Local News in Brief : LAFCO Tables County Move on Sanitation

A controversial bid by Ventura County officials to pull unincorporated areas out of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District was tabled Wednesday by the Local Agency Formation Commission for 90 days.

Supervisor John Flynn said he asked for a “cooling off period” so that officials at the county, city and district levels would have time “to get together and find a solution.”

LAFCO, the commission empowered by the state to regulate local government boundaries and districts, had scheduled a hearing Wednesday on the issue.

The debate revolves around the county’s claim that it is entitled to a percentage of property taxes that the regional sanitation district collects from unincorporated county areas. The money amounts to about $240,000 annually, and county officials say they need it to help fund the new Solid Waste Management division of the Resource Management Agency, which plans and regulates waste policies countywide.

Sanitation district board members agreed to surrender those funds for three years but wouldn’t commit beyond that. They contend the money may be needed for emergency sewer repairs or future landfill projects.

The 10 cities in Ventura County have also joined the fray, opposing the detachment because they say it would force their rates up and make them subsidize sanitation projects countywide.

The Ventura Regional Sanitation District operates an Oxnard landfill, runs eight of the county’s sewage treatment plants and operates the household hazardous waste program, a program through which residents can drop off pesticides, cleaning chemicals and other toxic substances for district disposal.

A hearing on the detachment has been scheduled for Feb. 17, 1988, but district and county officials say they hope to reach a compromise before then.