Council Taps Reserves to Balance Budget

Relying on $1 million left over from this fiscal year, the Ventura City Council this week adopted a $49.5-million operating budget that uses savings to close a gap between city expenses and sagging revenue.

The budget for fiscal year 1996-97, which begins Monday, leaves no room for new jobs but provides a 2% salary increase for city employees.

Councilman Gary Tuttle criticized the spending plan for relying too heavily on city savings to close a $1-million funding gap. He voted against approval of the maintenance and operation budget Monday night.

“I wouldn’t run my personal finances this way,” Tuttle said.

But the other six members of the City Council voiced support for the budget, which includes $270,000 for local libraries and $100,000 for a media campaign to promote Ventura as a tourist destination.

“I do not believe this is an unbalanced budget,” Councilman Ray Di Guilio said. “I think it is a manageable budget.”

Councilman Jim Friedman likened the decision to use money left over from this fiscal year to borrowing from a savings account to pay for expenses in a checking account. “To force ourselves to save more money than we need is not prudent,” he said.

The council adopted the budget Monday after weeks of deliberations and public debate. The spending plan includes $235,000 to implement an ergonomics study for city employees, $50,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura and $50,000 to bring sporting events to the city.

The budget leaves no money for a proposed $18.7-million municipal baseball stadium and no money for a $5.4-million downtown movie theater--the most ambitious projects under consideration by city leaders.

Council members said they are waiting for a committee to come back next month with suggestions on how to pay for the stadium before setting money aside.

Ventura staff members warned that the city does not have enough money to extend a line of credit to the Redevelopment Agency to cover the costs of the theater and other downtown projects.

As a result, they said projects such as improvements to the Ash Street pedestrian bridge may have to be put off if the theater project is approved.