Moorpark Mayor Patrick Hunter, who is the chair of the Ventura Council of Governments, wants to consolidate the agency into the Ventura County Transportation Commission, but the idea has encountered a significant stumbling block.

The agency was created to facilitate regional planning and coordinate technical assistance on issues of mutual concern. It’s mostly funded by local cities and the county.

The council of governments has few legislative responsibilities, Hunter said.

Since the county must deal with many challenges that include transportation, regional emergencies, the economy, affordable housing, and open space and agricultural resources, officials must work together to solve them.

“The problem that I have with VCOG is, if you’re going to do effective planning, then you have to consider all the components. You can’t have an agency that does land use and another that does transportation,” he said.

Thus, only one agency should be responsible for providing comprehensive planning, Hunter said.

“It may sound awkward for the chairman of the agency to attempt to disband it, but I think it’s in the best interest of the county,” Hunter said.

Wally Bobkiewicz, city manager of Santa Paula and executive interim director for VCOG, has different ideas.

“It’s important that we look at the issue,” Bobkiewicz said.

Changes won’t occur overnight, “but with the leadership of Hunter, we can start to get that ball rolling,” he said.

Funding is one of the reasons why the merger may be beneficial, but the focus on other regional issues needs to be kept, Bobkiewicz said.

While proponents of the merger don’t have all the answers yet, they want Ventura County to have a unified approach when dealing with regional issues.

The idea is also timely because the transportation commission is going to hire a new executive director next year, Bobkiewicz said. Current commissioner Ginger Gherardi announced her retirement earlier this year.

The council of governments is a joint powers authority with representatives from the county’s 10 cities and one county supervisor.

Transportation should not be the driving force for planning, only a component of it, said Jan McDonald, vicemayor of Camarillo, who opposed the motion proposed by Hunter.

“The problem is that they are simply trying to merge VCOG into the VCTC, but if you look at how it’s done in the state, they’re doing it backwards,” she said, adding that if the matter had gone to a vote, other cities may also have objected.

As it stands, both agencies are expected to work together when they make plans for the county.

“They all represent the same cities and county,” McDonald said.

The transportation commission board is also made up of one representative for each city, but it has five supervisors and one nonelected resident as well.

The agency is unique because it was created by special legislation and commission funds can only be spent on transportation, McDonald said.

Simi Valley Mayor Paul Miller, who also sits on the council of governments board, weighed in on the issue.

“We originally thought it was a good idea, but when two cities decided they didn’t want to do that, it became clear it wasn’t going to happen,” Miller said.

It isn’t easy to get agreement throughout the county on issues, said Moorpark Councilmember Keith Millhouse, who serves on the transportation commission board.

“There probably are a lot of reasons to combine the two agencies, and I applaud the mayor’s efforts to do that; his actions reflect that he puts the city’s interest above his own,” he said. But there are a few important logistical issues to overcome, Millhouse added.

“If we can bring something together and make it more effective, it makes sense,” said newlyelected County Supervisor Peter Foy. But if there is a lot of diversity and you can’t get people focused, they may want to stay separate, he said.

A unanimous vote is required to make organizational changes, but the Camarillo and Oxnard representatives objected to the motion to merge the agencies, said County Supervisor Linda Parks, who serves on the boards of both agencies.

After the motion to merge failed, Hunter and Parks suggested that both boards should meet occasionally to discuss regional issues and coordinate efforts.

Parks said she shares Hunter’s frustration at the council’s lack of effectiveness. Combining both agencies could provide a more regional approach to land use and transportation concerns, as they would be considered together when decisions are made.

Many issues could benefit from a regional approach, but making changes to the council of governments’ structure now could have undesirable impacts, she said.

The Ventura County Civic Alliance is now working with the council of governments and the

Southern California Association of Governments to gather data and review plans for the county’s future, Parks said.

“I wouldn’t want to curtail this study but rather expand it to include a transportation vision,” she said.

Disbanding the agency could take away the funds provided by SCAG for that purpose, Parks added.