Supervisors May Spend $70,000 on Safety Study

Ventura County supervisors today will consider spending almost $70,000 to study how to make their employees more secure in their workplaces.

The report was requested by supervisors after the deadly rampage that began at the Oxnard unemployment office last December and left five people dead, including gunman Alan Winterbourne and Oxnard Police Detective James O’Brien.

But at least one supervisor said the $69,900 might be better spent elsewhere.

“I don’t think I would vote for this,” said Supervisor John K. Flynn, who represents the district where the Dec. 2 shooting began. “I’m very concerned about employee safety, but I’d rather spend $70,000 putting in some protective windows or hiring a security guard” than on a study. A committee of top department heads and other officials was formed following the rampage to study ways to tighten security at the county’s numerous office buildings.

After each department submitted security alternatives to committee members, the panel solicited bids from consultants for a comprehensive security plan.

The contract proposal up for consideration today asks supervisors to approve spending $69,900 to hire Tomasi-Dubois & Associates of Los Gatos to perform the three-month study.

“I really have reservations about putting that much money into a consultant’s contract,” Flynn said.