Half-Cent Sales Tax Initiative Advised : Finances: County staff report recommends asking for voters’ judgment on levy to support transit projects.

Ventura County officials should ask voters to consider a half-cent sales tax for transportation this November, county staff members reported Friday, saying business leaders back the measure and there is enough time for an effective campaign.

In a report presented to the Ventura County Transportation Commission, the commission staff recommended the move based on an informal survey of local businesses conducted during the past several weeks with the help of a consultant.

A number of business leaders agreed to support the tax and the transit projects it would finance because they would relieve pressure on industry to reduce pollution, the report said.

“The general consensus is that there is never a good time to raise taxes,” the report said. But based on the discussions with business leaders, “it appears that there is both financial support and adequate time for a good campaign effort.”

In letters addressed to the commission, a handful of local businesses expressed their support for the measure.

“In light of the severe air emission restrictions that are facing Ventura County . . . we all realize that every reasonable measure must be taken to demonstrate attainment (of pollution standards) and still be able to conduct business in the county,” wrote Marcia A. Secord, district manager for Southern California Gas Co.

If approved by a majority of voters, the sales tax would climb to 7.75%, raising more than $500 million over 20 years for road and public transit projects throughout the county.

Commission members agreed to allow the staff to continue preparing a measure for the ballot but asked for more information, postponing a final decision until a special meeting scheduled for June 24.

“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the unavailability of funding for streets and transit,” Commissioner David Smith said. “I believe this option should be kept open.”

If the commission agrees to move forward with the tax, it would not go on the ballot unless it is also approved by the Board of Supervisors and at least half of the 10 cities in the county.

Consideration of the measure comes four years after Ventura County voters overwhelmingly defeated a similar transportation sales-tax proposal.

At its May meeting, the commission agreed to pay a consulting firm--Townsend, Hermocillo, Raimundo & Usher of Sacramento--$20,000 to come up with a ballot measure that would be palatable to Ventura County voters.

The consultant has worked on successful sales-tax campaigns in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Ventura County is the largest county in California that does not collect a transportation sales tax, and the only county in Southern California without one.

As in 1990, the campaign--which would cost an estimated $400,000--could be funded by businesses seeking ways to comply with federal regulations to improve public transit and reduce air pollution, commission Executive Director Ginger Gherardi said.

Working with the consultant, the commission staff has proposed spending 60% of the money on roads and 40% on public transit projects, including Metrolink and buses.

A preliminary list of road projects to be financed with the money includes rebuilding Ventura Freeway interchanges at Victoria Avenue in Ventura and Carmen Drive in Camarillo; widening the freeway between Johnson Drive in Ventura and Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard; and widening the Moorpark Freeway in Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.

Under the preliminary proposal, a citizens’ oversight committee would be formed to make sure the funds are allocated properly.

“This is just a draft and is subject to change based on your input and what we come up with from the public in the next few weeks,” Gherardi told the commission.

In other action, the commission decided to stick with a plan to pay for Metrolink service to Camarillo and Oxnard through June, 1995, despite concerns of some city and county officials that the service could eventually drain funds from other projects.

The commuter train service was extended to Camarillo and Oxnard after the Jan. 17 earthquake to ease congestion on damaged freeways. Federal emergency funds are paying most of the cost of the service until October 1.

The commission has agreed to pay $260,000 to continue the service until next June in order to have more time to gauge ridership. Fewer than 150 passengers a day currently board the train in Oxnard and Camarillo.