Supervisors Face a Host of Pivotal Issues in ’95 : Government: First priority will be to hire a new administrator. Other challenges include the budget and resolving trash disposal dispute.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors, which convenes this week with new members Judy Mikels and Frank Schillo, will grapple with a host of issues in 1995 that could reshape county policies on everything from the budget to waste disposal.

But the first priority of the powerful board will be to hire a chief administrator to help guide the county into the next century.

Richard Wittenberg, who has served as the county’s top executive for 16 years, is leaving this month to take a job in Santa Clara County. A search for a replacement is already under way, and board members said they hope to begin interviewing candidates in March.

Choosing the new administrator, who will be responsible for overseeing an $860-million annual budget and the daily operations of county government, will probably be the single most important decision the board makes in 1995, officials said.

“It’s a very important role,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee said. “The leadership of a chief administrative officer can help keep the county going in the right direction . . . certainly keep the ship steady.”

Other challenges in 1995:

* Faced with an estimated $42-million deficit, the board again will be scrambling to come up with more service cuts to balance its budget. In the process, the board hopes to settle a continuing quarrel with county law enforcement officials over the distribution of $27 million in sales tax dollars generated from voter-approved Proposition 172.

* With Bailard Landfill in Oxnard scheduled to close in 1997, the board is expected to resolve a longstanding dispute over what to do about trash disposal in the west county. Both Mikels and Schillo campaigned in favor of a proposal to develop a new dump at Weldon Canyon near Ojai. But Supervisor John Flynn, a longtime supporter of that plan, now says he is having second thoughts.

* The board is also expected to consider a proposal to develop a commercial airport at the Navy base at Point Mugu. The Navy has offered to share its runway with commercial jets as a cost-saving measure. County supervisors say a commercial airport at the base could become a reality if they can be persuaded that it will not lead to runaway development or increased air traffic over Camarillo.

The county budget figures to be a hot issue of debate this year, especially since both Schillo and Mikels have already pledged to dedicate all Proposition 172 funding to public safety agencies.

Proposition 172, approved in 1993, authorized a half-cent sales tax increase to augment public safety services. Despite protests from law enforcement officials, the board last year allocated more than $1 million in Proposition 172 funds to departments outside public safety, and left another $4 million in revenues undesignated.

In response, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury and Sheriff Larry Carpenter launched a petition drive to place a measure on the ballot this year that would guarantee all the proposition money to public safety. Schillo, Mikels and Flynn signed the petition.

Schillo said rather than depending on Proposition 172 money to balance its budget, the county must look for other ways to cut expenditures. He said his primary objectives will be to do away with little-used programs and reduce the size of the county’s work force by eliminating vacant positions.

“I’m talking about downsizing government,” he said. “The budget drives everything, so we’ve got to be lean and mean.”

To help reduce overhead costs, Mikels said, she wants to look at contracting more with private firms to perform various county jobs such as building and equipment maintenance. She said the county must also work more closely with cities to consolidate some services.

“I firmly believe the general public is tired of government spending more and more money less effectively,” Mikels said. “Reality has slapped us in the face. We can’t keep going on as we are.”

Regardless of what budget strategy it adopts, the board will still have some tough decisions to make this year in terms of service cuts, officials said.

“I don’t envy them because we’ve gotten to the point that wherever you cut there’s going to be a substantial body of citizens upset about it,” said Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon.

Indeed, some county departments are still feeling the pinch from previous budget cuts. For example, the county assessor’s office, which has seen its staff shrink from 149 to 96 in the last four years, is having a difficult time keeping up with its heavy workload, officials said.

This year an unprecedented 7,000 taxpayers have filed appeals to have their properties reassessed. In addition, the county office is having to process 3,700 tax relief claims filed by people whose property was severely damaged in the Northridge earthquake.

“Budget cuts have had a big effect on my office,” Assessor Glenn Gray said. “It’s really hampered our ability to do our work. And it has obviously affected morale. Our people are out looking for other jobs because they’re afraid of more cuts.”

Another major issue that is expected to pop up again this year is a longstanding dispute over a proposed landfill at Weldon Canyon near Ojai.

Both Schillo and Mikels are strong backers of the proposed dump, but they may be the only ones on the board who support it.

Flynn, who had long been an advocate of a Weldon Canyon proposal, said he is no longer convinced that another landfill is the answer to the county’s trash problems. Flynn said he will be speaking out more on this issue in the weeks ahead.

Although they remain open to suggestions, Schillo and Mikels said they are adamantly opposed to west county cities sending their trash to the Simi Valley Landfill.

“I will fight to the death to keep them from sending trash to Simi Valley,” Schillo said. “I just think that’s wrong.”

Kildee said that if a landfill is built at Weldon Canyon, she fears it will become a regional dump that would eventually take trash from such places as Los Angeles.

“I’m not sure it would be good for Ventura County,” she said. “I think it would become an albatross around our neck.”

Kildee noted that several west county cities are forming a joint powers authority to come up with alternatives for disposing of their trash. She said one alternative would be to ship the trash elsewhere by rail.

“I believe we can use rail-haul,” Kildee said. “There are places that are willing to take our trash. I think it would be cheaper than building a dump.”

Also this year, the new board could determine whether a commercial airport is developed at the Navy base at Point Mugu.

Schillo, Mikels and Flynn all support the proposal, which they said could provide a big boost to the local economy, attracting new businesses.

But critics say there are not enough passengers here to warrant building a $2-million airport terminal. They also point out that recession-battered airlines are cutting back flights, not adding them.

Flynn, however, said he is convinced that the county could support a commercial airport at Point Mugu. He noted that commuter air service from Oxnard Airport to Los Angeles is heavily used.

“I do think we have a need for it,” Flynn said. “The Oxnard Airport is all filled up. And studies have shown that people would like to have commercial service in Ventura County.”

Flynn said he plans to meet with representatives of Southwest Airlines, UPS, Fed Ex and other freight carriers in the coming weeks to see if they would be interested in using the airport.

Even more important than the development of a commercial airport, however, is making sure that the two Navy bases at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme remain open, Flynn said. Both bases are threatened with closure because of continuing defense cutbacks.

A countywide task force of public officials, defense contractors and retired military leaders has been aggressively lobbying Washington officials to keep the bases off its hit-list this year. The Navy pours $1.5 billion a year into the bases and employs about 20,000 people.

“If a joint-use of Point Mugu jeopardizes keeping the base open, then I might pull back my support for the (proposed) airport,” said Flynn, a member of the Base Realignment Enclosure Commission, or BRAC, ’95 Task Force. “However, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

The new year will also see two major events that are certain to have a large impact on the county for years to come.

The new $53-million county jail near Santa Paula is scheduled to open this spring, and the Cal State University system will purchase 260 acres of agricultural land in Camarillo that will serve as the home of a long-planned public university.

Kildee said both the jail and a university will mean more jobs and business opportunities for the county.

“So there is some good news,” she said. “There are some good things that are happening.”