COUNTYWIDE : County OKs $20,000 for Telecommuting

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the county’s Air Pollution Control District to allocate $20,000 to help implement a new telecommuting program in Simi Valley.

The program would allow out-of-town employers to rent office space in Simi Valley at a reduced rate so local workers would not have to commute.

The telecommuting program will help employers comply with Rule 210, a county air pollution regulation that requires businesses to reduce the number of employees commuting alone to work, said Charles Coffey, director of the Simi Valley Transportation Management Assn.

He said he has already talked to several employers who are interested in participating in the program.

The money from the pollution control district would come from Department of Motor Vehicle fees.

The city of Simi Valley already has contributed $12,000 and Caltrans another $60,000 for start-up costs of the new telecommuting program, Coffey said. The transportation management association, working with the Chamber of Commerce and Supervisor Vicky Howard, put the program together.

The association is one of several organizations in the county formed to help employers, developers and government agencies develop transportation programs.

Coffey said the association will provide participants with workstations, including desks, filing cabinets and photocopiers.

He said employers will have to set up their own computer and telephone lines.

He said office space in the building used by the association at 40 W. Cochran St. would be used.

“It’s exciting because it is something that is new,” he said.

“Our success here will mean that it can work in other places. It’s the kind of thing that will spread throughout the county.”