SANTA ANA — Eliminated positions. Potential layoffs. Million-dollar shortfalls. To John Sawyer, it is all "just talk."
County officials "get so caught up in figures, but sometimes they aren't meaningful," said Sawyer, who is general manager for the 10,600-member Orange County Employees Assn., the county's biggest union. "They play a checkers game. But it doesn't have any connection to reality."
Reality could hit in the weeks ahead for dozens of county employees who may face layoff notices. But then again, county officials admit, no one is really sure.
The county last week approved a budget plan that severely curtails some county services and eliminates 258 positions from the county work force of more than 16,000 people. The measures are aimed at balancing a $3.5-billion 1992-93 fiscal budget once projected to fall $108 million in the red because of the recession, city incorporations and shrinking state funds.
Custodians, painters, carpenters, lawyers, secretaries, therapists, sheriff's deputies for parking patrol--all were among the positions cut from the county payroll by the Board of Supervisors. Officials estimate the annual savings at more than $10 million.
About 100 of the jobs are already vacant. But there are so many unknowns in the mix--how the state budget will affect Orange County, how many positions may open up in the meantime, how many people can be relocated--that officials say they don't know how many workers in the remaining 158 slots may actually be let go.
"I wouldn't hazard a guess," said Ken Mays, chief of personnel operations for the county.
Caught in the middle of the guessing game are those employees in health care, facilities, law enforcement and other areas who are worried about their job security.
One health worker whose position is being eliminated said she has already been assured of getting a similar vacant post elsewhere in the county. Nonetheless, the bleak fiscal picture for both the county and the state "has placed fear in all of our minds," said the employee, who asked not to be identified.
"What's going to happen next year? Is this job permanent? Is it temporary?" she asked. "We're hoping for the best. We all have mortgages and families to support like everyone else."
The coming weeks will be crucial in determining how many workers may be directly affected by the cutbacks.
