Ventura Seeks Talks With County on Sales Tax

After a weeklong showdown, the city of Ventura sent a letter to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday stating it wants to negotiate an end to a sales-tax stalemate that could cost local cities $85 million.

In the letter, Ventura Mayor Sandy Smith said the City Council will delay implementation of an ordinance that would allow the city to keep the portion of sales tax it now pays the county.

Smith said he wants to sit down with county officials as early as Friday to discuss a way out of the situation.

The mayor asked in return that supervisors delay adopting a measure that would abolish the county sales tax, a move that would cost all 10 local cities a total of $85 million annually.

“Everything is on hold now,” Smith said. “I think the key is negotiation.”

Last month the Ventura City Council voted to stop paying a portion of its sales tax revenue to the county, violating a 1956 agreement. The deal requires cities to pay $3.30 of every $1,000 in sales tax to Ventura County in exchange for services.

Ventura wanted to keep its $572,000 contribution this year for road-repair work. But the county, fearing similar measures in other cities, approved an emergency ordinance that, if Ventura chose to carry out its plans, would eliminate a 1.25% county sales tax that sends $85 million to local cities each year.

The move stunned officials in neighboring cities, who predicted a fiscal doomsday scenario with massive layoffs, shutdown of services and general chaos. Ventura itself would lose $15.6 million.

Santa Paula City Manager Peter Consentini and Fillmore City Atty. Roger Myers came before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, urging the panel not to abolish the tax.

Myers said the two sides were playing “Russian roulette.”

Consentini said his city is the poorest in the county. It’s fine if Ventura and the county want to fight, he said, but “just leave us out of it.”

He said Santa Paula pays $46,000 a year in sales tax to the county and would lose $1.6 million if the entire tax were ended.

“It would result in enormous layoffs in our city,” he said.

Despite their letter to county supervisors, Ventura officials said they didn’t blink in this fight.

“We decided to talk to the county before litigating,” Ventura City Atty. Bob Boehm said. “The only thing that has happened is the city has said, ‘Let’s sit down and talk before taking further action.’ ”

Boehm said Ventura also sent supervisors a two-page letter outlining why the city believed its tax countermeasure was illegal.

The letter said the county’s action would severely curtail police and fire departments and eliminate public transportation countywide.

Smith said when he met with Supervisor Chairwoman Kathy Long over the weekend, Long was angry the city had not told her of its plans. Smith said he apologized but reminded her that the city and county don’t stay in close contact.

“We are still interested in getting our sales tax dollars,” Smith said. “We understand that is a financial burden on the county, and we are willing to talk about it.”

If the county refuses to compromise, Smith said it’s possible the city will simply rescind its ordinance and walk away.

“But I don’t see this council doing that,” he said.

Supervisors welcomed the letter and postponed plans to implement the ordinance for at least a week. Supervisor Judy Mikels said the board has heard from every city in the county and none has expressed interest in following Ventura’s lead in discarding the tax agreement.

When the two sides sit down, the county will be represented by Chief Administrative Officer Harry Hufford, Long and County Counsel Jim McBride. Negotiating for Ventura will be City Manager Donna Landeros, Boehm and Smith.

Hufford called the next week a “cooling-off period.”

“It’s certainly a period of peace,” he said.