Supervisors OK Debt for Computer System

Saying the plan will save money in the long run, Ventura County supervisors on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to borrowing much of the $18 million needed to purchase and install a new computer system for the county’s criminal-justice agencies.

The supervisors agreed, in concept, to borrow between $6 million and $11 million for the computer system that would for the first time link the operations of the sheriff, district attorney, public defender, courts and corrections department, officials said. The balance of the money would come directly from individual departments’ budgets.

In addition, a loan repayment schedule would be established for each department, and would be based on how quickly each department replaces its current computer systems, said George Mathews, director of the county’s Information Services Department. Interest and other borrowing costs could run as high as $3.6 million, he said.

But county officials estimate that the new and more efficient integrated system would save the county as much as $28 million over the next 10 to 12 years.

Meanwhile, county supervisors said Tuesday they will wait until budget hearings in June before making final decisions on exactly how the system will be paid for.