Tight city budget forces alternative ideas
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

As city officials voted to finalize the 2007/2008 city budget, they also warned that new solutions will be needed soon to maintain the current level of services offered to Moorpark residents.

The city is approaching buildout so it won't be able to collect developer fees to build new facilities, said Hugh Riley, assistant city manager.

"The time is coming upon us where we won't have the revenue to pay for things that people seem to want," he said.

So the city will have to find new income to maintain and build new facilities such as a library, a community pool and a new gymnasium at Arroyo Vista Community Park, if that's what residents want, he said.

Officials said they may propose a bond issue or a new tax to maintain and build the above. The Council will select a consultant next month to poll the community on the matter.

Compared to neighboring cities, Moorpark doesn't collect much in sales tax revenues because it's a smaller city with fewer businesses.

Based on 2005/2006 fiscal years figures, Moorpark earned $2.7 million from sales tax revenues while Thousand Oaks received $29.9 million and Simi Valley got $16.3 million.

Moorpark has been able to build a stateoftheart police services center and the future human services building without going into debt because officials saved for these special projects in the past and other funds were available as well.

"We are generally a frugal city and we've been saving for a rainy day ever since we became a city," said Councilmember Roseann Mikos.

But the new fiscal year, which starts on July 1, reflects that Moorpark has to juggle an increasingly tight budget because expenses continue to rise every year.

General fund expenses are projected at about $13 million, with just more than $6 million going to law enforcement, said Mikos.

Half of the city's general funds will pay for law enforcement services, which have increased by $250,000 this year. Moorpark will take in about $52.5 million and will spend about $53.6 million.

Those figures include restricted money that can't be spent for anything other than what they are assigned to, said city officials.

Expenses include $20.9 million for operations and maintenance, $7.8 million for personnel (city staffing costs), $22.5 million for capital outlay and improvement projects, and $2.2 million for debt service- principal and interest repayments for bonds issued by the Redevelopment Agency, said Johnny Ea, finances director and treasurer for the city.

"All funds are balanced with estimated revenues exceeding proposed appropriations or through transfers from other funds," said City Manager Steven Kueny.

The projected expenditures compared to the lower projected revenues indicate that the city is using special funds' reserve for capital projects, Ea said. But the city must set money aside for future capital improvements such as a new city hall, the expansion of the library, streets, parks and building maintenance and upgrades, he said in a report.

While construction is slowing, city officials do predict that new businesses in The Village at Moorpark, the Campus Center, and at the Warehouse Discount Center and Home Depot will give the city a boost in sales tax revenue when they are completed in the near future.

A new hotel slated to be built on Los Angeles Avenue east of the 23 Freeway will also help a little since it will bring in occupancy tax. These consumer services and local conveniences will be an asset to Moorpark's growing population, said Councilmember Mark Van Dam.

The smaller budget is also contributed to the DARE controversy that arose when city officials proposed to eliminate program because the city wanted to use the $190,000 to fund a fulltime high school resource officer instead. At the end of this month, city officials estimated the city will have a total of $96 million when all funds are tallied. This includes the $23 million general fund and $49 million in special revenue funds, Ea said.

In a Nutshell

New tax and bond measures could be on the horizon

The City Council will hire a consultant to find out if residents would support a revenue enhancement tax or a bond measure to pay for more city services and new facilities.

The communitywide survey, if approved by the officials, may begin this fall.

Bond and supplemental tax proposals could go on the ballot in 2008.