Measure U oversight committee delivers first annual report; committee finds $10.7M collected and recommends scholarships, reserves, park fixes

The Measure U citizens oversight committee delivered its first formal annual report to the Port Hueneme City Council, reviewing revenue, expenditures and recommendations for the coming budget year. Chair David Scrier told the council the committee had compiled data back through 2023 and found the city had collected "about $3.5 million a year" under Measure U and had "about $10.7 million" in total receipts to date. The committee reported that roughly $1.7 million from prior years had not been clearly spent and that staff had moved those funds into a reserve account while clarifying expenditures.

Scrier described the committee's role as evaluative: "did the city council do what they said they were going to do and yes you have," and presented recommendations for the 2024-25 budget year including maintaining a reserve cushion, funding park repairs (citing a funding gap at Bubbling Springs Park), restoring or repairing video surveillance at Miranda Park and the pier, supporting public safety priorities and exploring scholarships and swim-program subsidies for youth who cannot afford lessons.

Council members thanked the committee for its work, asked for the recommendations in writing for staff and budget planning, and noted that some recommended allocations (for example a $1.7 million contribution to Bubbling Springs projects) had already been implemented or placed in project budgets. The council voted to receive and file the committee's report.

The oversight committee identified one relatively small questionable expenditure (about $8,000 on a Public Works break room improvement) amid the larger reconciliations; it emphasized transparency and quarterly follow-ups going forward.