County Stands by Decision to Stop Hiring

Although agreeing to allow the county assessor to hire temporary help, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a request for 22 permanent positions in that office and reinforced its decision to stop hiring in most departments.

With the county facing a $46-million deficit, “we have to stop the bleeding at this moment in time until we can get a handle on this budget,” said Supervisor Frank Schillo, who proposed the temporary hiring freeze.

Schillo’s comments came after Assessor Glenn Gray pleaded with the board for nearly two hours to grant him permission to hire 22 full-time appraisers and assistants to catch up with a backlog of property assessment appeals.

Gray warned that if his office is not able to review the appeals within a state-imposed two-year deadline, the county risks a major revenue loss that could affect everything from county schools to the Fire Department.

“I think a loss of any revenues should not be acceptable,” Gray said. “We generate revenue and if you want that revenue, you should be providing the funding to get it.”

Gray said that the workload in his office has skyrocketed because of a large drop in property values brought on by the recession, triggering the increase in property assessment appeals. He said the loss of 17 positions in the assessor’s office last year has only compounded the problem.

“I’m in the hole,” Gray said, his voice rising in frustration. “You put me in the hole when you cut me last year. It broke my back.”

Schillo said that he understood Gray’s concerns, but was not about to approve any new full-time positions while the county is trying to come up with ways to erase a large budget deficit.

“I’m not going to approve anything today that is going to impact the 1995-96 budget,” Schillo said. “This is putting the horse before the cart.”

Supervisor Judy Mikels agreed, saying that the freeze will remain in effect until the new budget is adopted.

“I can’t support the permanent positions,” she said. “I meant what I said with the hiring freeze. I think it’s necessary until we understand exactly what we’re facing.”

The board, however, agreed to allocate $55,000 in contingency funds to the assessor to hire temporary help over the next four months to hear appeals cases and reduce the workload. The supervisors said they would reconsider Gray’s request to hire permanent help when the board holds its budget hearings in July.

Also on Tuesday, the board, seeking to clear up some confusion among county officials over the extent of the hiring freeze, specified exactly what departments and agencies are exempt.

Those unaffected by the freeze are law enforcement, the county’s criminal justice system, the Fire Department, the Ventura County Medical Center and all other health and welfare services.

The supervisors said two dozen people whom the county had already agreed to hire in various county departments when the freeze was implemented on Feb. 14 would not be penalized. The board also agreed to hear all appeals to the freeze filed by department heads.

Board Chairwoman Maggie Kildee and Supervisor Susan Lacey, who voted against the hiring freeze, iterated their opposition during Tuesday’s meeting.