Inspection Fee Draws Fire: Venturans Upset By $99 Charge to Check for Weeds
By Kevin Clerici, Ventura County Star, Calif.
Apr. 21–The city of Ventura Fire Department has sent a bill along with its annual reminder to some 1,200 homeowners near brush-covered areas, notifying them that they owe a $99 fee for weed-abatement inspections, even if they do their own weed clearing.
The fee is necessary to pay for hundreds of hours of annual inspections that the department no longer can afford, Fire Marshal Brian Clark said.
“We need to recover our costs,” he said. “We need a sustainable funding source for this program. That’s the bottom line.”
The inspection fee — another apparent first in Ventura County for the city — quickly drew fire from hillside homeowners like Mary Lory, who said she and husband Ernie have taken proactive measures for 20 years to rid their backyard on Via Cielito of weeds and unnecessary brush buildup.
She said she was aghast when she opened her city letter Tuesday — Tax Day — and discovered yet another fee placed on residents and an invoice stating that if she didn’t pay by June 1, she would be cited, fined and face a lien placed against her property.
Ventura has also drawn fire for being the first city in Southern California to charge for 911 service.
Fire prevention is important, Lory said, but she’s frustrated that city leaders didn’t give residents any notice or a chance to comment before forcing them to pay for a basic government service.
“The city kept insisting it’s not a tax and not a penalty,” she said of a conversation she had with a Fire Department employee. “I told her, You can choose to call it what you want. I choose to call it extortion.’ “
The Ventura County Fire Department charges only those homeowners who skirt or ignore the weed-abatement rules and annual reminders, Capt. Barry Parker said.
“We get 98 percent to 99 percent compliance,” he said.
He couldn’t think of any agency that charges a blanket fee for compliance inspections.
Nor could Daniel Berlant, information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which has responsibility for about 31 million acres, or about a third of the state.
In January 2005, a new state law took effect that extended the required brush-clearance space around homes and structures from 30 feet to 100 feet.
“We only fine those who are not in compliance,” Berlant said. “Our preferred method is education. We go door to door doing inspections and talking to people. The inspections are built into our budget.”
Ventura used to collect a small administrative fee in the early 1990s, Clark said, but it was suspended after concerns rose regarding compliance with statewide fee statutes.
Last year, the city hired an independent auditor, Maximus Inc., which suggested the costs of the fire prevention program could be passed on to property owners who benefit the most, Clark said. As a result, the fee was re-established at $99 by the City Council as part of the city’s annual fee update in June, he said.
None of the 1,252 property owners sent bills this week were explicitly notified of the June public hearing outside normal postings, and there was no public comment on the fee, minutes of the City Council meeting show.
Asked if the city considered a public education campaign, Clark said there was little point.
“We considered a full-scale media campaign,” he said. “But what’s the difference between notifying people and sending a bill? It just adds to the cost.”
The inspection fee comes on the heels of a controversial monthly charge imposed on residents’ phone lines by the City Council this year for 911 dispatch services. Critics say the 911 fee is a tax that should go to voters for approval, and hillside resident Royce Townsend sees the inspection fee in the same vein.
He’s not convinced that the inspection fee, projected to generate about $124,000 a year for the city, will provide greater protection to residents, many of whom already spend hundreds of dollars each year clearing brush from their properties.
“I haven’t seen an inspector out here in 10 years,” Townsend said from his manicured backyard, where he installed a chain-link fence with a gate to give firefighters easier access to a steep slope behind his home.
“If the City Council is so concerned with protecting its citizens, it would be better to levy everyone rather than a small group of people.”
Records show that Ventura’s hillside property owners are doing a good job complying with weed-abatement laws. For the past several years, the city has not had to directly abate vegetation on any properties that abut hillsides. In a few cases, citations were issued for failure to meet clearance requirements, Clark said. But the property owner quickly complied before the city had to take further action, he said.
“We’ve been real fortunate,” he said. “Our property owners understand the importance of it.”
Not a single home has been lost to a wildfire in recent years, something he credited to residents and successful fire deployment efforts.
Ventura Mayor Christy Weir said the fee is part of a city effort to recoup money for direct services when feasible. The city faces a $4 million deficit in the budget that begins July 1.
As for the homeowners who don’t see anyone doing the inspections, “they don’t see the whole bulk of the work that goes behind the scenes,” Clark said, adding that the fee will help pay for administrative costs, including property records collection and mailings.
“I’m sympathetic to their concerns,” he said. “But we have a duty and mission to verify everybody — despite how good their intentions may be and how well they have performed in the past — is in compliance.”
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Copyright (c) 2008, Ventura County Star, Calif.
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