Money to be set aside to help new Hmong refugees adjust

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is expected to approve a request for more federal money to help Hmong refugees find work. They also plan to change the county budget to reflect unexpected income from the state and to increase a fee at the county's law library for the second year.

Four out of five supervisors have to agree to ask for money for Hmong refugees, Laotians who lived in Thailand refugee camps after being displaced by the Vietnam War, Supervisor Leroy Ornellas said.

Specifically, about $49,100 requested would be spent to find work for 50 refugees and give another 200 refugees counseling, social adjustment and English language classes. Some of the money would also be spent on recreation for the refugees.

"They were in refugee camps for many years," county Human Services Director Joe Chelli said. "Just recently, the federal government has agreed to take in some of these refugees over a nine-month period."

The refugees began arriving in the county in July of last year, and about 300 are here.

Another 100 refugees are expected to come to the county in the next several months, before the federal government's moratorium begins again.

The money for the program would come from the federal government but would be administered by the state through the county, Chelli said.

Also, the county recently discovered that it will receive an unexpected holiday bonus in the form of Proposition 42 money from the state.

Proposition 42, passed by voters in 2002, earmarks fuel tax money for state and local transportation projects. However, the county received no Proposition 42 money until this year because the state government kept it. Because of this, the county lost $5.5 million over the last two years, according to county documents.

"I think Proposition 42 money was always withheld to fill the hole in the state budget," Ornellas said.

But because the proposition was restored this year, the county will be getting an unanticipated amount of about $2,468,000

The money will go to hire one part-time and three full-time engineers and to repair 12 miles of county roads.

"We don't know which roads at this point in time," said Roger Janes, a public works business administrator. "Our maintenance crews are determining which roads to repair."

The money received by counties for this fiscal year has to be spent by June 2007, and more money will be available in the 2008-09 fiscal year. That's when the county is scheduled to receive about $5.3 million annually, according to documents.

"We definitely have places to put this money this year," Ornellas said.

The board of supervisors is scheduled to approve a $3 increase in two legal filing fees for the second straight year to support the county law library.

The money raised by the fee hikes is expected to be about $1,083,000, and will go toward paying off the library's lease.

Both increases were actually approved by supervisors last year, but because of legislation at the state level, the second increase has to be approved to take effect.

If the fee is not approved, the county would have to cover the lease bill using the general fund. The library is on Sutter Street in downtown Stockton.

Contact reporter Roman Gokhman at romang@tracypress.com