County Averts New Tax, Layoffs of 27 Firefighters : Finances: Officials cite state legislators’ funding decision. But 29 civilian workers, one station are still expected to be cut.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday reversed its decision to lay off 27 firefighters and abandoned a plan to levy a $110-a-year tax on homeowners in anticipation of dramatic losses in state funding.

The supervisors said the firefighter layoffs and the parcel tax are no longer necessary because state legislators have agreed to spare fire districts from sharp funding cuts next fiscal year.

But Fire Department officials still plan to lay off 29 civilian workers and close the Ventura Avenue station in Ventura to balance next fiscal year’s budget. Yet officials said they will no longer be forced to close down three other stations in the Ojai Valley and Camarillo.

“I’m just thrilled to death you’ve been exempted (from the cuts),” Supervisor Maria VanderKolk told about two dozen firefighters who had gathered for the vote. “None of us expected such a wonderful thing in all the horrors that are going on this year.”

After the supervisors’ hearing, the firefighters reacted with guarded optimism.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” firefighter union representative Chris Mahon said of Tuesday’s decision. “The people that I’ve talked to said they’ll believe that they are not going to be laid off on the day they actually show up to work.”

Only two weeks ago, the supervisors had voted to lay off 27 firefighters and 29 civilians and to close four stations, predicting that the district would lose nearly half of its $43-million annual budget. The layoffs and closures were set to take place starting July 4.

Meanwhile, with the fading prospects of a property tax and fire station closures, Simi Valley is backing away from forming its own fire department, Mayor Gregory Stratton said Tuesday.

“We’re relieved that the immediate crisis is over, and we’re just taking a wait-and-see attitude on the Thousand Oaks study,” Stratton said, referring to the neighboring city’s ongoing investigation into the cost of an independent department.

If Thousand Oaks’ analysis proves it would be substantially cheaper to break away from the county fire district, Simi Valley might reconsider, he said.

Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo said he wants the city to continue giving serious consideration to forming its own fire department. He said he will convene a committee to study the matter at 4 p.m. today at City Hall.

Stratton and Schillo both praised the supervisors’ decision to abandon the $110 annual tax.

“I’m really pleased sanity has prevailed,” Schillo said. “The tax would have hurt a lot of people.”

Stratton said the proposed tax was born of “overreaction” by county officials.

“I understand you’ve got to plan for the worst, but I’m not convinced everybody has to run around saying, ‘The sky is falling,’ ” Stratton said. “The next time (they) say ‘The sky is falling,’ people aren’t going to believe it.”

Up until last week, when the state Legislature agreed to a compromise budget plan, county officials had been predicting that the Fire Department could lose up to $20 million in funding. They said they needed to shore up the budget by taxing homeowners $110 a year, a proposal that came under heavy public criticism.

Without the money, Fire Chief George Lund said, the department would have been forced to close 18 of its 31 fire stations and lay off 280 of its 462 firefighters and civilian workers. He asked the board on June 18 to approve 56 layoffs in preparation for deeper cuts.

On Tuesday, Lund said he was pleased the board restored the firefighter jobs, but he cautioned that the department’s budget “is not over the hump.”

He said he still may be faced with a $2.7-million budget shortfall next year because of scheduled pay raises for firefighters and other expenditures.

The supervisors instructed Lund to return to the negotiating table with the firefighters union, to see if coming pay raises can be delayed.

“In order to get through this budget this year, we need the cooperation of the firefighters union,” Supervisor John K. Flynn said. He added that he was pleased that the county was able to abandon the tax.

Times staff writers Mack Reed and Stephanie Simon contributed to this story.