Bill Macfadyen: What Are Your Solutions for Santa Barbara’s Budget?

» John Locke on 05.10.10 @ 08:35 AM

1. SB population has not grown in 10 years; so cut city staffing back to the level of 10 years ago.
2. Historically, government workers earned less than private sector because they had virtually guaranteed job security.
When health and pension benefits are counted, SB city workers, like virtually all government workers, earn something like 40% more than their private counterparts, at least partially due to over-grading jobs.  Have an independent, non-governmental organization assess the SB city positions and grade them comparable to private sector.  Then if the compensation is still high relative to private sector, cut it. 
3. Stop spending city funds on unnecessary projects like brick sidewalks, bulbouts, and miniroundabouts.

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 05.10.10 @ 09:33 AM

Parks and Rec would be the easiest department to sub-contrct our to the private sector saving us at least 50%. Three or more bids from good licensed and bonded comapies.

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» emptynewsroom on 05.10.10 @ 09:42 AM

Santa Barbara should be a model city in so many ways: environmental protectionism, sewage and water management, alternative energy and other emerging technologies, public schools, economic development and job creation, etc.

However, across the board knee jerk lowering of taxes, slashing public sector jobs and privatization are probably not the best solutions. I know is hard for many to imagine it, but until SB becomes a model city for others to emulate, it might be possible that we could learn from what other cities in other nations are doing. For example, are any of our politicians, community leaders or concerned citizens planning on attending the second biennial World Cities Summit 2010 (WCS) to be held from June 28 to July 1 in Singapore? http://www.worldcities.com.sg/

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» Boycott Boy on 05.10.10 @ 11:04 AM

Maybe we should just use eminent domain and take over all the television channels…then well reap the rewards of the millions the local politicians spend endorsing each other…  Better yet, lets cloud seed with that big Russian fire fighting plane, just pour millions of gallons of aluminum oxide on the clouds.  I’m sure the taxpayer would be more than happy to kick the budget up another million, think of how much more crops would grow!  We could also up the number of safe parking spaces…bring them in from all over the country!  I’m sure New Beginning could find a way to get a few million in stimilus money!  of course we’ll have to find a way to steal it from them.

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» OldPuebloTransplant on 05.10.10 @ 02:00 PM

Cool! Thanks NoozHawk this is exciting.

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» Voice of Reason on 05.10.10 @ 03:59 PM

emptynewsroom - I don’t think many folks were talking about cutting taxes and expecting EQUAL services. My point was that many of the “SERVICES” our city government provides are simply unnecessary, and the City of SB is notoriously slow at adapting to changing economic (or any, for that matter) conditions. Let’s look at development review for example. The City of Ventura laid off their development review staff when the recession hit. City of SB? Not a chance.

The city leaders and citizens need to do a top-to-bottom review of our operations and needs, just like businesses do (at least the successful ones) in these times. So far, I don’t think the leadership or savy to do this evaluation exists at the city. They are way too dependent on the public employee unions that DO NOT have the same mission or intended outcome as the citizenry of the city.

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» David Pritchett on 05.10.10 @ 07:02 PM

I hope the rest of this series is more productive and realistic than most of the initial comments here.

We know the party has started when the neo-epithets of “union puppets” “blue line” and “privatize” start flying around.

And then what happens when all those new privatized public park workers form their own labor union or are just plain illegal aliens?

But I do encourage Noozhawk to analyze the relationship between election contributions and local government spending and permit decisions.  Follow the money.

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» citizenSB on 05.10.10 @ 08:59 PM

Worse than pensions and high salaries is the drag from city and county workers that are not contributing to the level that is needed for their position. 
We should insist that the bottom 10% are removed yearly regardless of years of service. 
Like not getting picked for the baseball team it is time for them to go play elsewhere.

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» Voice of Reason on 05.11.10 @ 09:41 AM

David, I didn’t use the term “union puppet” but the intent is there. Are you seriously trying to make a case to defend the local dems and their union relationship?

I’m considered a liberal by many and typically vote Democratic and it disgusts ME. If you’re honest I think you’d admit the public employee unions have a major role in the problems local and state governments are dealing with today.

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» David Pritchett on 05.11.10 @ 01:20 PM

Why would an alleged “union puppet” or “union shill” (who, by the way, never has been supported or endorsed by a labor union for anything) encourage Noozhawk to “analyze the relationship between election contributions and local government spending and permit decisions”?

I would be glad to discuss any of this with real identified people, but I know it is more fun for some to hide behind pseudonyms. 

And if some of the moderated or approved comments do not violate Noozhawk commenting rules numbers 1 and 2, I would like to read what does.

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» John Locke on 05.12.10 @ 08:04 AM

David Pritchett, here are the names of four union shills:

Salud Carbajal, who never saw a union benefit he did’t like.  Most recently he proposed a county reg that would virtually guarantee all construction projects go to union shops.  Fortunately, wiser heads on the Board prevailed.

Janet Wolf, who enthusiastically endorsed the most recent unaffordable union compensation increase, and STILL doesn’t believe we have a budget crisis.

Helene Schneider who, during her campaign, pledged that no city worker (i.e. union member) would lose is or her job were she elected mayor.

BTW, have you done the math on union pension obligations lately? a half BILLION dollars at the county level and rising.  How long before the entire county gov budget goes to pay pensions?  Same question for the city and state.  Do you think money grows on trees?  Do you think the taxpayer has an endless appetite for tax increases?  Do you read the media?

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» Voice of Reason on 05.12.10 @ 02:04 PM

John Locke - Unfortunately I think you’re incorrect. I believe the County is still moving full steam ahead on the Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for some upcoming large building projects.

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» John Locke on 05.12.10 @ 06:24 PM

Voice of Reason:  Carbajal and Wolfe have got to go.  Farr isn’t much better.  I’d be interested to know the percentage of voters in SB county and city who are government employees or union members or dependent on them.  Big, I’d bet.

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 05.13.10 @ 08:59 AM

Vote out the tax and waste your hard earned money Liberals..

Thats how we take control..

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» captaindan on 05.13.10 @ 10:37 AM

Mypup:  Yes, there can be a middle ground, but only if we begin with the common agreement that the budget Must Be Balanced - not in ten years, but Right Now.  Then we can find a middle ground and argue how best to make the cuts.  For those that cannot accept the idea of a balanced budget as a starting point we are no longer having an adult discussion:  we are arguing with children that insist on having their toys even though there is no money to pay for them.
Captain Dan

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 05.15.10 @ 03:52 PM

I say its time to round up all illegals and deport them NOW- They will take their anchor babies with them. Wouldn’t that be wonderful..People actually obeying the law…

This will save Millions in our city and county—They should obey our laws, our anyway children are watching??

Vote out the weak liberal leaders who just want Mexican future votes—Pandering—The hell with you !

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 05.16.10 @ 07:16 PM

David is a nobody who needs government Welfare or a gov job to make it through life—union loser..City council—YA-RIGHT—NO WAY LIBBY..

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 05.17.10 @ 11:45 AM

David David David—you lied about Union ties???

No more city council runs for you—We have the the emails to prove it—your done !

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» emptynewsroom on 05.17.10 @ 12:07 PM

Ronald Reagan said it best: “People who don’t know the difference between “your”, an adjective, and “you’re”, a contraction of the words “you” and “are”, should not be allowed anywhere near government, let alone encouraged to vote.”

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 05.17.10 @ 12:41 PM

David have you ever had a real job without government assistance? I will bet based on your size you have never got your hands dirty working. just my opinion..

I think you’re a union flunky, shill, puppet who lies ..Why did you lie about union ties?

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» tamib on 05.18.10 @ 07:20 AM

In regard to a budget solution for Santa Barbara, the most important thing we can do is to reduce the number of City and County employees.  Janet Woolf stated there are 4000 employees now on the Santa Barbara County budget.  That’s half the population of Montecito.  The new CEO will be receiving a starting pay of $270,000.  What’s their pension/benefits going to cost the taxpayers? How much do we already owe for pensions in the County/City? Government is an expense it does not make money.  The private sector funds it.  We are reaching a point where we have more government employees than private sector people to pay for it.  Furthermore, the salaries and benefits are outlandish.  The taxpayer no longer has a voice in government at any level because the Constitution allows the politicians to just reach into their wallets and get what they want to fund their power grabs.  No one wants to fire a government employee because they vote to keep the City Council and legislature in power.  Most endorsements for Lois Capps are from other government workers because they know she won’t vote to reduce jobs.  So we pay and pay and now all the money we’ve invested in this community and the state of California has been squandered away by the State and County unions and politicians.  Right now it would cost $13,300 for every person in California to pay the state debt.  This is ridiculous since we have already paid taxes and fees at every level. We need business people running these governments, not self-serving politicians and community activists that can’t add and have never had to fire an employee to balance the bottom line.  Vote the incumbents out in November.

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» John Locke on 05.25.10 @ 03:02 PM

Gee, empty, ya got a bit of pot and kettle going there.  You never miss a chance to dis Bush.

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» AN50 on 05.25.10 @ 03:51 PM

The answer is fairly simple. You just have to use economic common sense. As John Locke pointed out early on the population of SB has remained fairly stable over the decades while government services have continued to grow and grow and grow.  Couple that with a net loss of private sector wealth generating business and it doesn’t take a PHd in economics to figure out what comes next, debt and lots of it.

The solution is to scale back government at all levels. Next entice industry that actually produces wealth and no folks that ain’t tourism. We still have some natural resources off shore to exploit but it isn’t much and won’t make up for loss of manufacturing. We can put our large and cumbersome university to work for us developing the new manufacturing business, engineering. These high paying value adding jobs generate more wealth than they consume, unlike service sector jobs and government work. Once the economy is growing again and actually expanding the value of our economy then government can tap into that growing revenue and expand services.

But here is the hitch folks, when private wealth generation starts to fall off government needs to shrink back at a faster rate, thereby freeing up capital for business to utilize, either to weather the storm or develop new areas of growth. In other words, government growth must lag private growth and lead private contraction in order for the system to work. We have nothing but utter failure as a lesson in doing it the other way around.

Note that none of this speaks to the great partisan divide. It is absolute folly to think we can do pure capitalism or socialism. Our society works best at a collaborative level between government and business as long as the lag/lead rule is followed. Private capital and government leadership has worked well in the past, but only when we recognize what business is wealth generating and what is wealth consuming. And, of course, all government is wealth consuming.

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» emptynewsroom on 05.27.10 @ 06:02 PM

Locke: The ultimate lesson of Bush’s unelected two term debacle is that everything he did was the culmination of all of the GOP’s most dearly held ideals. Twenty years ago Reagan was encumbered by the Dems during his two terms and conservatives only finally had all their wishes come true with the free-reign enjoyed by the Bush-Cheney presidency. Republicans got everything they wanted and it was a total failure. The point is: Bush is the BEST YOU CAN DO. We will not let the right wing live it down or forget it. That is the point, along with the pledge “Never again”.

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» emptynewsroom on 05.28.10 @ 10:27 AM

Clearly (and for very obvious reasons) conservatives would like everyone, and especially voters, to forget about Bush and Cheney and the incalculable damage that they did both here at home and throughout the world. Knowing that they can’t con the public into believing either of these unelected criminals were an “American hero” like Ronald Reagan, the GOP would prefer his presidency were forgotten, if not forgiven. Unfortunately, just as Reagan’s “legacy” is now in tatters and most of his economic and policy platforms are viewed today as flawed at best and complete failures at worst, Bush and Cheney must remain as emblematic of the real face of Republican politics. From rigging the 2000 election at the beginning of the Bush era to the the total meltdown of the economy and a record federal debt and national deficit and job losses for the middle class at the end of his 8 year reign, the right wing in this country got everything they wanted and it was among the worst things to ever happen to America. I see no difference between today’s crop of right wing candidates and the leadership of the GOP than the wrongheaded ideology of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. With any luck, the GOP brand and the U.S. conservative movement will never fully recover. Progressives were right and the right was wrong.

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» emptynewsroom on 05.28.10 @ 03:35 PM

As a taxpayer I must insist I get value for my tax dollars. On the Right everything is generally for big business, defense and the wealthy and there is little discussion about seeing that the people that fund the nation’s business (you and I) get much except the promise of “small government” and “fiscally conservative” governance. Well, we all know that under Reagan, Bush I and Bush-Cheney we got anything but less government and lower expenditures. Therefore, the Hobson’s Choice we must face is going along with GOP pledges that we know in advance will mean less tangible services in return for our money (and MAYBE lower taxes although both Reagan and Bush I reneged on THAT) or under the Dems benefits like Social Security, Medicare and access to health care and PERHAPS bigger deficits and higher taxes. History tells me that all things being equal at least with Dems in charge we have roughly the same deficit (lower under Clinton, of course than either Bush or Reagan) and possibly a quality of life similar to other industrialized nations. I’ve seen how other countries blend socialism and capitalism and frankly I think our best decades of the 1950s through the 1970s are behind us.

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» emptynewsroom on 05.28.10 @ 05:32 PM

Overfed Taxpayer: Are you referring to CORPORATE welfare? Which do you think drives up the deficit and the national debt more, services for taxpayers such as Medicare, Soc. Security (which we only get out what we put in), infrastructure, etc. or the Wall Street bailout, the auto industry bailout, the defense industry annual tab of $1 trillion and many trillions for recent wars and the hundreds of billions given to corporations in “farm subsidies” such as Monsanto, Cargill, etc? Right, this country’s corporate welfare FAR surpasses the paltry services us minions get while the fat cats wallow in the endless trough.

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» AN50 on 06.01.10 @ 11:46 AM

Empty, instead of going on and on about your obsession with Bush, try coming up with a proposal for solving the current financial crisis in SB. That was the question the editor asked. You are like that stupid conspiracy nut who went on and on with his 911 rant on an article about illegal immigration.
If you don’t have any ideas of your own then read what I proposed and rail on that. At least then we can stay on focus dude.

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» AN50 on 06.01.10 @ 01:16 PM

Ok Empty now we’re going somewhere. What do you mean by “economic development”? What kind and how? I agree it should be sane and not wreck the place aesthetically.
Why would we want more cruise ships and/or tourism since these are “fair whether industries dependant on greater wealth?
I like the redevelopment of the waterfront area idea as an industrial zone. Goes with my idea of tapping UCSB’s engineering schools and fostering new start-ups in the high tech sector.
I still think you have to have government expansion lag the private sector and lead the private sector in retractions. It may not jive with the progressives much but it would definitely help in smoothing private sector cycles and allow much faster recovery times. Your thoughts?

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 06.02.10 @ 10:18 AM

Government has way too many departments and managers, assistant managers, supervisors, assistant sups—on and on—and we Broke beacuse of rediculous wages and over staffing.

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» emptynewsroom on 06.27.10 @ 12:35 PM

Andrew: Many thanks for the kudos. I’d like nothing better than to see more accountability at all levels of government. Contrary to what some folks espouse here in the U.S., most western industrialized nations have it pretty good and are doing very nicely with a social compact between them and their governments. Here we get trillion dollar wars and graft and favoritism to special interest groups whereas in the UK, Europe and elsewhere they get value in the form of services for their tax dollars. Most of us have no idea how badly we are ripped off by our elected officials. To make matters worse, we have among the poorest quality of news reportage in the free world.

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» Oil guy on 07.19.10 @ 05:19 AM

Oil guy: Much as I dislike adding revenues to a local spendthrift government, the ultimate answer lies in the development of the untapped oil reserves in the Santa Barbara channel. The state leases have about 2 billion barrels that can be tapped by safe slant drilling from onshore. The total royalty and tax revenues would average at least $600,000,000 annually, and the county share assuming the traditional 80/20 split would be $120,000,000. There would be no platforms, no hazards, a reduction in the current oil seeps, and the prevention of future major oil seeps that could be triggered by a large earthquake.

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» thunder on 09.17.10 @ 09:40 AM

This sounds like an interesting project.  I hope many folks will participate!

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 01.03.11 @ 09:29 AM

Break the corrupt unions..

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 02.15.11 @ 07:16 PM

We all know anyone who works for the government or is on welfare, must rely on the rest of us in the real word to feed them.

Civil servants are lazy, over paid & syaffed losers, and not the sharpest tools in the shed. this is the reason they work or live off the dole..

over staffed always!!!

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» Earl Meyers on 03.25.11 @ 05:49 AM

Cut

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