City Challenges Distribution of Prop. 172 Funds : Camarillo: Officials say voters supported sales tax measure because they thought that it would mean more officers locally.

Hoping to persuade the county to reconsider funding more sheriff’s deputies in Camarillo, the City Council has called a special meeting Wednesday to protest the Ventura County Board of Supervisors’ denial of its request for a share of $26 million in Proposition 172 funds.

Camarillo officials said they believe that the city’s residents supported making the half-cent sales tax measure permanent by a margin of 56% because they thought that it would put more deputies on the street.

Now, city officials say, many residents feel hoodwinked by the high-profile political campaign that pushed the initiative to victory in the county in November.

In a January letter to the board, city officials asked the county for $1.8 million of the funding to bolster their police force. The supervisors, however, denied the request and voted unanimously March 1 to allocate a majority of the money--$24 million--to county law enforcement agencies, including the district attorney, the public defender and the corrections services director. About $10 million will go toward operation of the new Todd Road Jail, scheduled to open next year.

City officials said they have no legal basis to challenge the supervisors’ decision, but are pushing ahead with the special meeting to demonstrate that many residents are angry about how the money will be allocated.

Supervisor Maggie Kildee, whose district includes Camarillo, said she will attend the meeting.

“I want Maggie to feel the heat,” Councilman Michael Morgan said, adding that he hopes that the supervisors will be persuaded to give his city the funding to add an additional officer around-the-clock to the city’s current four-officer-per-shift force.

“People have been hammering us regularly on this,” Morgan said. “I think it’s her turn.”

Kildee defended her decision to deny Camarillo and the county’s other cities a portion of the initiative’s funding for other law enforcement efforts.

“I believe that spending the funds the way we have directed will benefit all residents in the county,” Kildee said. “Still, I recognize (Camarillo voters’) concerns. I am attending this meeting because it’s an opportunity for me to listen and to explain why I voted the way I did.”

Kildee said that by pouring most of the funds into countywide law enforcement, the 10 cities will benefit by gaining extra sheriff’s patrols in unincorporated areas such as Camarillo Heights and by use of the new jail itself.

Camarillo City Councilwoman Charlotte Craven warned that unless the city gets even a small portion of the Proposition 172 funds, voters may not be so quick to support other similar campaigns.

“The next time we need the voters to get behind something we need, they are probably going to think twice,” Craven said.

Camarillo City Manager Bill Little said the meeting is a chance for residents to question Kildee directly on her position on the distribution of the funds.

“We’re not doing this to embarrass anyone,” Little said. “But I think the supervisors should know what their (constituents) are thinking.”

Bill Torrence, president of the Ventura County League of Homeowners, a group representing homeowners countywide, said in a statement that the supervisors overstepped their authority in distributing the funds the way they did.

The Camarillo meeting will start at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 601 Carmen Drive.