Moorpark, Ventura Project Cutbacks for Next Fiscal Year

Despite a robust state economy, the first two Ventura County cities to release proposed budgets for next fiscal year are mired in red ink.

Officials in Moorpark and Ventura--for different reasons--are forecasting gaps between spending and income that will require cutbacks and new revenue-raising strategies.

Moorpark faces a potential deficit for the first time in seven years. City officials expect to make up for the $303,000 shortfall in the city’s $6.4-million operating budget by dipping into money carried over from the current year and cutting back on some city programs--including the possible elimination of an annual July 3 fireworks festival beginning in 1999.

In Ventura, city officials project revenue will suffer next year for three reasons: lagging tax proceeds, efforts to keep employee salaries competitive and elimination of a decade-old policy that has allowed the interest income from major construction project funds to be siphoned off to support city programs.

Moreover, voter-approved measures to protect farmland have limited new development, officials say, limiting the tax proceeds the city can reap from new growth.

In coming weeks other Ventura County cities plan to release their proposed budgets for the fiscal year, which begins July 1. Officials in Thousand Oaks, which works on a two-year budget cycle, already have approved a $70.3-million operating budget for 1998-99.

Moorpark city officials say this is the most difficult budget process they have ever faced, placing the blame for their budget woes on failure at the polls of Measure P, a special tax assessment in November that would have maintained city parks.

The ballot measure was needed because, under Proposition 218, voters must approve most special assessments.

The park tax rejection is now forcing city officials to find other ways to maintain public green spaces.

“This is the most frustration I’ve felt in the sense of having our hands tied by external circumstances,” said Bernardo Perez, a veteran of the Moorpark City Council. “It’d be one thing if we put ourselves in this position, but that’s not the case.”

To erase the projected red ink, Moorpark City Manager Steve Kueny has proposed $196,000 in possible cuts. The city also expects to have $163,000 in unspent funds from the current year that ordinarily would be placed in the budget reserve.

If the council chooses to make all the cuts Kueny has proposed, the city would be in the black by $56,781, according to Kueny.

Among suggested cuts are an eighth-grade drug education program in schools and extra police services during the city’s annual Country Days festival.

Councilman Chris Evans contends that park maintenance and programs should be considered for cuts since voters did not approve Measure P.

But others, such as Mayor Pat Hunter, are reluctant to close parks on the recommendation list--Virginia Colony, Monte Vista and Country Trail.

“If you make a decision to close a park, it’s far more expensive to bring that park back on line when our situation improves than it would be if you provide minimal maintenance and keep it open for people to enjoy,” Hunter said.

The council’s budget and finance committee will take up the budget Wednesday at 4 p.m. in City Hall. The group hopes to put a budget recommendation before the City Council by June 3.

Meanwhile, officials in Ventura say they are still waiting to reap the benefits of a robust state economy.

City officials Thursday unveiled details of a $111-million spending plan for next year that in covering a $1.5-million deficit manages to maintain city services without employee layoffs.

“Our revenues are flat,” City Manager Donna Landeros said, “and we’re not experiencing the growth in the economy yet.”

City administrators have developed myriad spending cuts that will allow the city to maintain current levels of service, end the city’s annual reliance on interest income to balance the budget while avoiding layoffs.

Strategies the city will use to scale back spending include downgrading seven, mostly vacant positions to lower salaries and reducing the cost of worker’s compensation, telecommunications and supplies.

The city also will save money in its general fund by moving $304,000 in expected administration costs for major construction projects to the capital improvements budget.

“It’s changing your way of life,” said Marilyn Leuck, Ventura’s director of management resources. “It’s not fad dieting.”

The Ventura City Council has scheduled its first budget workshop for June 1.