Council Weighs $3.3 Million in Cuts : Oxnard: Members say they are unsure how much longer they can get by without laying off city workers.

The Oxnard City Council tore into its anticipated $3.3-million budget shortfall Tuesday, weighing recommendations that would eliminate two fire rescue squads, close the library branch in the city’s La Colonia barrio and force layoffs for the first time in four years.

While they won’t make a final decision until the summer, council members agreed to start pouring the foundation for what promises to be the fourth consecutive year of painful budget cuts.

Money shortages have already sliced 120 positions from a work force that stood at 1,100 positions just four years ago.

The city has managed to avoid layoffs while accomplishing those reductions, but council members said Tuesday that they are unsure how much longer they can get by without laying off workers.

“I think we have reached the point now where we no longer can live with the idea that we won’t have layoffs,” Councilman Michael Plisky said. “It’s now up to us to make the hard decisions.”

After months of presentations by department managers, City Manager Vern Hazen on Tuesday offered the council a list of potential budget cuts totaling $1.4 million.

Hazen suggested a $30,000 cut to the city’s economic development efforts and $62,000 in savings by cutting two custodian positions at City Hall.

Despite calls to beef up public safety, police staffing would remain unchanged under Hazen’s proposal. Oxnard’s Police Department is among the lowest staffed in the nation for cities with a population of 100,000 to 250,000.

But it was a proposal to cut $250,000 out of the Fire Department budget, by eliminating six employees who staff two rescue squads, that drew the most criticism.

“You can take those squads and drive them right into the ocean; it’s that additional staff personnel we need on duty,” said Bill Gallaher, president of Oxnard’s firefighters union. “With the cuts, we would have 20 firefighters on duty at any one time to respond to emergencies, and that’s just not enough.”

While not endorsing the recommendation, Councilman Andres Herrera said the council must know its options before moving forward.

“This is not a very easy exercise,” Herrera said. “It’s not so much that we want to be alarmists, but there are some areas we need to explore.”

Most of the city’s anticipated $3.3-million shortfall is the result of the state’s decision to withhold fees that used to trickle down to local government.

Council members said they have tired of cutting municipal services because the state can’t manage its budget problems.

“I think we need to tell our legislators to balance their own damn budget,” Plisky said. “I think we need to get serious and deal with these guys. We can’t hold their hands anymore.”