4 Supervisors Run Offices Into the Red : Finances: Only Gloria Molina is expected to comply with $1.2-million limit on staff salaries. Mike Antonovich will spend $1.9 million.

Some senior county government officials are running their offices woefully over budget, but the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has done little to rein them in.

That’s because it is the supervisors who are the budget busters.

Four of the five supervisors are projected to spend significantly more on their staffs this year than was budgeted, according to a report from the board’s executive officer. Only Supervisor Gloria Molina is projected to complete the fiscal year ending June 30 under budget, with a cushion of about $107,000.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, the biggest spender on the board, is projected to be more than 50%, or $730,000, over budget by the time the fiscal year ends June 30, according to Executive Officer Larry Monteilh. He projected the yearly deficits based on the supervisors’ expenditures through the first half of the fiscal year.

Supervisor Ed Edelman is projected to be $373,000 over budget, Deane Dana is forecast to be $257,000 over and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke is running $239,000 in the red.

Under tightened spending rules adopted last summer, the supervisors must for the first time live within a fixed budget when it comes to staff. Each supervisor was allocated $1.2 million annually for staff salaries.

These staff funds, which constitute a small part of the board’s overall expenses, are among the few budgets directly controlled by the supervisors. Monteilh controls most of the $30-million budget for the executive office and other support functions for the board.

Although four supervisors are running their office budgets in the red, they have little concern about being able to pay the bills. The supervisors each have four other accounts that they can tap to cover their deficits.

They are given $385,000 for special events and programs and $33,400 for office furnishings, plaques, picture framing and travel. The board members also have allocated themselves $250,000 in so-called discretionary funds that they may use for just about any purpose, but were primarily intended to help local charities and other community organizations and programs, according to Monteilh.

The supervisors have still another special account they can tap for extra funds.

The so-called budget deliberation discretionary fund is a $750,000-a-year fund that the supervisors are supposed to use for special programs in the districts, including community organizations, school groups and reward funds.

Herb Wesson, chief of staff for Burke, said that her office has recently laid off several workers and others were transferred in an effort to reduce the payroll. “We are determined to do anything and everything we can to come in under budget,” Wesson said.

Robert Geoghegan, chief deputy to Edelman, said the supervisor believes he has the authority to spend all the funds available as he sees fit. “We believe we are well within the budget allocation allotted to our district,” Geoghegan said. He said that every supervisor’s office has different needs and will spend its money accordingly.

Other supervisors’ offices did not return calls seeking comment on the spending report.

Antonovich will have to tap all of the accounts available to him to pay his staff bill of more than $1.9 million, according to the executive officer’s report.

Antonovich, a four-term incumbent representing parts of the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys, was not available for comment.

In the past, Antonovich has argued that his office expenses are higher because of the size of his district--at 2,854 square miles, it is about twice the size of Rhode Island.

Howver, most of the area is unpopulated state and federal forest and desert parklands. All supervisors have about the same number of residents in their districts, about 1.8 million.

Antonovich said he must operate five field offices to properly attend to his constituents. But Dana staffs eight offices at a significantly lower cost. Burke and Edelman have three field offices apiece and Molina operates two offices.

Antonovich’s expenses are higher mostly because he has more employees, and they are generally higher paid than those in other supervisors’ offices.

Antonovich has 36 full-time employees compared to 27 for Burke and 24 apiece for Molina, Edelman and Dana.

Antonovich has 16 employees earning more than $50,000 a year, compared to 15 for Edelman, 13 for Dana, 10 for Burke and six for Molina.

The highest-paid employee on any supervisor’s staff is Antonovich’s chief of staff, Tom Silver, who is paid $107,219 annually. Molina’s chief of staff is paid $62,143 a year.

County Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed said she was not particularly concerned about the supervisors going over budget because they have the alternative accounts to cover the deficits. But she added that next year the supervisors, like every other county department, will have to contend with budget cuts.