Christy Weir for Ventura County Supervisor

Collaboration

There is a great need in our county for collaborative efforts to improve our quality of life, ensuring future health and prosperity. County services such as libraries, health care, animal regulation, watershed protection, land-use policies, public safety and social services impact our lives every day. But to maintain these services, it is crucial that we closely examine increasing government expenses, including pension costs.

For the last eight years, I have represented a large portion of District 1 as a Ventura City Councilmember, with two years as Mayor. During that time I have made decisions only after listening to various points of view, with the best interests of the people in mind. Reaching out to this community and responding to their concerns will always be my number one priority.

Pensions

As mayor, one of my main goals was pension reform. In 2007, it became evident that the cost of pensions was accelerating faster than revenues. In the city of Ventura, we were able to get concessions from all of our bargaining units that helped to slow down the unsustainable progression of pension costs. These concessions included a two-tier system so that new hires have less generous benefits, and an increase in the amount employees pay into their pension accounts. But at all levels of government, further reforms will be needed in the future, as the amount of retirees and their lifespans increase.

At the county level, the biggest problem is pension spiking. Upper-level employees are allowed to add to their retirement formula extra pay such as “annual leave redemption” (unused vacation pay) and uniform, education and “30-year” allowances, so that many of their pensions are higher than their base salaries. In 2002, the county paid $81 million to retirees. In 2011, the number was $180 million. That’s an increase of $100 million — more than 13% per year. Revenues are not growing at nearly that rate. We cannot sustain this increase in expenses without cutting services. The residents of Ventura County deserve a government that puts a priority on current services, not spiraling pension costs.

Growing jobs

One of our main opportunities for jobs lies in the agriculture industry, which includes many high-paying jobs, and support services such as banking, trucking, hydrology, etc. No matter what happens to the economy, people need to eat. The purpose of SOAR was to protect our fertile farmlands from development. It is increasingly vital that the county works in partnership with farmers to grow their businesses and sustain our agricultural resources.

The film industry is another area of potential growth. Ventura County is next door to the world’s film capital, yet our county government has not welcomed them for location shoots or studio space. The state labels film as a “green” industry, and it offers high-paying technical and creative jobs. The county can help by facilitating a uniform permitting process that is shared by cities and the county, and by creating a film ordinance that clarifies the role of film jobs in our economy.

The Oxnard airport has unrealized potential that will help local businesses and our tourism industry. The airport currently has no commercial airline that serves our county. Re-establishing commercial service through aggressive outreach to carriers is necessary to boost our local economy.

Medical jobs will increase over the next decade with the expansion of the County Hospital and the new Community Memorial Hospital. We need to partner closely with CSUCI to ensure that the education and training offered are meeting the needs of these new facilities.

I believe in the positive impact of “economic gardening,” which means growing and nurturing our local economy through expansion of existing businesses, rather than hunting for and subsidizing big businesses to relocate here. The county government can help at all levels through cooperation and “customer-friendly” attitudes and policies.

Environmental stewardship

Ventura County is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that benefit our residents every day — mountains, rivers, coastline and rich agricultural land. Stewardship of these resources is a primary responsibility of our citizens and our government, as we carefully balance economic growth with the preservation and enhancement of our environment.