City Cuts Budget, Will Rescind Weed Abatement Fee
By Kevin Clerici, Ventura County Star, Calif.
May 6–The Ventura City Council unanimously approved close to $4 million in budget cuts Monday, but listened to constituents and held off for now on several additional reductions.
The cuts will be felt mostly in parks maintenance, non-emergency police services and spending on planning consultants and outside legal services.
In addition, the council voted 7-0 to rescind the new $99 fee charged to hillside homeowners for weed abatement inspections.
The city will provide refunds to those who have already paid. The council also pledged to first conduct a public education campaign before possibly reviving the fee next year.
“This is a great opportunity to learn,” said Councilman Brian Brennan.
In the meantime, a controversial fee is set to take effect today to raise money for 911 dispatch services. The application deadline is today for Ventura residents who want to avoid the $1.49-per-phone-number monthly fee for the 911 service and instead pay $17.88 per 911 call.
Residents can enroll online by clicking after “Emergency Communication System Response Fee” at http://www.cityofventura.net or in person in the Treasury Office, Room 107, City Hall, 501 Poli St. For more information, call 658-4715.
The fee, imposed by the council without voter approval, will help pay for the city’s $3.3 million 911 call center, freeing up money to hire public safety personnel. Some anti-tax organizations are mulling a legal challenge against the fee, which will appear on residents’ phone bills.
The council still has work to do on the budget.
After much deliberation and public comment Monday, the council decided to wait before tackling such proposed cost savings as reducing its contract with the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau, awarding fewer Cultural Arts grants and cutting back police training and downtown foot patrols.
These potential cuts would have amounted to $300,400.
An earlier plan to raise $120,000 in new money was overturned when the council voted to rescind the $99 weed abatement inspection.
Mayor Christy Weir urged the council to take the action after homeowners complained.
The Ventura Fire Department this year became the first in the county to charge residents for weed abatement inspections even if they complied with brush-clearance laws.
The inspection fee, levied on about 1,200 homeowners near brush-covered areas, angered residents who said they had met weed clearance requirements and received no notice before the city quietly approved the new charge last year.
Some of the council members were open to reviving the fee next year, but Councilman Neal Andrews said he could not support it until it was better explained and justified.
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Copyright (c) 2008, Ventura County Star, Calif.
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