County clerk may open an office in Simi
Supervisor Foy following through on campaign promise
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

The Ventura County clerk and recorder's department is proposing to open a satellite office in the Simi Valley courthouse next January, a move that Simi and Moorpark officials are saying would be a big step toward bringing more government services to this side of the county.

"It's recognition of the needs of the local residents in the East County," said Moorpark City Councilmember Keith Millhouse.

Simi Valley Assistant City Manager Dan Paranick agreed.

"Any proposal to get more county services out here where our residents don't have to drive 45 minutes is certainly something we'd support," Paranick said.

The clerk and recorder's office issues and maintains birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates. It handles subdivision maps, deeds, mortgages, decrees of court and leases affecting title of real estate property in the county.

The office also performs wedding ceremonies and manages voter registration records.

Since there is no room for expansion in the Ventura offices, the satellite in Simi would alleviate overcrowding at the main government center, said Jim Becker, assistant county clerk.

"We estimate that a third of the clients that come to the counter in Ventura are from the East County, so we feel there's a long overdue need to have a presence out there," Becker said.

The satellite office would initially be staffed with four people working three days a week. Becker said he anticipates services will gradually increase to accommodate growing demand.

Wedding ceremonies and marriage license services would be available to Ventura and Los Angeles county residents and, at $97 per license, will help defray some operational costs.

The local office would also have a selfhelp room where local residents could independently look up property records, order documents and gather information from the registered voter database. It would also have a wedding room and a waiting area for family and friends, Becker explained.

"We would also provide a full range of clerk and recorder services that are provided at the government center in Ventura," Becker said.

Election-related matters, other than informational issues, would not be handled at the satellite office for security reasons, he said.

The county chief executive officer is currently reviewing the satellite office proposal. It will then go to the county board of supervisors for a vote.

"We have this opportunity to take thousands of people off the road," said Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy, who during his 2006 campaign promised to use his elected position to bring more services to the East County.

Other county department leaders also expressed interest in creating satellite offices to serve residents in Simi, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks. But the departments have to find a way to do this without incurring extra expenses for the county, Foy said.

County assessor Dan Goodwin said he's been trying to open a satellite office in the East County since he was elected in 1998, but lack of funding has prevented him from doing so. He also requested $150,000 to start up a local assessor's office in the near future.

"Foy is providing some new energy to try to get this accomplished," Goodwin said.

"My goal would be to eventually have two managers and about 30 people in the East County," he added.

The district attorney would also like to open an East County office, said James Ellison, chief assistant D.A., but that's not likely to happen without additional resources.

When asked if he expects more county services to come Simi's way in the future, Paranick said "yes."

"As our population base continues to grow, it only makes sense," Paranick said.