Orange County Commission On The Status Of Women

To save money, county budget cutters acknowledged Thursday that they may recommend disbanding the Orange County Commission on the Status of Women, created more than a decade ago to advise women on issues ranging from job discrimination to domestic violence. Chief budget officer Ronald S.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, after a chaotic and frustrating debate, approved its $3.7-billion budget Tuesday, restoring money for the 4-H Club program while slashing funds for law enforcement and other services. "This has been the most difficult fiscal year that the County of Orange has ever faced," Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said. He called the final 1991-92 budget "sound and prudent," stressing that it does not raise taxes.

Leaders representing a spectrum of human rights, labor, social welfare, women and gay groups mobilized Monday to launch a campaign aimed at persuading county supervisors that the commissions on human relations and women are too valuable to disband, despite the county's current fiscal crisis.

Responding to a survey drafted by Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, top county officials have resoundingly endorsed the Human Relations Commission and warned that its elimination would hurt law enforcement and exacerbate racial tensions in Orange County. The commission, which costs the county about $307,000 a year, has been cut from the proposed budget as part of an effort to overcome a $67.7-million deficit.

Dozens of activists and several community groups have planned a strategy session Monday night on saving two long-established county panels, the Human Relations Commission and the Commission on the Status of Women, which have been proposed for elimination to help balance the county's huge budget deficit. The proposal has sparked an outcry from many community leaders, who say women, minorities and other disenfranchised groups would lose valuable allies.

Despite an outcry from women activists around the state, county budget cutters recommended in a report obtained Tuesday that the Commission on the Status of Women be dissolved to achieve a savings of $121,884 a year. A report to be formally presented next Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors concludes that the financially strapped county government should disband the panel and shift oversight of women's issues to the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder has crafted a plan to merge two popular commissions, a controversial move that would save money and preserve one of the panels but would effectively eliminate the Commission on the Status of Women. The proposal, which enjoys tentative support from a majority of the Board of Supervisors, would join the women's commission with the Human Relations Commission and would slash their combined budgets by 30% to 50%.

Rusty Kennedy was camping with his family deep in the redwoods of Humboldt County last week with little inkling of the events brewing back home, where he directs the Orange County Human Relations Commission. Jean Forbath, commission chairwoman, knew the agency faced deep cuts as the county wrestled to close a $67.7-million budget gap. But she began the week optimistic that she could keep its six-member staff intact.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, after a chaotic and frustrating debate, approved its $3.7-billion budget Tuesday, restoring money for the 4-H Club program while slashing funds for law enforcement and other services. "This has been the most difficult fiscal year that the County of Orange has ever faced," Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said. He called the final 1991-92 budget "sound and prudent," stressing that it does not raise taxes.

Responding to a survey drafted by Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, top county officials have resoundingly endorsed the Human Relations Commission and warned that its elimination would hurt law enforcement and exacerbate racial tensions in Orange County. The commission, which costs the county about $307,000 a year, has been cut from the proposed budget as part of an effort to overcome a $67.7-million deficit.

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder has crafted a plan to merge two popular commissions, a controversial move that would save money and preserve one of the panels but would effectively eliminate the Commission on the Status of Women. The proposal, which enjoys tentative support from a majority of the Board of Supervisors, would join the women's commission with the Human Relations Commission and would slash their combined budgets by 30% to 50%.

Leaders representing a spectrum of human rights, labor, social welfare, women and gay groups mobilized Monday to launch a campaign aimed at persuading county supervisors that the commissions on human relations and women are too valuable to disband, despite the county's current fiscal crisis.

Dozens of activists and several community groups have planned a strategy session Monday night on saving two long-established county panels, the Human Relations Commission and the Commission on the Status of Women, which have been proposed for elimination to help balance the county's huge budget deficit. The proposal has sparked an outcry from many community leaders, who say women, minorities and other disenfranchised groups would lose valuable allies.

Rusty Kennedy was camping with his family deep in the redwoods of Humboldt County last week with little inkling of the events brewing back home, where he directs the Orange County Human Relations Commission. Jean Forbath, commission chairwoman, knew the agency faced deep cuts as the county wrestled to close a $67.7-million budget gap. But she began the week optimistic that she could keep its six-member staff intact.

Despite an outcry from women activists around the state, county budget cutters recommended in a report obtained Tuesday that the Commission on the Status of Women be dissolved to achieve a savings of $121,884 a year. A report to be formally presented next Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors concludes that the financially strapped county government should disband the panel and shift oversight of women's issues to the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

To save money, county budget cutters acknowledged Thursday that they may recommend disbanding the Orange County Commission on the Status of Women, created more than a decade ago to advise women on issues ranging from job discrimination to domestic violence. Chief budget officer Ronald S.

I really hate to complain; the Times is usually so sensitive to societal improvements such as inclusive language, but it cannot be passed by that you used the term "lawmen" (Jan. 23) in the article about the planned drug training center. It's a cute word if you're thinking of Matt Dillon and the days of "Gunsmoke." But it does discount police officers who happen to be women and who, I assume, would be students at the training center. Or, will they? JOYCE CAWLEY Orange County Commission on the Status of Women

The Orange County Commission on the Status of Women is looking for women from all five supervisorial districts who are interested in serving as commissioners. Carol Hatch, executive director of the commission, said applicants should be interested in women's issues and able to devote up to 20 hours a month to the job. "They should be women who are really aware about the needs of today's women and are willing to go out and work for those needs," she added.