CONSUMER FRAUD FINES SPELL RELIEF FOR COUNTY LIBRARIES.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

A trust fund established this month to help Ventura County's financially strapped libraries already has tapped into a steady source of income - consumer fraud fines once paid to the state.

Because state funding cuts have crippled county libraries, the District Attorney's Office has decided to keep certain consumer fraud fines in the county to help the 16-branch library system.

During the past month, three businesses have contributed a total of $7,000 to the library fund under settlements reached with the District Attorney's Office. The contributions equal 10 percent of the total judgments affirmed by the county's superior courts.

``It seemed like something that would benefit everybody. It keeps the money in the county and it wouldn't upset any special interest,'' said Deputy District Attorney Mitch Disney, the consumer fraud prosecutor.

Administered by the Ventura County Community Foundation, the library fund receives donations for both a permanent endowment and daily library operations. The endowment goal is $1 million.

County Supervisor Frank Schillo, who helped spearhead the effort to establish the trust fund, said the consumer fraud fines are a promising source of income. Schillo noted that the library fund was established more quickly than originally planned to capture the fines.

``Money for the libraries isn't going to come in one big bucket, it's going to come in a lot of little buckets,'' Schillo said.

The consumer fraud cases expected to contribute fines to the library fund involve large numbers of victims for whom compensation is hard to determine. In those cases, fines paid under civil judgments go to the county and the state for the public benefit, Disney explained.

Disney said he recognized the libraries were in dire need of help. So he worked with Schillo's staff on a mechanism to tap into the portion of consumer fraud fines that otherwise go into a statewide fund to support consumer fraud investigations.

``I was thinking, where could we send it without raising an uproar? This is giving to something that benefits county residents,'' he said.

The most recent consumer fraud settlement also has provided the largest contribution. Earlier this week, Superior Court Judge William Peck approved a judgment against Coastal Cities Water Treatment requiring the company to pay $50,000 in civil penalties, including $5,000 allocated to the library fund.

Disney said the Ventura company had violated state law by using fraudulent, high-pressure sales tactics during telephone solicitations and home visits. Disney said the company also had installed water treatment devices before the end of the three-day period during which consumers were supposed to have had time to comparison shop.

The two other consumer fraud cases involved a bail bond company and a carpet cleaning company.

Disney said the companies must agree to contribute a portion of the fines to the library fund because the county may not pay public funds to a private recipient, such as the community foundation.

``This satisfies the public need for reimbursement for that (civil) penalty because libraries affect and help everyone in the entire county. The library is a community benefit,'' Schillo said.''