Now Fire Dept. Seeks Funds

A week after the Ventura County Board of Supervisors settled a lawsuit over law enforcement budgets, an official representing county firefighters demanded that they get a bigger slice of the funding pie.

Fire Capt. Chris Mahon asked supervisors Tuesday to “correct an inequity” in budgeting that he said leaves the Ventura County Fire Department with far fewer dollars than it is entitled to.

Mahon, a spokesman for the firefighters’ union, said that the Fire Department has been regularly shut out of revenue raised by a special half-cent sales tax approved by voters statewide in 1993. Ventura County supervisors approved an ordinance in 1995 directing that all proceeds from the sales tax go to county public safety agencies, including the Fire Department.

Voters intended for firefighters to receive a cut of the estimated $55 million raised locally each year by Proposition 172, the sales tax increase, Mahon said.

“With just a fair share of Proposition 172 funding, the Fire Department could improve efficiency, increase safety services and restore positions lost in previous budget cuts,” he told supervisors.

Board members did not immediately respond. During a break in the meeting, Supervisor Judy Mikels said she agreed that the Fire Department should receive Proposition 172 funding -- if it needs it.

“They have always been eligible for that funding, and the status quo remains,” Mikels said. “If they can demonstrate a need, we will look at it.”

Supervisors last week settled a lawsuit brought by the sheriff and district attorney over their budgets. The source of their dispute goes back to the funding law approved a decade ago.

The ordinance divides the $55 million raised locally by Proposition 172 taxes each year primarily among four departments -- sheriff, district attorney, probation and public defender. The Ventura County Fire Department is also eligible for funding, but has received just $465,000 since the law was enacted.

The reason, supervisors say, is that the Fire Department is funded through property taxes that have risen steadily while funding for other public safety departments has fluctuated. The Fire Department has seen growth of 7% to 10% annually in its $90-million budget in the past five years.

But Mahon said that even with healthy revenue growth, the Fire Department should get at least a cut of the Proposition 172 monies. The extra dollars would allow the department to add more staff, which Mahon said is needed to improve service.

Fire Chief Bob Roper said he agrees that more Proposition 172 dollars should flow to his department, particularly in lean budget years.

For the upcoming year, for instance, healthcare, insurance and other required expenditures are rising so fast that he is facing a budget shortfall.

“What I’m after is a viable funding option, should we need it,” Roper said.

Mahon urged supervisors to work out a way to give the fire service more money. The union wants to work in a collegial way, he said.

But if their request is ignored, the union has not ruled out a voter initiative to force the issue, he said.

A recent opinion survey commissioned by the union indicates that the public is on its side, Mahon said.

“This is not a new issue,” he said. “It’s just one that needs to be addressed.”