VENTURA : Council Votes to Join County Suit
The Ventura City Council voted Monday to join nine other cities in a lawsuit against Ventura County for withholding more than $1.3 million in property tax revenue.
The county has withheld property tax payments from cities and school districts to cover the shortfall from fees that cities have refused to pay for booking prisoners into Ventura County Jail and for collecting property taxes.
The city is suffering a $1.55-million deficit, after the Legislature allowed counties to bill cities for booking prisoners into jail and collecting property tax costs which the county passed on to the city.
The council voted 5 to 0 Monday to join the suit, which claims that the county violated state law by failing to notify the cities before it withheld the money.
Ventura will pay 15.9% of the total legal cost for pursuing the lawsuit, according to city documents.
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