County is in reasonably good financial shape, official says

John Nicoll, Ventura County's assistant chief executive, says he's cautiously optimistic about the financial state of county government.

Citizens of Ventura County are served by 29 agencies and 8,048 employees, represented by 12 unions at 661 locations. The county covers more than 1,800 square miles.

"We manage our fiscal business relatively well with a structurally balanced budget," Nicoll said.

He spoke to about 30 business leaders and government officials at a Thousand OaksWestlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce Governmental Relations Committee Meeting on July 23.

"It's not complex. It's simple: Don't spend more than you make. We manage to work within our income," Nicoll said. In the past, the county has gone through money troubles, but it's now on solid fiscal footing, he said.

"We're now solvent, and we pay our bills," Nicoll said.

Ventura County has high credit ratings and no general obligation debt, and the employee's retirement is 90 percent funded, he said.

County seat gets a face-lift

Nicoll expressed optimism about current improvements in Ventura that are bringing about $200 million in private investments to the harbor area, including a $12-million Hampton Inn, apartment renovations and restaurants, and plans to build what he described as "incredibly beautiful" long walkways surrounding the water.

Although the county has been successful at recruiting qualified deputies to the sheriff's department, Nicoll added that it's a struggle to keep them.

Larger jail needed

There are concerns, too, about expanding the jail, he said. Bunk beds have been added to former common areas. This increased capacity to 300 beds above the original plan. But it's still inadequate.

"About 500 to 600 beds need to be added," Nicoll said.

It will cost about $37 million, he said, to increase capacity to 700 more beds, the amount expected to be needed by 2017. About $20 million of that $37 million will go for extra staff- - and it's already hard to find qualified deputies, he said.

More bed space is needed at the jail because of sentencing delays, which increases the time in custody for convicts, Nicoll said.

By 2017, Nicoll expects the county hospitals to have completed the required earthquake retrofitting.

State budget a concern

Nicoll also discussed the state budget and concerns that Sacramento might cut spending for local programs, healthcare and other services.

"The funding goes away, but our clients don't," he said.

If Camarillo is selected as the new site for a 1,500-bed prison hospital, it would further stress the county's need for correction and public safety officers, Nicoll said.

Such a facility would require, he said, about 750 officers, along with nurses and medical personnel. Since the state pays higher wages than the county, that, too, would adversely affect the county's ability to recruit similar personnel, he said.