Santa Barbara County expects another “status quo” budget with no big new programs or cuts to existing services, according to County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato.

Next week, the five-member Board of Supervisors will hold budget workshops to go over revenue and spending plans for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which starts in July.

The board will adopt a budget in June, but these meetings are where the big discussions over policy and funding take place each year.

Miyasato and county Budget Director Paul Clementi met with Noozhawk to discuss what’s new in the upcoming $1.48 billion budget.

“I’ve been here nine years, and when I first started here we were coming out of a recession, and departments to balance their budgets had to make cuts every year, but for the last five years it’s stabilized and we haven’t had to do that,” Miyasato said.

The county has been reporting strong tax revenues and still has millions of dollars of federal COVID relief funding to spend.

Looking a few years out, however, the county thinks its ever-growing expenses will outpace revenues, and there could be shortfalls leading to cuts, Clementi said.

On that note, budget staff will be asking board members on Friday whether they’d support a sales tax rate increase; a flood control assessment fee increase; and changing the cannabis tax structure to a square-footage-based assessment rather than gross receipts.

The county and city of Buellton have sales tax rates of 7.75% while other local cities have rates of 8.75%, Clementi said, adding that the county could put a 1% increase on the 2024 ballot.

Destructive storms have caused the county to consider increasing its flood control district assessment.

“So, the damage caused by the January, February storms was over $80 million,” Miyasato said.

“We’ll get a lot of that funded and reimbursed through FEMA, we’re lucky, but if we have an emergency that’s not part of a federal declaration, then it’s going to be on the local government.”

The county’s budget workshops start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room in Santa Barbara, at 105 E. Anapamu St.  

There will presentations for each county department and the three special issues: maintenance and capital projects, cannabis revenue update, and revenue tax measures.

Scroll down to view a detailed schedule of the county’s budget workshops.

The county’s deferred maintenance policy (championed by former supervisor Peter Adam) now has $15 million a year in funding, Miyasato noted.

In that policy, “18% of whatever you have left, you have to dedicate it to maintenance, and it grows every year,” she said.

With the cannabis program’s revenue declining, the county wants to use general fund money to fund some of the ongoing costs previously funded with cannabis revenues – such as some library and long range planning programs.

“The things funded by cannabis are still going to be funded, it’s just the source of revenue that we’re swapping out,” Miyasato said.

The 2023-24 year notably will be the first full year of operating two jails: the new Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria and the larger, older Main Jail near Santa Barbara.

The Sheriff’s Office operating costs have been higher than expected for the new Northern Branch Jail, Clementi said.

The cost for both jails is estimated at $90.6 million for next year, which includes about $30 million for the Northern Branch Jail and about $60 million for the larger Main Jail and systemwide transportation, he said.

Last year was the first year the Sheriff’s Office budgeted more money for custody operations – the jails – than law enforcement services, such as patrol and investigations.

More Upcoming County Projects, Programs

New IT department: The county eliminated its IT department years ago during the recession, but will break it out into its own department again in July.

That will help the county modernize its technology, its security, and its digital government services such as online permitting and paying bills online, Miyasato said.

“It’s kind of a milestone for us,” she said.

Recreation: The county’s first-ever Recreation Master Plan is being released this summer.

Regional Fire Communications Center: Construction starts soon on the new facility, which will consolidate fire and emergency medical services dispatch for the whole county. It’s located next door to the Emergency Operations Center on Cathedral Oaks Road near Santa Barbara.

Co-response program expansion: The Community Corrections Partnership plans to fund a fourth co-response team to serve the Lompoc Valley. These two-person teams include a sheriff’s deputy and behavioral health clinician who respond to mental health crisis-related 9-1-1 calls.

Budget Workshop Schedule

The budget workshops on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday are open to the public and people can comment in person from the Santa Barbara or Santa Maria hearing rooms, or via Zoom.

Watch the meetings live on the county website, YouTube channel, or TV channel 20.