difficulties--voted against her motion.

“Every day we delay . . . we’re exacerbating the problem,” Bailey said.

Regardless, workers at the mental hospital and mental care advocates were heartened by Tuesday’s board action and said they are confident that other, workable budget-cutting options can be identified.

“What does it mean?” one worker said as she left the supervisors’ chamber after the two-hour hearing.

“It means you still have a job,” a colleague replied.