COUNTYWIDE : Cities Told to Justify Development Outlay

The financially strapped Ventura County government has called on all 10 cities in the county to justify their spending of redevelopment funds.

The county desperately needs tax money that is diverted to the cities to provide essential services, said Richard Wittenberg, county chief administrative officer.

“Redevelopment freezes the county money for 40 to 45 years,” Wittenberg said. “I don’t know that people understand what that does to the county services for mental health, welfare, the county hospital, the jail. It starves us.”

Under state law, cities can declare neighborhoods blighted. That enables them to keep property taxes from new development that would otherwise go to counties, schools and the state.

More than $12 million has been diverted from the county since 1985 through the cities’ redevelopment practices, a county report found.

In particular, the county wants the cities to account for how they spend the 20% of redevelopment tax money that the law requires them to set aside for affordable housing programs.

Officials in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Oxnard, which have some of the largest redevelopment projects in the county, say their cities spend their redevelopment money responsibly to help develop housing programs for the elderly and low-income residents.

“Without redevelopment, it would have put a serious dent in our affordable housing program,” said Jay Corey, Simi Valley’s assistant city manager.

“We’ve already put up $100,000 of money for homeless or low-income housing from our Ormond Beach redevelopment project,” said Dennis Matthews, Oxnard redevelopment administrator.

The redevelopment agencies have created their projects within the law and with the consent of the county, said Edward Johnduff, administrative services manager in Thousand Oaks.

“The county has to balance its budget just like everybody else does,” he said. “All the cities have to make tough choices.”