Balance of Government : Supervisor Schillo Remains Fiercely Committed to District

After his election nearly 18 months ago, Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo vowed, “I’m not going to forget where I came from.”

What Schillo meant was that his top priority would be looking out for the constituents of his district, which includes the cities of Thousand Oaks and Port Hueneme.

Schillo complained loudly during the campaign that the 2nd District had not received its fair share of county services and he was determined to change that.

And for the most part, he has kept his promise.

Whether working to improve the main roadway into the Port of Hueneme or protecting the Oak Park library from possible closure, Schillo has been busy attending to the needs of those who put him in office.

Indeed, when it comes to the everyday business of county government, his constituents say that the difference between Schillo and former Supervisor Maria VanderKolk is “like night and day.”

“Frank’s terrific,” said Port Hueneme City Manager Richard Velthoen. “He’s a doer, a go-getter.”

Doug Hewitson, a member of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council, which was often at odds with VanderKolk, summed up his community’s appreciation of Schillo’s efforts this way: “If he keeps it up, we’ll build a monument for him out in Oak Park.”

With such a strong commitment to his district, his critics feared at the time of his election that Schillo would be unable to fairly balance the needs of the rest of the county.

After all, they pointed out, the former Thousand Oaks city councilman was going from one of the wealthiest cities in the region to a seat in county government, which, at that time, was facing a $38-million deficit.

Would he be able to see beyond the needs of his district? Would he be as sensitive to the problems of less fortunate areas? And what about his budget-cutting threat: “The knife is going to be sharp”?

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A year and a half into Schillo’s term, the answers to those questions are beginning to emerge.

Yes, the district is still his top priority. But Schillo, who recently was appointed board chairman, has proven that he is willing to take a larger view of county issues.

He has been an outspoken supporter of the Ventura County Medical Center, which recently lost a bruising campaign with a rival hospital over its efforts to build a new outpatient center.

And he has taken a lead role in trying to rescue the financially troubled county library system by devising a plan to transfer more responsibility to the cities.

“In the end, you’re not an island,” Schillo said. “You have to be part of a community. And we are part of the community of this entire county. And all parts of it have to be raised up. My vision is for this to be the best county--not necessarily the best district--but the best county.”

If Schillo at times appears to send mixed messages, it may be because he approaches his job with both the practicality of the professional financial consultant that he is and the moral convictions of his Catholic faith--he attends church twice a week.

Certainly, there is no one on the board who talks tougher when it comes to wiping out the county’s remaining $20-million deficit--even if it means layoffs. Schillo was the only board member who voted against pay raises for 710 county managers and other employees earlier this year because he said the county could not afford it.

“You can’t sit there and say you’re going to cut the budget and keep spending money,” he said. “I can’t do that. I’ve got to put my money where my mouth is.”

But then there is the other side--the official who once served as president of a Thousand Oaks food bank and who helped establish an organization that provides financial assistance to low-income residents interested in buying homes.

“I am deeply religious,” Schillo explained. “I believe in my faith and in acting it out.”

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Nonetheless, Schillo has demonstrated that he is not afraid to make tough decisions. And he worries little about what others may say or think about him once he has staked out a position.

“I take in all the information I can, I look at all sides and then I go forward,” Schillo said. “I don’t worry about how somebody views me. For a politician that might be dangerous. But I’m not going to change what I’m going to do after studying an issue.”

A case in point is Schillo’s vote on the recently approved Toland Road Landfill expansion.

Opponents of the expansion knew that they had to persuade Schillo to join their cause if they were going to have a chance at stopping it. So they asked to meet with him.

Schillo agreed. Most of the opponents were Santa Paula and Fillmore residents who lived near the dump site and feared the expansion would have a major impact on their quality of life as well as the local agricultural industry.

After listening to their arguments and reviewing reports on the expansion project, Schillo made his decision.

He voted for it.

“I still feel it was the right decision,” he said. “But I have a lot of empathy for the people there. They believe this is going to create lots of noise and dust. I just don’t believe that’s going to happen. Time will tell.”

One thing is for certain, Schillo loves his job. He often puts in 12- and 15-hour workdays, spends weekends poring over county reports and grills county department heads and managers on financial details.

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But results are what he is most interested in, whether it’s getting a long-awaited stoplight installed at a busy Oak Park intersection or helping to organize a countywide economic development organization geared to bring more businesses to the area.

Thousand Oaks City Manager Grant Brimhall said he marvels at Schillo’s commitment to his work.

“I couldn’t handle what he does,” Brimhall said. “He gets more things done than most people I know. His ability to organize himself for action is mind-boggling. My wife wouldn’t tolerate it.”

Schillo does have his detractors. He offended some of his constituents when he moved his supervisorial office into the new Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza--a move that costs the county an additional $10,000 a year in rent.

Susan Lacey was the only supervisor who voted against the move, saying it sent the wrong message to county employees who were facing large budget cuts in their departments.

But Schillo defends the move.

“I don’t think the criticism was justified,” he said. “To me, if I’m a government representative, I need to be where the public is and this is the place to me that seems the most accessible.”

Others say that he helped create the county’s current budget deficit by voting with Supervisors John Flynn and Judy Mikels last year to approve a public safety ordinance that protects the sheriff, district attorney, public defender and corrections services from future funding cuts.

The ordinance also calls for the county to dip into its General Fund to pay for any inflationary increases faced by those departments. In the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, those added costs are estimated to be between $7 million and $8 million. This means that other nonpublic safety departments will have to absorb major cuts in their budgets.

But Schillo said he doesn’t regret his decision. He said that county residents have made it clear that public safety is their top priority. More than 50,000 voters signed a petition in favor of the public safety ordinance.

“If we’re going to spend money, I believe we should spend it on public safety services,” he said. “I’m convinced that this is a basic function of government. As a watchdog of the budget, I believe we have done the right thing.”

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Meanwhile, as board chairman, Schillo will direct the county’s budget study sessions that begin Thursday and will preside over final budget hearings later this month. He says he remains committed to eliminating the entire deficit this year by cutting expenditures, rather than using reserves as the county has done in the past.

“I’m only one vote,” he said. “But I’m going to do my very best to get us back in the black. I think it’s important to do it this year. If we don’t do it now, then when are we going to do it?”