Bid to End Budget Dispute Is Rejected

In a tense standoff, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rebuffed an appeal by Dist. Atty. Greg Totten to settle a costly and long-running legal battle between the two sides over law enforcement budgets.

Supervisors said the time for settlement talks had passed and that taxpayers would save more money in the long run if a judge issued a ruling on the legality of a contested public safety funding law.

“I really do not want to spend another dime on this thing,” Supervisor Judy Mikels said to a hearing room packed with county managers eager to hear the debate. “However, after all these years I believe it has to be settled in the courts.”

Tuesday’s confrontation was sparked by Totten and Sheriff Bob Brooks’ request for an additional $300,000 to wage a lawsuit against supervisors over public safety funding levels.

The two officials have already spent $200,000 in attorney’s fees on the lawsuit they filed against the board last year. Their suit alleged that supervisors’ decision to alter a budget formula for law enforcement departments violated a 1995 county ordinance that sought to protect public safety funding.

As a result of the supervisors’ action, the D.A. and sheriff have seen reduced funding and have had to slash positions, putting the public’s safety at risk, Totten and Brooks contend.

Supervisors countersued, asking to have the 1995 law thrown out as unconstitutional. Changes to the budget formula were necessary, supervisors say, because spending by the sheriff and district attorney was growing at unsustainable levels.

On Tuesday, Totten told supervisors it was time to get past the harsh rhetoric, acrimony and accusations coming from both sides. “It is time for us to come together to find a mutually acceptable way to end this dispute without continuing rancor and expense,” Totten said.

But board Chairman Steve Bennett said the quickest way to end the dispute would be for the sheriff and district attorney to drop their opposition to having a judge rule quickly on the constitutional issues.

If the judge were to find that Ordinance 4088 is legal, Bennett said, then both sides could place another initiative before voters to see what funding level they believe is appropriate. Totten, however, rejected that offer, stating there are other issues at stake, including whether the county board illegally diverted $50 million in public safety funding to other budgets.

That brought a strong rebuke from Bennett. “You can’t blame the board for rising legal costs and then fight attempts to resolve the constitutional issue,” Bennett said. “We haven’t been on the offensive, we’ve been on the defensive [in the lawsuit].... This is an attempt to position the board as the bad guy.”

Supervisor John Flynn, meanwhile, told Totten there could be no compromise unless the district attorney and sheriff agreed to remove an amendment to the 1995 public safety funding law that defines how much of an inflationary increase public safety departments should receive each year. Totten said any changes should be brought before voters.

The original ordinance contained vague language on that point, but was amended by supervisors a year later to allow virtually unchecked public safety spending. A new board majority in 2001 voted to alter the inflation factor, linking it to the consumer price index.

A compromise is not possible unless the dispute over inflationary increases is resolved, Flynn said. The county is already facing a $46-million shortfall for the coming fiscal year and needs to save every dollar it can, he said.

“It is very hard to compromise on an unrestricted inflation factor, which is what we are talking about,” Flynn said.

After an hourlong debate, supervisors agreed unanimously to grant the additional funding for attorney’s fees. County Counsel Frank Sieh has indicated that he may be asking for more money as well to pay for the board’s legal costs.

The next hearing is Thursday, when Judge Henry Walsh will hear a second attempt by county lawyers to throw out the district attorney and sheriff’s lawsuit before it goes to trial.

In the meantime, everyone should stop “sniping at each other,” said Mikels, adding that the lawsuit has caused deep animosity among county employees. “This is about a battle between the bosses,” she said.