THOUSAND OAKS : Sheriff to Collect Initiative Signatures

Determined to make sure that public safety funds pay for cops--not animal control officers or court bailiffs--Ventura County Sheriff Larry Carpenter will collect signatures today for a “Close the Loophole” initiative.

Carpenter will be stationed outside the United Artists Theater on the south side of The Oaks mall from noon to 2 p.m. Volunteers are collecting signatures at 38 shopping centers throughout the county.

The petition calls for the Board of Supervisors to use money raised by Proposition 172’s half-cent sales tax solely for public safety. A majority of the present board supports that position, but petition organizers want an iron-clad guarantee. They hope their signature drive will force a legal commitment that could not be reversed by future supervisors.

Last year, the supervisors allocated some of the $27 million in Proposition 172 funds to the courts, the coroner’s office and the mental health department.

“We want to close the loophole that allows the Board of Supervisors to define public safety any way they want,” said Otto Stoll, president of Citizens for a Safe Ventura County and an organizer of the petition drive. “We gotta win this one. We don’t have any choice. The folks who make the budget look at the Sheriff’s Department as the biggest target for cuts.”