OXNARD : Council Studies Audit of Tax Share

Struggling to increase city revenues, the City Council on Tuesday will consider hiring auditors to investigate whether Oxnard is getting its fair share of taxes from state and local agencies.

Auditors would determine if Oxnard is losing some subsidies from the sales and franchise taxes and revenues such as gasoline taxes based on population and land area.

“Like everything else human, errors can creep in,” said Rudy Muravez, Oxnard’s Finance and Management Services director.

The audits, estimated to cost between $45,000 and $75,000, would be worthwhile only if the revenues produced would amount to twice the cost of the audit, Muravez said.

Last year, the council made boosting revenues its highest priority. It formed a Revenue Enhancement Task Force charged with finding ways to increase revenues. Property tax revenues fell short of projections by $1.2 million and sales tax revenues were short by $700,000 to $800,000 for the 1988-89 fiscal year.

In February, City Manager David Mora reported that revenues were almost $350,000 less than expected for the midpoint of the 1989-90 fiscal year.

Most cash could be recouped from sales tax errors, Muravez said. The state Board of Equalization collects sales tax from businesses in all cities and distributes them based on where the businesses are located. If businesses use an incorrect code to identify their locations, Oxnard’s money could be diverted to another city or the county.

The franchise tax is money that gas, cable and electric companies pay the city for their use of city streets and services.

The city’s allotment of other revenues, such as the gas tax, is based on various calculations of the city’s population or acreage. An audit would determine whether annexations and de-annexations to the city were being properly accounted for in the formulas.