Utility Tax OKd to Save Police in Port Hueneme

In an effort to save the city’s Police Department from shutting down, the Port Hueneme City Council has agreed to adopt a utility tax that will raise the $500,000 needed to maintain the force.

If approved with a final vote in two weeks, the 4% utility tax will be tacked onto water, gas, electricity, cable television and telephone bills.

The council’s gave unanimous support for the measure Wednesday after a public hearing during which residents urged council members to preserve the city’s independent Police Department.

“You are in a unique position,” said Dolores Ward, a Port Hueneme resident. “You have the residents of this fine city saying: ‘tax us, tax us, tax us.’ We have done everything humanly possible to let you know how we feel.”

Residents who qualify as low-income under standards set by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be exempted from the tax.

Wednesday’s decision came after a property tax measure on the June 7 ballot fell just shy of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. The tax was designed to raise enough revenue to keep the Police Department running.

Since the measure failed, hundreds of residents have continued campaigning throughout the city to keep the department from closing.

The $500,000 will allow the city to maintain its own police force, bring the department to full staffing and hire a new police chief, City Manager Richard Velthoen said.

Chief John R. Hopkins, age 50, who has been with the department for 28 years, told the council Wednesday night that he will retire when his contract expires in March.

“I’m tired,” Hopkins said Wednesday night. “I have been working for 32 years and I feel like doing something else. I want to do something without having to answer to anyone.”