Supervisors Study Plan to Split, Not Cut Their Budget

During budget hearings last month, Ventura County supervisors decided to spare themselves from a proposed $289,000 cut--promising to revisit the issue at a later date.

The board today will consider a proposal to split its $2.2-million budget into five accounts to help them keep better track of individual expenses.

But there is nothing in the proposal about a cut.

“That wasn’t an item that the board directed be brought back [for consideration],” said Chief Administrative Officer Lin Koester, who put together a report on the supervisors’ finances.

Still, Koester said that doesn’t preclude the board from reducing its budget if it desires.

Supervisor Judy Mikels said the board should cut its budget. She was the only official to insist on a cut during the panel’s July hearings.

“We should be expected to do what everybody else has had to do,” she said. “I just find it impossible to say that we have no area in which we can cut our expenditures.”

Board Chairman Frank Schillo said he wants to wait until next year before making any cuts. He said this would give board members a chance to closely monitor their expenditures through the new accounting system.

“This way we can find out how we’re doing,” he said. “Then I’ll be able to say these are my expenses, and this is how I’m going to cut them.”

Schillo said the current system makes it impossible to determine his expenditures. He said he recently requested a full accounting of his mileage expenses but was unable to get a breakdown because all of the supervisors’ expenses were thrown together.

“How can I cut my budget if I don’t know what my expenses are?” he asked.

Under the proposal before the supervisors today, each individual board member’s expenses would be broken up into five accounts. Each member would have a total budget of $451,092, which includes everything from salaries for staff members to office supplies.

Also, a special sixth account would be set up for miscellaneous expenses, which could include items such as travel and mileage, officials said.

Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon said his office would keep track of the new accounts and report back to the board later in the year to let them know how they are doing.

Meanwhile, the supervisors may soon have a new source of money to rely on, thanks to Mikels.

It was Mikels who suggested during budget hearings that the board start charging special districts--such as fire, flood control and sanitation districts--for overseeing them.

If approved by the board, the new charges are expected to bring in $498,000 during the current fiscal year, officials said.

“It could go a long way in helping to support the board,” Mikels said.

But the supervisor said the new source of money should not be used as an excuse to avoid cutting the board’s budget.