60 Proposed Budget Cuts Given to Ventura Council

Ventura City Manager John Baker presented a list Monday night of 60 proposed cuts totaling $1.9 million in the 1991-92 budget to counteract dwindling revenues and increased state fees.

The recommended cuts affect every city department--from the elimination of a $53,296-a-year zoning inspector who would have helped reduce a backlog of 400 incomplete building-code inspections, to the loss of $76,000 to train police officers in organizational skills and cultural diversity.

At a public hearing before the City Council, Baker said the city’s two-year, $101.2-million budget is running a $1.56-million deficit.

He said the shortfall arose after the Legislature allowed counties to bill cities for the expense of booking prisoners and collecting property tax.

The public hearing reviewed $1.9 million in proposed budget cuts and up to $225,000 in increased fees, which the council hopes will help Ventura balance its budget in the face of financial problems.

City officials have said the fees are designed to increase revenue from people who put an extra strain on city services.

Baker recommended raising a variety of fees, most of which affect developers or people who use special police services.

He suggested increasing levies for zoning modifications, grading permits, map-making and amendments to the city’s growth plan.

Baker also recommended that the city begin charging fees for other services.

He suggested fees of $20 for fingerprints, $50 for answering false alarms, $100 for quelling loud parties and $100 for processing concealed-weapon permits.

Ventura resident Morris Arnold said city officials could not justify sharply raising the fees for such items as building an addition to a residence, which might require a zoning variance from the city.

“I fail to see how someone who’s making an addition to their home and trying to raise a family, how raising the fee for that addition from $250 to $1,250, could be considered a problem to the city,” he said.