Molding a County Web Site : Joint Effort Aims to Offer Services--and Turn a Profit

Ventura County residents would be able to pay their property taxes and traffic fines over the Internet. Contractors would have the option of bidding on government projects online. And local businesses could help pay for it all by advertising their wares in cyberspace.

Welcome to Virtual Ventura County.

Following the lead of private industry, county and city officials are working together to build an interactive Web site that would deliver a variety of services to residents, government and businesses. If all goes well, officials said, the site will be up and running in six months.

“It’s not just a Web page. It’s a system of bringing everyone who should be known in Ventura County together in one virtual organization,” Supervisor Frank Schillo explained. “It would be like an entryway to Ventura County.”

Rick Ruffinelli and Earl Needham, of Ventura Computer Systems Inc., came up with the idea and presented it to the nonprofit Economic Development Collaborative--Ventura County, whose members represent city governments and the county’s largest businesses.

The two groups have been developing a prototype for the past six months. They plan to present it Sept. 23 to the collaborative’s board, city officials and some business representatives. They will spend the following few months fine-tuning it.

“What we don’t want to do is slap something on the Web and not have it be right,” said Joe McClure, executive director of the Camarillo-based collaborative.

The project won’t be cheap. So far the group has spent only $25,000 provided by the collaborative and a Pacific Bell grant. Ruffinelli said getting the site up and running could ultimately cost up to $1 million. Some funding would come from local governments; the rest could come from grants and businesses that would profit from the site.

The key will be for Virtual Ventura County to sustain itself, officials said. Other communities have started Web sites that are expansive clearinghouses for information, but they languished after the initial infusion of funds dried up, Ruffinelli said. This site must make money, which means that electronic commerce is its most vital function.

Ruffinelli cited Charlotte’s Web: The Electronic Gateway to the Carolinas, a Web site where people can pay parking fines in addition to looking for homes or reporting crimes, as closest to this idea, but said he wants to take it much further.

McClure said a major component will be a system where small businesses would receive e-mail notifying them when local governments or large companies such as Amgen in Newbury Park are looking for products or services. The small businesses could then bid electronically for the projects. Both the buyers and sellers would pay fees to participate.

The county and city governments are willing to let people pay bills and access information such as property records online, McClure said. Other plans include an online auto mall, where people could shop for cars, and online box offices so people could buy tickets to local events and shows. Companies also would pay to advertise on or be linked to the site.

Information services would include access to Web sites for schools, cities, county organizations, water districts and ports. Someone considering moving to the area could find a real estate agent, learn about schools and locate hot shopping areas, Schillo said.

Ruffinelli said Virtual Ventura County is critical to the area’s survival in the digital age. With an increasing number of people buying goods over the Internet, local businesses can lose local customers to businesses across the country or around the world.

In addition, the proponents say that cities trying to lure businesses, county companies trying to attract employees, and such places as museums and hotels vying for tourists need a large-scale marketing tool like Virtual Ventura County.

“It’s extremely important because most people think of Ventura County as just a green area between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara,” Schillo said. “They need to know the advantages of coming here.”