Speaker for July 28 - Angela Godwin

            Angela Godwin, County Sealer for the Ventura County Department of Weights and Measures (“VCDWM”), gave a presentation on the types of services that her department provides.  Generally, the VCDWM uses a set of “Standards” that have been universally agreed upon to ensure that consumers and businesses are getting the quantity of goods that they are paying for.

            As you can imagine, the VCDWM randomly checks every gas pump at every gas station in the county as least once per year.  It checks to make sure that the amount of gas the pump says it is dispersing is actually being dispersed.  It also checks to make sure that the octane level is as it is labeled.  The VCDWM has a specially equipped truck for this purpose.  Ms. Godwin said that the pumps are not always shortchanging customers, that sometimes they are dispensing more gas than is being indicated. 

Ms. Godwin stated that in her experience, you have the highest chance of getting watered down gas or gas with lots of sediment in it if you are one of the first customers in the morning when the pumps have not been used for hours.  She recalled that a few cars, including a brand new diesel truck, were ruined when this happened. 

The VCDWM also inspects firewood.  Firewood can be sold in bundles up to one cubic foot or by the cord.  Ms. Godwin stated that it is often difficult to know if you are getting the correct amount of wood when purchasing it by the cord.  As such, she stated that anyone can call their office and ask them to come out when the wood is delivered to make sure that the amount delivered is correct.

The VCDWM inspects scales of all sorts including:  gold scales, pharmacy scales, market scales, railroad scales, and truck scales.  The VCDWM also goes from grocery stores to the outlet mall checking labeling and verifying prices.

Although the VCDWM generally does not handle utility meters, it does check the accuracy of meters for mobile homes and apartments.  More often than not, the problem is a billing issue, not a meter issue.

If you have a complaint or concern, you may contact the VCDWM by phone at 805-654-2444 or at its website at www.ventura.org/rma/weights.

 Thank you Angela for a very informative presentation.

Deborah A. Perkins