OXNARD : Minibus Is Victim of Parks Budget Cuts

In an attempt to balance the budget, Oxnard City Council has cut about $790,000 from parks and recreation programs, including funds for a minibus that transports the blind, handicapped and elderly.

The vote to eliminate the minibus was 4 to 1, with Councilwoman Dorothy Maron dissenting at Wednesday’s budget workshop.

“I feel it impacts a certain group of people that will find it extremely difficult to be mobile,” Maron said. “These are people who do not readily have the money to take a taxi. . . . Many of these folks are on Social Security.”

Maron said she would attempt to bring the subject of the minibus back to the council as discussions on the 1991-92 budget continue.

The minibus program costs $111,016 to run and brings in $2,800 in revenue, a city official said. The program serves about 900 residents.

Marena Hiner, who uses a wheelchair, said she rides the minibus 10 times a month.

“I’m pretty upset about the whole thing,” Hiner said. “It was giving me a lot more freedom. I’m really fearful that it might curtail the better part of my life and keep me at home.”

The minibus program is only one of many that would be killed under the proposal to cope with a city budget shortfall of $4.9 million.

Recreation Supt. Gordon Vinther said the cuts to his department were devastating.

“Knowing the council people, this was done with a great deal of reluctance. These are very austere times,” Vinther said.

Most of the cuts to the Parks and Recreation Department are for maintenance of parks, public grounds, easements and street trees.

Other programs cut in the preliminary budget include:

* Sports camps and leagues, which affect 850 youth participants, for a savings to the city of $17,802.

* Youth socials and educational workshops, which affect 1,600 young people, saving the city $25,000.

* Adult programs including running events and co-ed volleyball, which cost the city $70,000 and affect 1,100 people.

The city would save $40,000 by eliminating special-events programming.