Ventura County Sees Shortfall in Jail Funding Bill

One might have expected officials of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to be celebrating Thursday.

The state Senate sent a bill to the governor late Wednesday night that provides Ventura County with at least $10.6 million to build a new jail that county officials say is desperately needed.

But back in Ventura County, nobody was feeling jubilant.

“We’re very unhappy,” lamented Sheriff Richard Bryce. “It’s sure a kick in the teeth.”

The two state senators who represent Ventura County, Ed Davis (R-Valencia) and Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara), also criticized the bill. And Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) called the legislation a “terrible precedent.”

Critics are grateful for the $10.6 million. What irks them is that the bill does not guarantee Ventura County even more money. In part, they blame Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) for denying Ventura County what they consider its fair share.

‘Cheated Out of Funds’

“Political manipulation has cheated Ventura County out of its funds,” Davis complained during Senate debate on the bill Wednesday night.

But Davis persuaded nobody. With Hart off the floor at the time of the vote, only Davis voted against the bill, authored by Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside). The bill dictates how $495 million in state bond money will be divided among the state’s 58 counties for jail construction projects.

The bill, expected to be signed by the governor, gives each county in the state about 60% of what it needs to replace, renovate or expand its jails.

Ventura County’s share is $10.6 million.

But the state anticipates that some of the poorer counties will be unable to use their allotments because the bill requires local governments to provide at least 25% of the project cost or, failing that, to return the state funds.

The bill therefore contains a provision to divide any unspent money among six urban counties, including Ventura. The state predicts that the kitty might reach $27 million.

The method devised to divide any extra money is what has officials in Ventura County fuming--they contend that it punishes the county for being fiscally responsible.

Liked Original Formula

Ventura County officials liked the formula originally contained in the bill, which would have awarded extra funds based on how well the counties had taken care of their jail needs between 1975 and 1985.

This placed Ventura County at the top of the list because, during that time, it built its jails without state money. The big losers would have been the City and County of San Francisco, which relied heavily on state money for jail projects.

But ultimately that formula was scrapped in favor of one supported by Brown and San Francisco officials. The amended bill divides any extra money among the counties without regard to how much state funds they used before.

Under either formula, Ventura County would have received no more than $4 million. But under the formula approved by the Senate, Ventura County’s chances of collecting the maximum amount is less likely.

Under the first formula, if only $4 million trickled in, Ventura would have claimed it all and the other five counties would have gotten nothing.

Funding Would Suffer

Under the amended formula, Ventura will not get the full amount unless all of the $27 million is returned.

McClintock said it is a bad precedent to “reward profligate counties like San Francisco County” that are always turning to the state for help.

“It’s only proper you assist counties that help themselves,” said McClintock, who failed to get the offending language in the bill rescinded on the Assembly floor this week.

Bryce said it will be difficult to make plans for the new jail when it is unclear how much money the state will provide.

The county expects to use the money to build a 600-bed medium-security jail to relieve overcrowding at its main jail and honor farm. Sites being considered include Simi Valley, Camarillo and the Conejo Valley.