Smiles Over Oxnard Budget Disappear

Oxnard leaders were ecstatic last month when they unveiled next year’s budget, boasting that the city would avoid a deficit without layoffs or cuts in programs for the first time this decade.

The euphoria has worn off.

City Council members Tuesday reviewed a $2.1-million list of proposals not funded in Oxnard’s budget--and found that it included such council-designated priorities as hiring more police officers and creating more youth programs.

After a brief discussion, the council decided it did not have the money to fund all the proposals on the list. Council members asked City Manager Tom Frutchey to return with a list of alternatives--including the possibility of taking money from other programs to meet their previous promises.

“We’re not being presented with any options other than going into reserves and not having the money to pay it back,” Councilman Tom Holden said. “Where are we going to get the money for this?”

The proposed $59.4-million budget for the 1995-96 fiscal year promises to maintain--and even improve--current city services without raising taxes. But it does not budget for numerous proposals the council has supported.

For instance, council members in 1992 signed off on a three-year plan to bolster the Police Department.

The proposal called for the hiring of more than 35 Police Department employees, and though it has fallen behind schedule, 14 officers or police workers have joined the city’s ranks.

Now the staffing plan is in its final stage, and completion would require the hiring of 12 police officers, three sergeants, two investigators and several clerks and dispatchers--at a cost of about $1.5 million.

Councilman Andres Herrera said he fully supported funding the police and other public safety proposals and asked Frutchey to prioritize them over other proposals on the list.

He and Holden rejected a proposal by Frutchey to adopt the recommended budget next week and deal with the list later, saying they may have to dip into the budgets of some programs.

Police Chief Harold Hurtt said he is optimistic that his department will receive money to hire several additional officers, despite the budget crunch.

“I’ve been very pleased with the progress that has been made so far, even though we’re a half year behind,” Hurtt said. “The council is obviously in support of the plan.”

Frutchey said the police plan was not incorporated into Oxnard’s budget because the department’s role is constantly changing and the council needs to continually re-evaluate its funding.

Youth programs were designated as a top priority by the council during its recent retreat.

But several proposals that came out of the meeting--including developing a master plan for youth services and starting two more neighborhood-based after-school programs--were not funded in the recommended budget.

Now council members have to figure out a way to finance the youth proposals, which total $95,000. Community Development Block Grants may be an option, Frutchey said.

Other programs on the list included opening Oxnard’s park restrooms for $263,000, commissioning a $75,000 study to review the city’s bureaucracy, hiring a lobbyist to help the city work with Caltrans for $50,000, hiring an expert to coordinate downtown redevelopment for $52,600, and securing air time for an infomercial to lure tourists to Oxnard for $31,000.

Council members Tuesday expressed support for the youth and police proposals, but the others may not make the cut, Frutchey said.

“There’s probably close to half a million [dollars] total that we could put toward these options,” Frutchey said, “and the rest will have to come from somewhere else.”