12% Spending Hike Proposed in County Budget Plan

Ventura County’s chief executive proposed a new budget that calls for a 12% spending increase and the hiring of 128 new employees--mostly sheriff’s deputies and welfare workers.

Chief Administrative Officer Lin Koester’s recommended spending plan for the year beginning July 1 totals $956 million, up from $852 million budgeted in the 1998-99 fiscal year.

Koester said the new budget emphasizes the need for the county to “hold the line” on services and programs.

To underscore the point, he suggested that the Board of Supervisors not consider most additional funding requests from department heads until October. By then, the county will know whether the state intends to return nearly $11 million in extra property tax money, an amount that could increase in future years.

Receiving a greater portion of property taxes is a “crucial factor” in stabilizing the county’s long-term financial status, Koester said.

In his budget report, Koester admonished the state for siphoning $351 million from county coffers in the past seven years.

In 1992, legislators began taking a higher percentage of property taxes from local governments to benefit the financially strapped state education budget.

“The state and local economy continues to prosper,” Koester wrote. “But the state’s fiscal prosperity has yet to be shared with counties.”

The county must also exercise caution with the budget because of several ongoing audits at its Behavioral Health Department, said Bert Bigler, chief deputy administrative officer.

By October, the county may also have learned whether it must pay millions of dollars to federal and state agencies as a result of the county’s failed attempt last year to merge its social services department and mental health agency.

Koester’s budget plan also recommends placing $25.5 million in the county’s General Fund reserves. Keeping substantial reserves is critical in maintaining good bond credit ratings, county officials say.

The budget allows the Sheriff’s Department to hire 50 people in general police services and 15 people at the County Jail. The Human Services Agency will be able to fill 20 CalWORKS positions as part of a MediCal outreach program.

Supervisor John Flynn said he was pleased that the county budget was in the black for the second consecutive year and that no cuts to services or employee layoffs would be necessary.

“The budget, in my view, looks good,” he said. “Not too many years ago, it was in the red.”

However, Flynn said he hoped that the board would approve at least some of the extra funding requests from department heads.

For example, Flynn supports the Behavioral Health Department’s request for about $3 million in new money to provide housing and services to the mentally ill. He also supports a $6.5-million request by the Harbor Department to repair a sea wall and build a waterfront promenade at Channel Islands Harbor.

“Those extra items are absolutely essential,” Flynn said.

Bigler said the board should not approve extra funding until the county has a better handle on its fiscal future.

“Right now, we’re able to maintain current services and programs, but there’s no money to expand any programs,” Bigler said.

However, the chief executive’s office is recommending that supervisors make an exception for county parks, the Harbor Department and the R.A.I.N. project, a shelter for homeless families in Camarillo.

Koester has recommended that the county spend more than $1 million to keep the transitional shelter open for another year. In that request, $565,000 would go toward operating expenses and $630,000 to renovating the facility on Lewis Road.

A transfer from the General Fund of $456,800 would go toward maintaining countywide parks. Additionally, Koester’s office recommends spending $205,500 for the Harbor Department for beach maintenance and to provide more seasonal lifeguards.

The plan also recommends splitting $3 million that the county expects to receive in federal tobacco settlement money between Ventura County Medical Center and the General Fund.

Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget June 28.