Prop. 172 Funds Up to Voters, D.A. Says

The Ventura County Grand Jury erred when it concluded that county supervisors had the right to rescind a local ordinance that directs $40 million in annual sales taxes to four public safety departments, the county’s top prosecutor said Thursday.

In a lengthy response to a grand jury report released last month, Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said a legal analysis written by his office contends that only voters can change the ordinance.

The grand jury’s nine-page report urged the Board of Supervisors to rescind the ordinance, saying the policy illegally ties the board’s hands on budget-making decisions.

A legal analysis by the county counsel provided the grand jury with much of the reasoning for its conclusion. But Bradbury says his office was never asked at the time for its views on the ordinance’s legality.

The controversy stems from a half-cent sales tax approved by voters statewide in 1993. Two years later, the county board decided to give the tax dollars exclusively to the district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s, fire and probation departments.

The grand jury had recommended the board review annually how best to use Proposition 172 sales tax funds instead of guaranteeing the money exclusively for law enforcement and Fire Department use.

“Ventura County’s local public safety ordinance was validly enacted, is legally binding and enforceable, and cannot be changed without the approval of voters,” Bradbury wrote.

Bradbury continued, saying the supervisors have “no legal authority to disregard the requirements of the state and local initiative measures.”