Sheriff’s Spending Raises Concerns : Finances: Department could be $21 million in hole by end of fiscal year. Baca seeks more money.

As he attempts to make good on his lengthy list of campaign promises, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is spending money at a rate that could put his department $21 million in the hole by the end of the fiscal year, county and department officials said Friday.

Baca--who is asking the Board of Supervisors for additional funds--has been warned by county fiscal experts to either curtail his spending within 30 days or face a departmentwide hiring freeze.

“We’re not over [budget] yet, but if we keep on spending at the rate we are now, we would be by the end of the year,” Undersheriff Paul Myron said. “Some of the new programs the sheriff has instituted have turned out to be more costly than we anticipated. . . . We are looking at 18 or 19 different issues to see what areas we need to trim back on. We don’t have any choice.”

For months, county officials have questioned whether Baca--whose department is allocated about $480 million annually by the Board of Supervisors--was trying to do too much. His ever-changing goals range from offering jail inmates literacy classes to stepping up efforts to eradicate street gangs.

As promised, he has sent dozens of deputies who received modified training under the Sherman Block administration back to the academy. That program alone, however, is expected to cost an estimated $19 million, far more than the sheriff anticipated.

Although Baca and his staff are taking steps to curb their expenditures, they also are taking the opportunity to request more money from the supervisors, who already gave the department a large financial boost this year. In a memo sent out to county officials, Baca--who did not return calls for comment--requested an additional $52 million, which would bring his annual county appropriation to $532 million.

The balance of the department’s $1.3-billion budget comes mainly from the state and contract cities. County sources say the sheriff probably will get an increase, but certainly not the boost he’s asking for. Next week the board is set to fine-tune the county’s $15-billion budget for fiscal year 1999-2000.

In his letter to the board, Baca made an “urgent” request for more money. At the top of his list is his plan to offer the extended academy course to 563 deputies, who received only 10 weeks of training as part of the department’s previous cost-cutting efforts.

“The lack of full peace officer status and the inability of 10-week deputies to perform certain functions . . . have caused recruitment and retention problems,” Baca wrote in his letter to the board. “The 563 deputy sheriffs who entered service following 10 weeks of academy training must now be retrained for a full 18-week period to qualify for peace officer certification.”

Baca also called for more money to step up efforts to stamp out sexual harassment in the department. In addition, he wants to expand the 120-bed Biscailuz Recovery Center, a facility the sheriff opened to help rehabilitate drug-addicted inmates. In his letter, Baca described his ideas as “critical public safety programs” that directly affect his department’s ability to provide law enforcement services to the community.

Baca and his staff spent the week meeting with members of the Board of Supervisors and county staff to discuss his plans and solicit additional funds.

His request, however, has been met with skepticism from many county officials.

“The sheriff has been very forthcoming about the problems in his budget,” said David Janssen, county administrative officer. “That’s very positive. But there isn’t a lot of general fund money lying around to bail him out. We’ll have to find a way to reduce the expenditures. We are working with him.”

In June, the Board of Supervisors voted to give Baca $85 million in new funds, falling short of the $100 million the sheriff had requested. Supervisor Mike Antonovich--a strong supporter of the Sheriff’s Department--promised to revisit Baca’s fiscal plan when the board finalizes the budget this month.

Antonovich said Friday that he will work to get the sheriff what he needs.

“This is the most challenging time in our county’s history,” Antonovich said. “Gang homicides are escalating and hate groups are become bolder and more violent. We have the responsibility to provide the sheriff with the resources he requires. This is not the time to retreat.”