Some Cities to Get More Road Funds

A dispute over how to divide state road repair funding among Ventura County cities was solved earlier this week when state transportation officials decided to return to a previous distribution formula.

The state Department of Transportation upheld an appeal filed by Moorpark and Simi Valley on Monday that urged funding to be judged solely on population rather than factoring in transportation alternatives available to residents such as train service.

The previous formula decreased the amount communities such as Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks received because they had more transportation alternatives than Ventura or Oxnard.

Each year, the county’s 10 cities must divvy up about $17 million in state road repair funding. Because of the state’s decision, east county communities will receive more money for roads.

In their appeal, Simi Valley and Moorpark argued that they should not be penalized for using and playing host to alternate modes of transportation like Metrolink.

Simi Valley will now get more than $52,000 rather than $45,000. Moorpark and Thousand Oaks will gain about $13,000 and $24,000 respectively, said officials at the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

West county cities, however, will now receive less funding, with some smaller communities such as Port Hueneme and Ojai getting just a few thousand dollars.