Two county health clinics and hundreds of county jobs are on the chopping block this week as officials wrestle with reduced income and higher costs to provide health-related services to county residents.

The Board of Supervisors in Tuesday will take community input on plans to close health clinics in Lindsay and Tulare, and then will consider staff recommendations to lay off more than 200 county employees.

All the proposed actions are aimed at closing the remainder of an anticipated $10 million budget gap in the county’s Health and Human Services Agency.

The county Health Department is looking at $2.2 million in red ink for the current fiscal year. Action already taken has shaved costs by about $200,000.

Specific areas of lost income, as identified by county staff in a report to the Board of Supervisors, include:

-- Lower-than-anticipated revenue from the state’s Vehicle License Fee and the local share of sales tax dollars: $1.3 million combined.

-- High-the-expected costs for providing health-related services linked to the criminal justice system: $600,000.

-- Decreased Medi-Cal revenue associated with clinic operations: $300,000.

The numbers look worse for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Cutting services linked to the criminal justice system and to local hospitals is not an option, according to the staff report, because of the requirements of the law.

“With the continual decrease in revenue the only option would be to close two clinics (Lindsay and Tulare) to generate savings of approximately $2 million and attempt to close any remaining budget deficits with the pursuit of increased revenue, efficiencies and/or Social Services transfers,” the staff reports.

If approved, the Tulare County Health Clinic in Lindsay and the Hillman Health Clinic in Tulare would close at 5 p.m. Feb. 28.

About 72 pull-time equivalent positions would be slashed in Tulare, and another 10 in Lindsay.

Options identified by staff in addition to clinic closure include cost cuts in hospital and criminal justice medical costs, or continuing clinic operations in Lindsay and Tulare at a loss to be covered by additional general fund dollars.

Meanwhile the Health and Human Services Agency is facing $5.2 million budget gap after making $4.8 million in cuts and other program changes, county staff reports.

To close the gap, and in addition to the two proposed clinic closures, the agency is recommending that Adult Mental Health services be consolidated in two locations, Porterville and Visalia; and that staff be cut in the health services side of the operation at TulareWORKS and Child Welfare Services with corresponding job cuts in administration.

Combined, the proposed changes will lead to elimination of about 480 positions, leaving 225 people without work.

The proposal also calls for the sale of assets at the Lindsay and Tulare clinic sites, sub-leasing of the Lindsay clinic site and leasing of the about 16,718 square feet of the Tulare clinic.

How to Attend
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, Administrations Building, 2800 W. Burrel Ave., Visalia. The meeting is open to the public.

-- Contact Glen Faison at 784-5000, Ext. 1040, or gfaison@portervillerecorder.com.