Los Angeles County supervisors urgently scrimmaged for federal stimulus money Tuesday, proposing $2.7 billion in projects they say would help jump-start the local economy.
The push by the county to get a share of the more than $800-billion stimulus package that President-elect Barack Obama has asked Congress to approve came as concern mounts about potentially massive losses in state funding.
County officials are particularly worried about an expected shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars for social services at a time when such programs are strapped by the rising demands of the unemployed and underemployed.
Los Angeles County's wish list will be in competition with hundreds, if not thousands, of others being drawn up around the nation.
In Orange County, officials have compiled $2.2 billion in projects, including $335 million for the expansion of John Wayne Airport. San Bernardino County officials said they have about $1.4 billion in highway projects in mind, but would not draft a list until they have eligibility requirements. Riverside County officials have said they will ask for at least $154 million, mostly for transportation projects.
Los Angeles County officials are proposing projects that include more than $25 million to create renewable solar energy sources for county operations, $8 million to computerize some medical records at county health facilities and $186 million to pave roads.
County officials also hope to benefit "disproportionately" from billions of dollars in additional funding for food stamps, Medi-Cal and other entitlement programs that federal lawmakers hope will bring relief to the unemployed.
The county's chief executive, William T. Fujioka, said it was crucial that the county be in a position to take advantage of a stimulus plan that he said "will be unprecedented at least in our lifetimes."
But optimism was greatly tempered by the seemingly unrelenting sour news from the state Capitol.
Based on an analysis of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest proposed budget, county officials said this week that the county would lose about $350 million over the next 18 months.
Concern was heightened Tuesday about additional cuts when supervisors obtained a copy of legislation the governor submitted late last week that, if approved, would defer an additional $6.54 billion statewide beginning in February, with more than $1.7 billion of that coming out of funds for health and human services.
