Oxnard Council Vows to Stop Dipping Into Budget Reserve

Caught for the last four months in a maelstrom of financial problems, the Oxnard City Council this week began planning for next year’s budget.

The majority of the council decreed on Tuesday that it would not succumb to a four-year tradition of drawing from its reserve fund to balance the 1990-91 fiscal year budget--estimated already to be in the red by between $300,000 and $400,000.

Councilwomen Ann Johs, Dorothy Maron and Geraldine Furr adamantly oppose dipping into the reserves, a practice that has lowered the emergency fund by about $9 million. It now stands at $4.6 million.

“We’ve lowered our reserves to such a low point at this point that God forbid we have an earthquake or some other disaster,” Johs said. “This $4.6 million could be gone in the blink of an eyelash.”

However, Councilman Manuel Lopez disagreed, saying that not touching the reserves was admirable in theory but difficult to practice.

“I don’t know how realistic it is for us to say we’re not going to dip into the reserves,” Lopez said. “I think we’re faced with some horrendous cuts to the public, and I’m not sure I agree with that.”

Bill Mayer, city management and budget director, prompted the discussion by asking the council if it wanted to set a minimum amount to be held in the reserves. Such action, he said, would send “an early and clear signal to the staff about how to balance the budget.”

Debate raged during the fall over whether the City Council or City Manager David Mora, subsequently asked to resign, was to blame for Oxnard’s budget crisis.

Mora disclosed this fall that estimates of revenue for the 1988-89 fiscal year, which ended last June, were about $2 million too high and that the city had spent $850,000 more than its budget allowed.

The council was subsequently forced to reduce department budgets and eliminate more than 15 city positions in order to cut $1 million from this year’s budget.

The decreases followed $1.9 million in cutbacks made in June.

One way to beef up city coffers that has been discussed by city officials is to institute a special tax.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to pay half the cost for a $12,000 survey to determine whether Oxnard residents would support such a tax.

The remaining $6,000 would be funded by the Oxnard Peace Officers Assn., a 174-member group of police sergeants, officers and personnel.

Both the police and fire departments have complained that fall budget cutbacks increased their response times to emergencies and endangered Oxnard residents.

“We’re committed to help do our part to resolve these financial problems,” said association president Bill Lewis II. “The expenditure is a lot of money, but our members feel it is a necessary investment in everyone’s future in Oxnard.”

The survey, to be conducted by a Santa Monica firm, will be based on 15-minute interviews conducted among a random sample of 400 registered voters.

The survey will take two weeks to conduct. The council must decide by Feb. 27 whether to put a special tax on the June ballot.

Meanwhile, the council will discuss possible budget reductions.

The council also will put a moratorium on travel outside of California for all city employees.

“If we could just give it up for one year or two years, I don’t think we would be hurt,” Councilwoman Furr said.

Many more budget discussions--as well as public hearings--will be held before the budget is adopted on June 12.

The council will next discuss budget plans for the 1990-91 fiscal year when the mid-year report on the 1989-90 fiscal year is presented on Feb. 13.