Shutdown would mean furloughs, park closures, lost business in Ventura County [Ventura County Star, Calif.]

Oct. 01--In Ventura County, thousands of federal employees would face furloughs, national parks would close, and some businesses would have to suspend operations if the federal government shuts down Tuesday.

Local effects include:

Naval base

From the outside, Naval Base Ventura County would appear mostly business-as-usual Tuesday if the federal government shuts down.

The gates would work, and people would come and go, said Kimberly Gearhart, a spokeswoman for the base. The 5,000 or so active-duty military personnel would come to work.

But major changes would be in store for the base's 5,000 to 6,000 civilian employees.

Gearhart said firefighters, police, air traffic controllers and others in positions deemed essential would come to work, but that the rest would be furloughed. About 90 percent of civilian workers would be affected, she said.

The furloughed employees would not know whether they would get paid retroactively. That would depend on how federal lawmakers choose to pass a budget, Gearhart said. People were paid after the last shutdown, she said.

Military and exempted personnel would be retroactively paid whenever funding comes back up, although paychecks could be late, she said.

Visitors seeking one-day passes to the base could face delays, Gearhart said. The Pass and ID Office would be closed, so gate guards would handle day passes, she said.

The Navy exchange, a facility like a department store where many local military retirees also shop, would stay open. But the commissary, the base grocery store also frequented by retirees, would close starting Wednesday after stocks of perishables are reduced.

The Seabee Museum would close, but the golf course at the base would stay open because it is funded through a different process.

Hundreds of civilian workers in morale- and welfare-type positions would continue to work because they are funded through a different source, Gearhart said. That includes child care, gym and housekeeping workers.

For furloughed workers, including Gearhart herself, Tuesday would mean coming to work for an hour or so to complete an orderly shutdown -- changing voice-mail messages, for example, and preparing offices for closure -- then heading home.

Because the base is Ventura County's largest employer, a "good chunk" of local workers could be affected, Gearhart said.

"Your friends and neighbors are not going to be getting a paycheck," she said. "We don't operate in a bubble. We operate in a community."

Park closures

Gates would be locked, most staff members furloughed and campers given 48 hours' notice to make other plans in national parks.

Channel Islands National Park would close to the public, leaving just essential security personnel and emergency responders on the five islands.

Campgrounds on Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Barbara islands would shut down, although overnight visitors would have 48 hours to leave. The visitor center on Spinnaker Drive in Ventura -- a frequent stop for schools and local groups -- would close.

"We're hoping it doesn't go through, but we're planning in case it does," said Yvonne Menard, park spokeswoman.

Concessionaires such as Island Packers and Channel Islands Aviation would be unable to drop off visitors on the islands, park officials said. When that would take effect was unclear.

Close to 90 percent of Channel Islands' staff would be furloughed.

Gates also would be locked in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and the visitors center at Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park would close.

Businesses such as those offering horse trail rides or other tours would not have access to the parkland, and campers would get two days to make other plans.

Only national-park parts of the recreation area would close, including Rancho Sierra Vista, Solstice Canyon in Malibu, Paramount Ranch in Agoura and Circle X Ranch near Malibu.

Of the Santa Monica Mountains' 95 employees, 12 would be exempt from furloughs, spokeswoman Kate Kuykendall said. Essential personnel such as law enforcement, firefighters and a wastewater specialist would stay on duty.

"The staff we have are here for public safety and to protect federal property," Kuykendall said. They also would take on other responsibilities such as caring for plants and animals, she said.

"We have two horses that need to be fed and watered ... and we also have a native plant nursery with thousands of plants."

Los Padres closure

Emergency responders, including firefighters and district rangers, would continue to work in Los Padres National Forest. But other employees would be furloughed, and offices, including the Ojai station, would close.

Construction and other contract work likely would be suspended.

Whether campers would be allowed to stay may depend on who's in charge of the campgrounds.

Rocky Mountain Recreation, which runs some campgrounds in Los Padres, said Monday that it plans on business as usual if a shutdown happens.

Economic slowdown

Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara, said the naval base would see the biggest local effect but that overall it would "just produce sort of a drag" on the local economy.

"It wouldn't derail it by any means," he said.

Spending would slow gradually, and it could affect local businesses over time, Schniepp said, but the effect of Ventura County residents' missing a paycheck or two would result in a greater "emotional, traumatic" reaction than actual harm to the economy.

"People have savings; people have credit cards; people can finance purchases in the interim, and they would continue to do that," he said.

Sung Won Sohn, an economist at CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo, said a shutdown that lasts for more than a few days would go from being "an inconvenience" to causing the local economy "to see pain much more acutely."

For every dollar spent in the community, two more are generated in local commerce, Sohn said.

"The impact of the federal government is very, very pervasive," Sohn said. "Many Ventura County residents sell goods and services to the federal government, and at a minimum that is going to be interrupted."

But Schniepp said the economy can deal with "temporary annoyances" like a government shutdown. The economy is getting stronger through increased employment opportunities and improvements to industries including real estate, technology and travel, he said.

Schniepp said he expected the shutdown to last no longer than one month because it would cause "significant devastation" if it dragged on much longer than that.

"It would have such a negative stigma on Congress," he said. "There's too much pressure on the government to not have it happen and not have it happen for very long because of the political chaos it would cause in small communities. Politically, I can't see it happening."

Repeated threats of government shutdowns and federal budget cuts have caused people to "yawn" at the dispute, said Schniepp, who related the scenario to "having a bunch of zombies popping up overnight."

"It's like the boy who cried wolf. We've been through too many of these things," he said.

Weather, airports

Employees at the Oxnard office of the National Weather Service are considered essential employees whose jobs protect life and property. Forecasts and weather warnings would continue.

At the Port of Hueneme, essential services would be maintained, said Executive Director Kristin Decas.

"We will continue to have our customs team in place," she said. Coast Guard services also would continue.

Other areas, such as pending federal grants, might be affected, Decas said.

Air traffic control towers at Camarillo and Oxnard airports also should not feel any immediate effects, said Todd McNamee, Ventura County director of airports.

State officials say unemployment insurance benefits, Medi-Cal payments, federal support for special education and Title 1 education funding to schools with large concentrations of poor students would be unaffected by a shutdown.

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