THOUSAND OAKS : Grand Jury’s Tax Proposal Criticized

The city manager of Thousand Oaks on Tuesday sharply criticized a recommendation by the Ventura County Grand Jury that money generated by sales taxes be allocated to each city based on its population instead of on the amount of money collected in its retail stores.

The state Legislature would have to amend the state Constitution to implement the grand jury’s suggestion.

“It would be grossly unfair,” said City Manager Grant Brimhall, whose city could end up losing several million dollars in taxes annually if the suggestion is implemented by the state. “We already contribute 60% to the county general fund on a per capita basis.

“There is a view that the east county is rich and we ought to pay for everyone else’s costs. . . . There are those who say, ‘Let’s take more from Thousand Oaks.’ ”

Brimhall said Thousand Oaks spends money to cope with traffic generated by retail stores, and should therefore be allowed to keep a greater portion of the tax money.

Thousand Oaks, with a population of 104,378, received $103.87 per person in sales tax, according to the State Board of Equalization Annual Report for 1988-89.

In contrast, Port Hueneme, with a population of 20,501, received $26.37 per person--the least amount of sales tax of any city in the county. Moorpark, with 25,173 people, received $29.87 per person.

The grand jury said it has observed that cities scramble to attract retail and industrial development to increase their revenue.