Camarillo Joins Bid to Get Sales Tax Funds for More Police

Camarillo officials have joined a small group of Ventura County municipal leaders demanding that the county share revenues derived from the Proposition 172 half-cent sales tax to add police patrols in their respective cities.

County officials are considering spending most of those sales tax revenues to pay for the Todd Road jail under construction near Santa Paula and for increases in sheriff’s patrols in unincorporated areas of the county.

But at Wednesday night’s meeting, the Camarillo City Council agreed to push supervisors to allow at least a part of the estimated $1.8 million of the sales taxes generated in Camarillo to remain in the city to hire more officers.

Officials estimate that Ventura County revenues from the levy could top $26 million annually.

“Since the majority of crimes occur in the cities, the majority of people live in the cities and the majority of revenues to hire police officers are generated in cities, we believe that some formula should be developed to share a portion of the extra dollars with the cities,” City Manager Bill Little said.

In November, California voters agreed to make permanent a temporary half-cent sales tax increase, with the understanding that the money be used for public safety. Officials said Camarillo voters approved the new tax by a 56% majority.

Little said he sent a letter to County Supervisor Maggie Kildee on Jan. 12, asking her to consider the city’s request. So far, Kildee has not responded. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Camarillo now pays $4.4 million to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to provide police services in the city.

Frank Schillo, a Thousand Oaks city councilman and a candidate for the Board of Supervisors, applauded the Camarillo proposal.

“While I believe that what the sheriff is planning to do with that money will help all Ventura County cities, I still would like the cities to get a portion of that back,” Schillo said.

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton has proposed a slightly different way to share the sales tax with cities. He suggests that the tax revenues be used to eliminate his city’s debt to the county for jail-booking fees.

He added that by having the county pay the booking fees, his city and others could pay for more police by using a city reserve fund that has been set aside as a result of a lawsuit over jail-booking fees between the cities and the county.

Since 1990, the cities have accrued a bill of nearly $900,000 by refusing to pay the fees.

“I’d prefer to see (the county) pay the fees,” Stratton said. “I think that way we could use the money to put more cops on the street right away.”

Camarillo officials said they believed that their city’s voters would not have supported the initiative had they known their vote would not mean an increase in their city’s public safety.

“This is a matter of trust,” City Councilwoman Charlotte Craven said. “If that trust is betrayed, they’ll never support anything like this ever again.”

Mayor Ken Gose agreed.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the voters wouldn’t have passed this if they had thought it wouldn’t help them,” he said.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Ray Abbott, who doubles as Camarillo’s police chief, said that even half of the city’s sales tax revenue--$900,000--could mean that five additional officers could be hired and put on patrol in Camarillo.

Stopping short of ordering an all-out publicity campaign, members of the council instructed Little to wait until early next month, then contact Kildee again to sound out where she stands on the city’s request.