Moorpark Strains to Cut Budget : Public safety: Proposed increases in the cost of sheriff’s services threaten the plan to open a storefront station.

Steep increases in the cost of police services have Moorpark officials scrambling to cover a quarter-million-dollar deficit in next year’s budget, city officials said Tuesday.

As a result, Moorpark City Council members might have to postpone plans to increase police presence in town with a proposed police storefront, said Councilman Bernardo Perez.

The council may also have to reduce the number of Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies who patrol Moorpark from 20 to 19, Perez said.

“It’s a real eye-opener when you look over these numbers,” said Perez, who serves on the city’s budget committee. “It doesn’t much matter what we think of the (police storefront) idea, we’re going to have to make some tough choices to correct this deficit.”

Monday night, the budget committee began grappling with how to balance Moorpark’s budget of more than $4 million. Last year, the city spent $2.4 million of its operating budget on police services. This year, the department is asking for $200,000 more.

“All things considered in this budget year, that sort of increase is unacceptable,” said Mayor Paul Lawrason, who serves on the committee with Perez. “It’s always been the biggest item on the budget. When a single item can make up 60% of your total budget it drives a lot of what happens everywhere else.”

Lt. Geoff Dean, who heads the Moorpark division for the Sheriff’s Department, said the steep increase was in line with annual hikes in the cost of services. The additional funding is needed to cover cost-of-living increases for deputies and other department personnel, and to cover a 25% increase in the cost of maintaining patrol cars and motorcycles.

Moorpark has had the lowest crime rate of any Ventura County city since 1992, sheriff’s figures show, but city officials continue to stress the need for increased police presence in the city. Deputies assigned to patrol Moorpark work out of the station in Thousand Oaks.

Councilman Pat Hunter, who introduced the idea of opening a police storefront in town, said even with budget constraints the idea would still be feasible. He said the actual cost of staffing the facility would amount to less than $20,000, and would add measurably to public safety in town.

Despite Hunter’s optimism, the budget deficit could make the downtown facility infeasible, budget committee members said.

The City Council tonight will discuss options to make up the budget shortfalls. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Moorpark City Hall, at 799 Moorpark Ave.

“At this stage it’s a little early to speculate, but all cuts should be considered,” Lawrason said.