MOORPARK TO PURSUE FUNDING; COUNCIL MAY SEEK ANOTHER VOTE ON TAX DISTRICT.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

One day after voters refused a tax to purchase open space and a year after they rejected a parks maintenance tax that cost the city $600,000 in revenues, the council is gearing up to put forth another assessment request.

The Moorpark City Council hired a consultant Wednesday night to conduct a mail ballot to ask property owners whether they are willing to reinstate the parks maintenance fund lost last year during a Proposition 218-required election.

The unanimous decision was spurred by a probably $600,000 to $800,000 deficit in the 1999-00 budget, officials said.

``It's an acknowledgment that the city runs a very lean shop and when you cut your city fund budget by 10 percent, it hurts,'' said Mayor Patrick Hunter. ``You have to acknowledge that although we were able to close the deficit this year, it was done by one-time savings, but this is a recurring deficit.''

The city will pay upward of $53,600 to Shilts Consultants to not only manage the mail balloting, but also conduct public workshops and develop plans to ensure approval, city officials said.

A portion of the fee, $14,000, is contingent upon the approval of an assessment district.

The company first will establish a framework for the district, including how the ballots will be worded and sent out and how much will be asked of landowners.

The city wants the balloting completed by midspring, to determine whether the tax will be there before it has to make final decisions about the budget. Property owners likely will have about 45 days to mail back their completed ballots once they are sent out.

Councilman Chris Evans, a fiscal conservative who believes that there is nothing sacred when dealing with a deficit of the projected size, said he has come to the conclusion that an assessment is currently the only way to close the gap for good.

``There are always examples of ways where you can save money, the question is the return on that dollar,'' he said. ``I looked at the budget and did a lot of evaluation myself, and I just can't find (excess spending.) We could certainly trim $100 here or there, but it's certainly not something that is going to provide relief long term.''

A bond measure on the ballot Tuesday that would have raised money to purchase open space only garnered support from 33 percent of voters.

And the city's Measure P on a November 1997 special election ballot failed to get the two-thirds needed to pass. That defeat resulted in the loss of an existing assessment that had been paying for park maintenance.

In complying with the regulations of Proposition 218, city officials had the option to put a measure on an election ballot or to gauge public opinion through the mail, with ballots sent to property owners citywide.

Hunter said the mail ballot method, combined with an effort to educate the public about the assessment and the need for it, might make the difference in its success.