Proclamation well earned. Jack Stethem, left, and Victor Gongora receive a city Proclamation from Mayor Gayle Washburn on behalf of the Fillmore Lions Club for Non-Profit Organization of the Year, at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

It was standing room only as the March 27, 2012 Fillmore City Council meeting began. Most of those in attendance came to voice their concerns over the continued operation of the Aquatics Center or were recipients of the 10 proclamations for various awards of the year. The main items on the agenda were the Midyear Budget Review and Adoption, along with the City declaring a state of fiscal emergency.

Finance Director Glenda Jay gave a thorough report of the City finances, starting with a graph depicting three years of deficit spending and continuing the presentation with more projections of future unmet expenditures. The 2011/12 General Fund saw revenue of $5 million and expenditures of $6 million, with 2012/13 expected revenue $4.7 million and expenditures $6.2 million. The expected deficit by 2013 is $1.5 million.

The bottom line is that Fillmore’s General Fund does not have sufficient revenue to support basic public safety services and further reduction in law enforcement is possible along with more layoffs and creating part-time positions. Other possibilities are; closing park restrooms during the week, change in trash service at parks, contract services (janitorial/custodian), safety tree trimming, no code enforcement and no street repair.
The City is grappling with the question of how much can be cut and still provide a safe town to live in. A couple of years ago, Fillmore increased the paramedic stipend because the City was having a hard time getting enough paramedic to staff the fire trucks. In July, as part of the budget reductions, the stipend was reduced by $25 per shift. The City is considering decreasing the stipend another $25 per shift as part of the next round of budget cuts.

City Manager Yvonne Quiring does not recommended that the City consider reducing paramedic service. The County is proposing to relocate the paramedic out of the Fillmore Station (27) as part of its own budget cuts. Also when there is heavy call volume in the West County, AMR Ambulance is moved to Santa Paula. If Fillmore were to discontinue paramedic service, it would have a two fold impact--first the County won’t have a paramedic on staff and/or AMR may be based in Santa Paula. Often, since by law the City needs three fire fighters to respond to a fire for safety, the paramedic makes up the third position on the truck.

Two of the largest expenditures that rely on the General Fund are recreation and the community pool. The projected Recreation Fund will receive $37,790 less in revenue than originally budgeted. Rental from the parks and community center is down and the revenue from the sports programs is less than expected. The cumulative deficit on June 30, 2012 is estimated to be $75,376 and the ongoing deficit is projected $25,000 annually.
The pool is projected to end the fiscal year with an operating deficit of over $77,000 and a projected cumulative deficit as of June 30, 2012 of $232,263. Closing the pool for three months and the increased advertising and concession stand efforts have not been enough to cover the shortfall. Mayor Gayle Washburn told those in attendance, “We’re going to do our best not to close the pool, but I can’t make any promises. It’s something we have no control over…we may not have a choice.” Councilmember Jamey Brooks presented a motion that the pool not be closed for the next eight months, to which Council Members Eduardo Gonzalez, Brian Sipes voted Yes and Washburn the only No vote.

The Council wants to pursue having businesses take sponsorship of the pool and other projects/operations to help cover costs. A motion was passed authorizing the City to put the effort forward in finding sponsors. There was also talk of having a Volunteer Coordinator in a non-paid position to help with organizing volunteers for various positions no longer provided by City workers. Another idea was to pursue more grants. This would require a 501c3 nonprofit to apply for the grant and the City to partner up. Fillmore Police/Sheriff Chief Monica McGrath has done a great job of obtaining grants and received a $140,000 grant just two weeks ago.

Another area where revenue has declined is from the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) which has been eliminated and the City has become the Successor Agency due to state requirements. The RDA provided $864,000 to pay for General Fund services which the City will no longer receive.

Other source of revenue the City is pursuing is collecting some of the $743,000 in outstanding utility bills. Some of these date back to 2002 and probably will never be collected along with bankruptcies and foreclosed properties. But other outstanding bills will be attached to the property owner, even if it was a renter who skipped out on the bill. Quiring explained that the City has fixed costs and those that pay their utility bill must make up for those who do not pay their bills.

Washburn suggested the staff look into the American Water contract which contains a provision for ways to lower costs. She said the flow rate is lower than anticipated when the contract agreement was made and maybe an adjustment in cost could be found. Quiring responded, “I think we need to have a preliminary discussion with American Water first.”

Mark Lawler, General Manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District (VRSD), gave a presentation on the services they offer. VRSD operates the Toland Road Landfill and is the first in the nation to recycle from beginning to end. No solid waste is trucked out taking over one million miles per year of trucks off the highways and roads. VRSD generates/sells $1m a year in energy to Edison and has won many awards for its operations.

Fillmore Rotary Sun Risers presented a check for $7,310 to the City, to be used to install the Fillmore High School track gate, giving access to runners and walkers to the school track. Don Gunderson, John Scoles and Sean Morris presented the check.

There were 10 proclamations handed out for Teacher of the Year Raina Arrellano; Lifetime Achievement-Business Award to William L. Morris; Lifetime Achievement Award to Marie Wren; Officer of the Year to Gabriel Gonzalez; Firefighter of the Year to Rob Rolfe; Explorer of the Year to Briana Vasquez; Student of the Year to Vanessa Villa; Nonprofit of the Year to the Fillmore Lions Club; Business of the Year to Attractions Spa; and Citizen of the Year to Buddy Escoto.

Norma Amaro introduced Kimberly and Rick Ness, the owners of a new store, Fox & Hound Treasures and Antiques, which opens June 1st. Also introduced was Fillmore resident Vanessa Herrera, author and illustrator of her new book “Pirates and the Mermaids Curse.”

Activities taking place in April include the Fillmore Flower Show, “Celebration of Flowers” on April 14th & 15th from 1-4pm at the Fillmore Senior Center.

Soroptimist International of Fillmore with Fillmore Friends of the Library will present three events for school age children. On Wednesday April 4th the book “Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert will be presented by Janet Foy. On May 9th “Night at the Fair” by Donald Crew presented by Shawn Diaz. On June 27th “Yankee Doodle America” by Wendell Minor presented by Jamey Brooks. Events are free, starting at 4pm and ending at 4:30pm

Also, Fillmore’s Clean Up Day is this Saturday March 31st between 8am and 2pm. The address is Well No. 4 on Goodenough Road, between A & B Streets. Household Hazardous Waste is the following Saturday, April 7th between 9am and 12:30pm. Collection will be at the Fillmore Public Works Department yard at the corner of A Street and Sespe Place.