Oxnard Slashes Public Works, Street Repairs in 1st Budget Round

Struggling to cope with a projected city budget deficit of $2.4 million in the coming year, the Oxnard City Council decided Tuesday to trim 18 jobs from the public works department and cut deeply into street repair projects.

Oxnard’s six-member street pothole repair crew will be cut in half and a street sign program will be eliminated as a result of the budget-slashing session, one in a series hitting at virtually all the city’s major departments.

By the end of Tuesday’s session, the council had already identified $1.8 million in cuts and new revenues to reduce the deficit in fiscal year 1991-92. The cuts include about $700,000 that will be trimmed from the public works department’s budget.

City officials say they need to make up a $2.4-million deficit projected for next year. In coming weeks, the city will complete its series of budget reduction sessions by looking for cuts in the Police Department, library and redevelopment agency.

On Tuesday, the ax fell on one of the city’s two three-person crews in charge of pothole patching. Also eliminated were two workers charged with sealing street cracks and maintaining street curbs.

With the elimination of the new street sign program, the council cut two more positions from the payroll. The council also eliminated one management, one custodian, one dispatch clerk and one mechanic position.

The water division of the public works department, which will be charged with implementing the city’s water conservation program, was cut by six jobs to a new total of 32 positions.

A water general supervisor and a waste water general supervisor were among the positions that the council agreed to eliminate.

“It’ll be tough,” James E. Frandsen, public works director, said of the mandated cuts. “If it rains for a couple of days, you’ll definitely see a lot of potholes.”

The council also instructed Frandsen to look into the possibility of transferring the cost of a $680,000 storm drain treatment program to the public by adding it to the sewer bill. The program is designed to ensure that storm drain water meets federal Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Assistant City Manager John Tooker said such a move would add about $10 a year to the city’s average sewer bill.

With Tuesday’s proposed cuts, which must be ratified in upcoming budget deliberations before they become effective, the city has identified 46 positions so far that will probably be eliminated from next year’s budget.

Hardest hit by the budget slashing measures were the public works and the Parks and Recreation departments.

Last week, the City Council cut close to $800,000 from the Parks and Recreation Department by eliminating most of its youth programs, special events, a sports festival and a minibus program for senior citizens.

“The budget cuts will have a tightening-up effect on the city,” Mayor Nao Takasugi said. “Everybody will have to work a little harder and a little longer, but there’s no two ways about it. We have to bite the bullet and make the painful decisions.”