Oxnard Studies Job Cuts to Avoid Deficit

Oxnard must consider some drastic budget cuts--which could include elimination of up to 80 full-time employees and the closure of a youth boxing center, a day camp, an art museum and a library--to avoid a $2.7-million deficit next year, according to a city manager’s report.

The 30-page report, which includes a list of budget-reduction options, was prepared as part of the city’s budget review process and will be discussed during a special City Council meeting today. The council is not expected to make final decisions on the 1990-91 budget until the end of June.

Mayor Nao Takasugi said the meeting will give council members and the public an opportunity to discuss budget-cutting options. During the meeting, residents’ groups and city employees are expected to urge the council to spare certain programs and jobs from the budget chopping block, Takasugi said.

“It’s no doubt that we are going to be heavily pressured,” Takasugi said. “We may have to make some very unpopular decisions.”

Although revenues for fiscal 1990-91 are estimated to be $56.3 million--$3.5 million higher than last year--the city’s projected expenditures of $59 million are expected to put the city in the red, according to the report.

For the last two years, Oxnard has had to dip into its reserve funds to avoid a deficit. However, the council has repeatedly said that, this year, it will not touch the reserves, which have dropped from $9 million to $4.2 million in the past five years.

City Manager David Mora said the projected deficit is primarily because of several unexpected expenditures, including a $690,000 increase in the cost of the workers compensation program and $460,000 to remove asbestos from city buildings.

“If we didn’t have these new elements, we’d be balanced,” he said.

The budget-cutting options, which total $3,649,539 and include the elimination of 80 full-time jobs, were drafted by Mora and the city department heads during a series of workshops over the past several months.

Before the final budget is adopted, the council will be asked to review the list of options and decide which cuts to approve, Mora said. “We have given them . . . $1 million worth of flexibility,” he said.

However, Mora and Takasugi said, the city’s financial future could be much brighter if Oxnard voters approve a 5% utility tax slated for the June ballot.

The special tax, which can be approved with a simple majority vote, would add about $5 million annually to Oxnard’s coffers.

Because voters will decide on the tax measure on June 5, three weeks before the city is required to adopt the 1990-91 budget, timing is crucial, Takasugi said. If the tax is adopted, the city would only have a short time to adjust the budget to reflect the additional revenue, he said.

However, Mora said, the city will proceed with the budget review process on the assumption that the tax will not be approved.

Included in the city manager’s list of budget-cutting alternatives are:

* Elimination of 27 positions in the Police Department, including a special four-officer drunk-driving task force, a six-officer motorcycle traffic unit and a nine-officer field tactical team. More than $1.4 million can be cut from the police budget, according to the report.

* Elimination of two emergency rescue squads, including eight firefighting jobs, which would save $343,500.

* Various reductions in the Parks and Recreation Department--including elimination of 19 positions, closure of the La Colonia Youth Boxing Center, the La Colonia Library, the Carnegie Art Museum and restrooms at all city parks. These measures would save $624,000.