Police Tax Issue Headed for Ballot : Port Hueneme: City Council agrees to ask voters if they are willing to pay more to retain the local department.

Port Hueneme voters will be asked in June to approve an extra $500,000 a year in property taxes to retain the city’s own Police Department and restore it to full strength, the City Council unanimously agreed Wednesday.

Before deciding to place the measure on the June ballot, the council expressed its hope that voters would demonstrate their regard for the Police Department by mounting the two-thirds vote needed to approve the tax hike.

Under the proposed tax measure, owners of single-family homes would pay an extra $50 a year in property taxes, with the typical business paying as much as $600.

“You have a choice,” City Manager John R. Velthoen told the audience in the council chambers. “You can continue to cut city programs or you can look for new ways to raise revenues.”

Without additional funds, Velthoen said the city will probably have to close the Police Department and contract with either the Oxnard Police Department or the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to provide police services.

“I’m afraid if we went to the Sheriff’s Department, we would not be able to afford the niceties our department provides us with,” Councilman Ken Hess said.

Paying for a larger department to extend police service to Port Hueneme is one of the few ways the financially beleaguered city of nearly 20,000 people can achieve significant savings, said Finance Director Jim Hanks.

The City Council has already closed the Dorill B. Wright Cultural Center, curtailed programs at the city sports center and cut park maintenance lost during $900,000 in budget cuts earlier this year.

The Sheriff’s Department, which already provides police service to four cities in Ventura County, has submitted a proposal that would save Port Hueneme more than $522,000 a year from its current $2.2-million annual budget.

The city of Oxnard has also agreed to provide Port Hueneme with a contract proposal, but has yet to formally submit its offer. Under a draft proposal, the Oxnard Police Department would agree to provide police services to Port Hueneme for slightly less than the Sheriff’s Department.

Both proposals would have officers in Port Hueneme wear uniforms and drive patrol cars that identify them as Port Hueneme police.

Specifically, the ballot measure calls for the creation of a citywide benefit assessment district that would allow the city to “override” the legal limit on property taxes imposed 15 years ago by Proposition 13. Approval by 66.7% of the city’s voters is needed for the property tax override to pass.

If the measure is rejected--as some officials fear is inevitable--but is supported by a majority of voters, the council might adopt a utility tax, Velthoen said.

At Wednesday’s sometimes-emotional hearing, residents voiced support for the Port Hueneme Police Department, saying the officers often performed services that larger departments neglect.

Several residents questioned the council’s spending priorities, suggesting the council could find dollars to fully fund the Police Department without requiring the new tax.

“I think we have our priorities reversed,” resident David Kanter said. “I think it is shameful for the city to threaten us with the loss of our Police Department if we don’t pass a special tax override. That’s blackmail.”