$4 Million in State Transit Funds Found : Transportation: The county and its 10 cities will now divvy up $17 million. The money was undetected for six years.

An independent auditor has found an extra $4 million in state transportation funds reserved for Ventura County and its 10 cities, money that has accumulated in a county bank account over a six-year period, officials said Tuesday.

The discovery of the additional money means that the county and each of its 10 cities will receive--in most instances--hundreds of thousands of dollars more in transportation money for 1992-93 than originally expected. Instead of divvying up $13 million, the county and its cities will share slightly more than $17 million.

“We’re very delighted,” said Mary Gayle, an attorney representing the Ventura County Transportation Commission. “To find $4 million is like finding the tooth fairy left you a gold nugget.”

But Gayle said she was in the dark as to why the unused money had apparently gone undetected until now.

The auditor, hired by the transportation commission to determine if there were any funds it had overlooked, informed that panel of his findings earlier this month. The auditor’s report, which cost the commission $15,000, was presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for its recommendation on how the newfound money should be distributed.

The transportation commission’s staff told the panel at its May 1 meeting that although an audit conducted two years ago by the county auditor’s office showed the $4 million in unused transit funds, “the transportation commission never received a copy of this audit. The county auditor, for the last several years, has not included this revenue in the estimate of funds available for apportionment.”

The report to the panel was prepared by Ginger Gherardi, executive director of the commission, and Mary Travis, manager of transportation projects. Both Gherardi and Travis were out of town attending meetings and could not be reached for comment.

However, County Auditor Norman R. Hawkes said his office did report the audit’s findings to the commission’s staff. He said the money was generated through interest earnings on state transportation funds that the county received from 1984 to 1990.

“They’re saying something I disagree with,” Hawkes said of the commission’s staff. “The information was available to them. Now whether they did anything with it or not, is another question.”

The city of Oxnard is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the newfound money, with a recommended $798,000. Thousand Oaks is next with a proposed gain of $586,770, followed by Simi Valley, which is expected to pick up an additional $560,122. The county is expected receive another $491,000.

The Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 0 Tuesday to recommend that current population figures provided by the state Department of Finance be used to determine how the money will be split among the county and its cities. The Southern California Assn. of Governments, which will ultimately decide how the money will be allocated, is expected to approve the recommendation at its meeting in June.

Arthur E. Goulet, director of the county’s Public Works Department, urged the board Tuesday not to use current population figures in allocating the money. Goulet argued that it would be more appropriate and beneficial to the county to use population figures reported at the time the money was accumulating.

Goulet said that if the board approved allocating the unused money based on new population data, the county would lose $50,000 to $70,000.

But Supervisors Susan K. Lacey and Vicky Howard, who also sit on the county transportation commission, objected to Goulet’s proposal. They said the allocation of funds was a countywide issue involving the transportation needs of all 10 cities and not simply the county.

For this reason, they said it was only right to distribute the money based on current population figures.

“That’s where today’s transit needs are,” Lacey said. “The money should follow the need today.”

Meanwhile, transit officials in Oxnard and Simi Valley said they plan to use the majority of the extra money they will receive on road improvement projects.

“Every dollar is needed,” said Bob Heitzman, deputy city manager of Simi Valley.

He said much of the city’s share of the money will be used to widen various sections of First Street and for resurfacing streets throughout the city. He said some of the money also will be used to operate the city’s bus service.

Bob Weithofer, Oxnard’s traffic and transportation manager, said the city will use all its money on road improvement and maintenance projects. He said it was too early to say which projects would get priority.

Weithofer said his city is pleased to be getting the additional money but said that Oxnard’s road repair needs far outweigh its abilities to pay for them.

“It will help us along,” he said of the extra money. “No matter what the sum is, it’s always welcomed.”