VENTURA : Consolidation of Departments Urged
Ventura City Manager John Baker announced a proposal Tuesday to reorganize the city’s six departments into five, saying an anticipated budget shortfall makes it necessary “to gain more efficiency.”
The proposal, which will be considered by the City Council in a few weeks, calls for keeping the police, fire and public works departments essentially the same, except for adding some more responsibilities on public works.
The Finance Department would be renamed General Services and combine administrative functions such as finance, personnel and data processing.
The Community Development Department would be renamed Community Services and be responsible for planning, redevelopment, engineering, cultural arts and recreation.
The Parks and Recreation Department would be eliminated, and its services divided primarily between public works and community services.
It is too soon to estimate how many of the city’s 625 employees may be laid off, Baker said. The six departments will most likely stay intact until a new budget is adopted in June, he said.
City officials are estimating a loss of $2 million to $6 million in revenues over the next two years, Baker said.
“We’ve got to take a look at doing things differently,” he said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
