Assessment District Recommended to Fund Police : Port Hueneme: Fees could raise $380,000 annually, report says. It also suggests utility tax.

Port Hueneme should consider establishing a new tax assessment district or a utility tax if the city wants to maintain its level of police services, a report released Friday recommended.

The report, issued by Anaheim-based Management Services Institute Inc., said an assessment district, which would cost owners of single-family homes $3.25 a month, would enable the city of nearly 20,000 residents to continue to have its own police department. The district would have to be approved by two-thirds of the city’s voters.

City officials could also impose a utility tax to help fund police, which would be a flat percentage rate based on the total amount of a resident’s utility bill, the report said. The rate could range from 2% to 3%. The City of Ventura currently has a 5% utility tax.

An assessment district could raise as much as $380,000 annually, while a utility tax could bring in $350,000 to $525,000, the report said.

City Council members said Friday that they had yet to view the report. However, the idea of additional taxes met with a mixed response from some council members.

“I don’t intend to support a utility tax right now,” City Councilwoman Toni Young. “We’re going to put a proposition on the ballot for a property tax override to support the police department. That’s totally tax deductible and the money can be used only for maintaining the police department.”

Young said she was also against another assessment district. “It’s not tax deductible,” she said.

But Councilmen Ken Hess and James Daniels said they likely would support additional taxes, although both declined to comment specifically on the report. “Obviously, we do need some more taxes,” Hess said.

Revenue from the utility tax would go in the general fund, but the report suggested earmarking the money specifically to maintain the city’s 19-officer police force.

As a cost-saving measure, city officials are considering contracting with the Oxnard Police Department or the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

“We are paying a little over $2 million a year” for police services, said city Finance Director Jim Hanks. “We don’t know yet if we will save money if we contract out or if it will cost us money to contract.”

Port Hueneme officials hired the consultant in 1991 to do a two-part study of the city’s finances. The second part of the report came as officials and residents are gearing up for a hearing Wednesday on existing assessment districts for beach and median maintenance, and two proposed districts to pay for street lighting and public parks.

“The budget cuts have cut deep into the muscle of Port Hueneme. We’re not talking fat any more,” said consultant Scott Thorpe, co-author of the report. “Those cuts have seriously hampered the city’s ability to provide an adequate service level.”

To save money, the city already has cut the positions of lieutenant and trainee patrol officer from the police department staff, Hanks said. Additional funding could go toward replacing those staff positions and improving police communication systems, the report said.

Port Hueneme resident Gilbert Luna, who has opposed assessment districts that tax on a scale rather than a flat rate citywide, said he could support a tax to help the police department.

“The concept is good, but the question is, would we just be giving them a golden key to tap into the taxpayers,” he said. “ I think probably what is most important in terms of pride for the city is the quick response time from the police. We’re probably willing to pay a premium, providing we don’t create a panacea.”

The City Council has called a special meeting for Monday at 5 p.m., in the City Hall conference room, to study the recommendations. The report also suggested cost-efficient ways to maintain lifeguard service at Hueneme Beach, control graffiti, fortify the general fund, protect the beach from erosion, provide water and sewer service, and maintain residential homes.

The report recommended using a portion of the utility tax to fund the lifeguard service at Hueneme Beach if the proposed park maintenance district is not approved by the council.

The report also suggested setting up a $1-per-month assessment district to pay for a graffiti task force and an extra patrol officer in charge of graffiti. These additions, the report said, could also come from the assessment district for police services.

“The city can decide not to raise additional monies, taxes and or assessments. The city can decide to go with the level of service they’ve cut back to,” said Thorpe. “But over the long term, I think it would be exceedingly detrimental to the lifestyle in Port Hueneme today.”