Council approves $8.7M budget
by Chris Wilson

The Ojai City Council and Redevelopment Agency put in extra hours Tuesday evening, acting on matters of mounting litigation, awarding contracts, discussing a public art ordinance and approving new budgets in two separate meetings that spanned more than five hours.
Aware of potential local revenue shortfalls in the coming fiscal year, and breathing a collective sigh of relief to have finished the 2001-02 fiscal year in the black, the council approved a projected $8.4 million total budget and, excluding Redevelopment, projected expenditures of about $8.7 million in the year ahead. In addition to the General Fund, which is expected to see revenues and spending in the $5.8 million range, the total budget also contains a number of special funds for specific spending purposes.
In an effort to balance a $40,000 gap in the General Fund budget, the council held a workshop recently to make decision about what to cut. They cut spending to public works, reduced support to the Visitors Bureau and deferred filling vacant maintenance worker and planning positions until later in the fiscal year.
Despite concerns that California's $24 billion budget gap could adversely affect with drastic cuts to municipalities, in May Gov. Gray Davis submitted a revised budget to the state legislature, which keeps many of the programs and services in place for Ojai and other cities, City Manager Dan Singer said. Funding for the Redevelopment Agency, $100,000 in COPS funding for local police services and other fees that had been shifted out of the state budget by Davis have now been put back in place, according to a report from the League of California Cities, Singer noted.
"Nevertheless, the state has yet to approve a final budget and further adjustments are still possible, if not likely," Singer stated.
Awaiting the state's final budget leaves certain police services, such as a D.A.R.E. officer and the traffic enforcement motorcycle officer hanging in the state's balances. Police services contracted through the Ventura County Sheriff's Department are estimated at $1.94 million and is the single biggest expenditure for the City.
But even though the local and county economies suffered briefly after the Sept. 11 attacks, most of Ventura County recovered quickly and continues to be one of the strongest economies in the state, Singer said.
"Employment remains strong, consumer spending remains healthy, and the real estate market continues to boom," Singer said. All this should contribute to a steady stream of property tax revenue, which has increased and was up 8 percent this past year. Improved sales tax and money from tourism are also projected to help fill the local coffers. But serious challenges also loom, Singer told the council.
Whether or not the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa see approval for its expansion project, impacts of between $400,000 and $600,000 are expected from lost City Transient Occupancy Tax and sales tax revenue. In anticipation of the coming expansion, the Inn has reportedly ceased booking corporate functions after January 2003 when construction would begin if the project were approved. These corporate functions contribute largely to the city's revenue in the form of the bed and sales taxes.
Overall, the budget appears to be sound, Singer stated.
"For the most part, our fund balances are good and our reserves remain stable," Singer said. "Ojai remains increasingly dependent on support and taxes from our own local economy, especially through revenues from visitors. Given this situation, it seems that the City should continue to emphasized economic development activities, consistent with our land use policies and support for Ojai's visitors through Visitor Bureau activities and consideration of the Ojai Valley Inn expansion."
All told, the council approved the budget unanimously and awarded an across the board 2 percent cost of living raise for employees of the City.
In other news the council again considered a draft ordinance that would require certain new development projects to include public art as part of the new construction or remodeling. Projects subject to the program would include new residential development of more than four units, reconstruction or new commercial, industrial and institutional buildings of more than $300,000. The ordinance, if approved, would establish a public art fund and require the placement of public art on the site of the new project on a percentage of the cost of development. The new draft ordinance has come before the council in different forms several times in the past two decades. It will be reviewed again by staff and referred to the Planning Commission for review before returning to the council for a first reading and further public hearings.
Finally a contract of $91,471.50 was awarded to Berry General Engineering of Oxnard for the construction of sidewalks, street improvements and parking spaces for Cluff Vista Park. City engineer Glenn Hawks, sitting in for an absent public works director, noted that Berry is the company who also installed the fabled bulbout planters along North Montgomery Street, which were recently removed.
"I hope this project meets with better public approval," Hawks said.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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