County Proposes Balanced Budget That Would Add 200 Positions

For the first time this decade, Ventura County appears poised to pass a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year without slashing staffing or services, according to a preliminary spending plan released Monday.

Indeed, county government could grow by more than 200 positions if the 1998-99 budget is approved, with most of the new jobs going to public safety agencies, such as the district attorney’s office and the Sheriff’s Department, as well as the county’s welfare-to-work program.

However, officials said most departments are staying at or near their current staffing levels. Nearly all the increases result from revenue the departments have generated through state grants or other outside sources.

The county has 5,993 full-time employees. The payroll would grow to 6,208 employees under the spending plan, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors on June 9.

“The real significance is that the county is not facing a budget reduction,” said county budget director Bert Bigler. “It does not mean we’re out of the woods, but it’s the best shape we’ve been in in a long time.”

Thanks to a $34-million increase in revenue compared with the previous year, as well as $13 million left over from the prior budget, the county’s general fund is expected to grow from $521 million to $568 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1. The general fund makes up roughly 60% of the overall county budget, which includes special funds for fire protection, roads and libraries.

As proposed, the overall budget totals $918 million, up from the $894 million budget adopted last year.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been on the board that I’ve been presented with a preliminary budget that is balanced,” said Supervisor Frank Schillo, who was elected in 1994. “There’s no crying wolf. At this particular time [in previous years] there were departments saying, ‘Woe is me. This is the end.’ ”

Now that the county is beginning to regain its financial footing, Schillo said, it is important to replenish the reserve funds that were depleted in worse economic times.

He voiced approval at the spending plan’s proposal to boost general fund reserves by $5 million to $23 million.

County Auditor-Controller Tom Mahon said bolstering reserves was critical to maintaining good financial standing with Wall Street.

“I was concerned about our credit rating,” Mahon said. “Times are good now, relatively speaking, and we have to return some of the money we have taken to show we are fiscally cautious.”

The departments that would see the largest increases are:

* The newly created Human Services Agency, which would experience a jump in employment and transitional assistance employees--from 526 to 616--as part of the county’s welfare-to-work effort.

* The district attorney’s office, which would grow from 274 to 295 positions.

* The Sheriff’s Department, which would see its police services division grow from 678 to 708 positions. Much of the money for the new jobs would come from Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and the other cities policed by the Sheriff’s Department on a contractual basis.