VENTURA : Council Rejects Bid for P.R. Coordinator

The Ventura City Council is in favor of good relations with the public but against spending $100,000 over two years to improve them, members said.

At Monday night’s meeting, council members rejected a staff proposal to hire a $33,000-a-year public relations coordinator to distribute press releases and train city staff in working with the media.

The proposal included additional expenses for administrative costs and printing informational pamphlets for residents.

The vote was 6 to 0, with Councilman Gary Tuttle absent.

Council members voiced concern about the cost of adding the proposed employee to the payroll. They also said they hoped that the new city manager they are searching for would spearhead efforts to improve the city’s public image.

“This would be one of the first problems that we would like to see a new city manager tackle,” Councilman Jack Tingstrom said.

Council members took pains to clarify that they were not opposed to the idea of citizen awareness, only the cost.

“I thought there were a number of excellent ideas in there,” Mayor Tom Buford said. “I certainly think that we want to go as far as we can in terms of existing resources.”