5 Libraries Get 3-Month Reprieve as County OKs Budget of $844 Million

Although agreeing to temporarily fund libraries, Ventura County supervisors approved an $844-million spending plan Wednesday that cuts $4.7 million from departmental budgets and eliminates 41 positions.

The plan includes a $106,000 contribution to keep five small branch libraries from immediately shutting their doors and to maintain adult literacy programs countywide.

But the subsidy is only enough to keep the libraries and literacy programs operating until Sept. 30. That is when the supervisors expect to get back a consultant’s report on how the 16-branch library system can be reorganized to operate more efficiently.

“We’re Band-Aided again--and that’s good,” said Dixie Adeniran, the county’s chief librarian. “But we’ll be back in the fray before long.”

Despite the board’s action, Adeniran said she will have to eliminate seven positions throughout the system. She could not say how many positions were vacant, but that “there will be some layoffs.”

The single largest cut was in the county’s Health Care Agency, which saw its budget slashed by $1.9 million. The cut was split almost evenly between Ventura County Medical Center and Mental Health Services, which will lose five administrative personnel.

“Things will be tight, and we will have some layoffs,” agency Director Pierre Durand said. “But we have no plans for any decrease in services to the public.”

In other areas, public social services was cut $413,000 and will have 24 positions eliminated. But agency Director James Isom said that the department did not receive credit for earlier reductions and that his overall cut was actually $988,000.

Isom said he expects that there will be three layoffs at the most, with the rest of the cuts coming from the elimination of job vacancies. Like Durand, Isom said direct services would not be affected.

“The public shouldn’t notice any difference,” he said.

The Resource Management Agency--which provides planning, mapping and building inspection services--will lose $779,400 and seven positions. All but one of those is vacant, agency Director Thomas Berg said.

“We’re attempting to find another [vacant] position within the county family,” he said. “Hopefully, we won’t have to lay this one person off.”

Others hit Wednesday were public works, which took a cut of $250,000; the county clerk and recorder, $222,000; the treasurer-tax collector, $136,700; the agricultural commissioner, $114,100; the auditor-controller, $100,000, and the county counsel, $85,200.

In addition to the $4.7 million in departmental cuts, the supervisors voted unanimously to borrow about $15 million from reserves, excess earnings and other savings to close a near $20-million spending gap for the 1996-97 fiscal year, which begins Monday.

The only real point of contention during Wednesday’s 3 1/2-hour budget hearing was over how much money the county should give the ailing Library Services Agency.

Supervisors Maggie Kildee and Susan K. Lacey urged the board to give $288,000 to keep library branches in El Rio, Meiners Oaks, Oak View, Saticoy and Piru open for the next 12 months.

Kildee pointed out that the city of Ventura had given $71,000 to keep its Avenue library open, while Camarillo had given $60,000 toward its branch library operations. For its part, she said, the county should show good faith by taking responsibility for providing a year’s funding for the small libraries in the unincorporated areas.

“I would not be able to support keeping them open for just three months,” Kildee said. “I think that’s unrealistic. I think at the end of three months, we will be sitting down and saying, ‘What do we need to put in now to keep them open for another three months?’ ”

But Supervisors Frank Schillo and John K. Flynn said they wanted to wait until they receive a report from a consultant recently hired to study the library system.

The consultant has been directed to study several reorganization options, including a joint operating partnership between the county and cities or local school districts or both.

The board is also considering placing an advisory vote on the November ballot for a parcel tax to help pay for library services.

If the county were to provide enough money for the five small libraries to remain open for a year, Flynn said he feared that county residents would respond by not supporting a parcel tax.

“I’m afraid that we’re going to give them a false sense of security,” he said. “They’re going to say, ‘See, they did come up with the money; there is money there,’ when there really isn’t.”

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Budget Cuts

Here is a look at some of Ventura County’s departmental cuts for fiscal 1996-97:

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Lost Department Cuts positions Health Care Agency $1.9 million 5 Resource Management Agency $779,400 7 Social services $413,000 24 Public works $250,200 0 County clerk $222,000 0 Treasurer-tax collector $136,700 0 Agricultural commissioner $114,100 0 Auditor-controller $100,000 0 County counsel $85,200 1

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Source: Ventura County Board of Supervisors