Budget Plan for Ventura Holds the Line

No layoffs, but no new jobs.

No deficit, but no more money than last year.

No new programs, but instead comfortable reserves set aside for a rainy day.

That is the lackluster economic picture that city officials presented Friday in a proposed $49.5-million operating budget, a less than rosy forecast that shows revenue lagging behind expenditures by about $1 million.

Although that funding gap has been closed for 1996-97 with money left over from last year, city staff members said Ventura must take steps to increase revenue if the city hopes to maintain its current level of service in the future.

“What is very clear is that our revenues are going to be relatively flat,” City Manager Donna Landeros said. “That is not to say it is a crisis, but it does mean we have to start budgeting closer to the wire.”

In her first budget as city manager, Landeros and staff members have put together a conservative spending plan that provides for no new jobs but leaves room for a 6.5% salary increase for firefighters and a meager 2% salary increase for all other city employees.

It also recommends setting aside $1.24 million to buy new computers and other equipment in city departments to make local government more efficient.

“Obviously, the more efficient we are,” Landeros said, “the more capacity we have to take on additional services and reduce rates.”

The phone book-size budget will be presented to the City Council on Monday City leaders will hold half a dozen meetings in the coming months to fine-tune the document before adopting a final budget in June.

Although the tight two-year spending plan leaves no money for new programs, it is an improvement over past years, city officials said.

“Given the fact that a few years ago we had huge deficits, and we were laying people off like crazy, we are doing well,” Councilman Steve Bennett said.

The city of Ventura has something else working in its favor too--about $158 million in budget reserves. Not all of this money can be touched, but some can.

For instance, a decade after borrowing $9.5 million to build a convention center, the city still has the money in a bank account.

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Council members have suggested using the money for a wide range of projects, including construction of a minor league baseball stadium.

Whether the money is spent or not, city officials say the fund illustrates the fact that the city is not hamstrung by the stagnant economic climate.

“I wouldn’t want to send the message that we can’t do anything,” Landeros said. But she was quick to add that new programs will need to support themselves financially, rather than being an additional drain of city funds.

“We are the envy of local government,” said Steve Chase, assistant to the city manager. “We have options. It is a question of how we exercise those options.”

To answer that question, staff members have recommended adopting an economic development plan that defines strategies for retaining, expanding and attracting businesses.

The council will review a proposal for such a program at its meeting Monday night.

Although Ventura is a long way from the booming economic days of the 1980s and further still from its heyday as a rich oil town a century before, city officials are optimistic Ventura can adapt to changing economic times and gradually build back a strong financial base.

“At one time when oil was king here, oil was king. It really generated revenue,” said David Kleitsch the city’s economic development manager. “I do think we can grow ourselves into a strong economy.”

One way the city can increase its revenue is through sales taxes, which are among the highest in the county.

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Sales taxes generated $13.65 million in 1994-95. This year’s budget projected about the same amount, though officials say it could be higher. The 1996-97 budget projects $14 million in sales taxes.

The planned expansion of the Buenaventura Mall is the best-known deal aimed at generating increased sales tax revenue, money that pays for police, fire and other services.

But city leaders acknowledge that a single cash cow will not keep city services running. Rather, they say, the city should look internally for ways to cut costs and streamline services while seeking smart investment opportunities.

“I don’t see some magic bullet in terms of revenue,” Bennett said. “Oftentimes, the magic bullets to pull in revenue often increase your expenses.”

“My sense,” he said, “is we have to do a better job of controlling cost and getting more productivity out of the same dollar.”

NEXT STEP

Ventura’s budget will be the subject of a series of workshops and public meetings between late April and mid-June. The schedule:

Proposed budget presented to City Council Monday

Budget question and answer workshop May 13

Budget question and answer workshop June 3

Formal budget hearing and adoption June 17

Formal budget adoption (if needed) June 24