Board Free to Revoke Public Safety Law, Counsel Says

Ventura County supervisors are not bound by an ordinance that purports to limit its budgetary control over the Sheriff’s Department and other public safety agencies, according to a finding included in the county grand jury’s annual report released Monday.

The watchdog agency, in its report on county government operations, also found that more social workers should be hired to handle child-abuse calls during nights and weekends. The grand jury also recommended merging two county library branches in Ventura to save money, along with selling used books and staging concerts to raise revenues.

Responding to questions raised by the grand jury over the constitutionality of the public safety ordinance adopted last year, County Counsel James McBride concluded that state budget laws “take precedence over local ordinances when they are in conflict.”

In addition, McBride suggested that future boards are probably not bound by the ordinance’s directive that the roughly $30 million raised annually in Ventura County by a special half-cent state sales tax go only to the sheriff, district attorney, public defender, corrections and fire services.

And McBride said it appears that a majority of the board could amend or even repeal the ordinance, even though the district attorney’s office has contended that the law can only be rescinded by a vote of the people.

“This is nothing new,” McBride said of his conclusions. “It’s no different than what we’ve been saying all along.”

Without addressing any specific legal issues raised by McBride, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury and Sheriff Larry Carpenter issued a statement after release of the grand jury report referring to the public’s strong support for the local ordinance and for law enforcement in general. Nearly 50,000 voters signed a petition in support of the measure, which prompted the supervisors to adopt the directive as an ordinance.

“We believe that [the ordinance] clearly establishes the will of the people of Ventura County as it pertains to government’s use of Proposition 172 funds,” the two officials said in the statement. “The citizens of Ventura County have time and time again communicated their desire to have public safety be the No. 1 priority of local government.”

Neither Bradbury nor Carpenter could be reached Monday afternoon for comment.

But Supervisor John K. Flynn, one of three supervisors who supported the public safety ordinance, said that the issue is moot because the board has no intention of changing the law.

“[McBride] may be absolutely accurate,” he said. “But it would be difficult for any board to repeal this ordinance because, let’s face it, public safety departments have a lot of clout. There’s no use in hiding that.”

In issuing its 135-page report, the county grand jury, which also issues criminal indictments throughout the year, recommended that the Wright and Foster libraries in Ventura be merged into one location to aid the county’s financially troubled Library Services Agency.

It also suggested that the agency evaluate and justify all existing library jobs, install a donations box in each of the county’s 15 branches, and consider opening gift shops and coffee shops to raise funds.

The Board of Supervisors has already followed through with another of the grand jury’s recommendations. Last week, the board agreed to hire a consultant to study a number of reorganization options, including creating a joint operating partnership between the county and cities--or the county and school districts--or both.

In other areas, the grand jury recommended that the county hire additional staff for Children’s Protective Services to help answer late-night emergency calls involving incidents of child abuse. Currently, there are only two workers in the Public Social Service Agency division who answer calls after 6 p.m. during the week and on weekends and holidays.

In cases where a child is believed to be in danger, a worker is required to immediately go to the household where the child is located to check out the situation.

But “problems have occurred when the ‘evening shift’ receives two or more serious calls at the same time,” the grand jury’s report said. “There have been instances when a police officer reported abuse and/or neglect and the workers said that they would come out shortly, but did not arrive or call back.”

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Grand Jury Findings

The grand jury report also recommends the following:

* Purchase more computers to help Public Social Services reduce its voluminous paperwork and increase its administrative efficiency.

* Institute regular fire drills and emergency evacuation plans at the Social Services Agency’s Santa Paula office. The county should immediately conduct a building safety assessment of the office, including testing ceiling material in the warehouse for asbestos.

* Evaluate all of the government’s existing computer systems and recommend a plan for the replacement of outdated and overburdened equipment.

* Provide more advanced computer training to all county employees.