Jason Harris, Santa Barbara’s economic development manager, is exiting City Hall after learning that City Administrator Rebecca Bjork has proposed axing his position in the upcoming 2024 budget.

“I was recently notified that my position is recommended to be eliminated due to the city’s budget reduction effort,” Harris told Noozhawk.

His position is funded through June, the end of the fiscal year, but Harris is departing next week. Harris earned $182,193 annually.

“My family and I plan to spend the summer in Oregon as I evaluate new opportunities,” Harris said.

Heads are rolling at City Hall over the talk of a hiring freeze, and there’s a general sense of unease and dissatisfaction over the budget proposal, sources told Noozhawk.

The city is facing a $1.1 million budget deficit in its $220 million general fund in 2024, and a $4.8 million shortfall in 2025.

Harris leaves the city almost as abruptly as he entered it. He was hired in 2020, a month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, by former City Administrator Paul Casey.

His time with the city was rocky from the start, and he faced an uphill political battle from the beginning.

Some in the community had lobbied for Nina Johnson, former assistant to the city administrator, to get the newly created economic development manager position, but the city instead hired Harris from Santa Monica.

State Street was already struggling with dozens of vacant storefronts when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But Harris — affable and friendly — struggled to revitalize State Street in the way that many in the community had hoped for.

He didn’t have a budget, or a staff, so he was charged with recruiting and retaining businesses, a tough task in the midst of COVID-19, homelessness on State Street, and in an unstable business environment.

While Harris talked well, State Street languished, and there has been great frustration with the status of Paseo Nuevo, the downtown mall for which the city holds the master lease.

“I think Jason did the job as well as he could do it. I am just not sure it was a doable job,” Mayor Randy Rowse said.

Rowse described Harris as “a great guy,” but noted that cities all over the country are struggling with the role of a economic development manager.

“The ability for that position to turn things around and recruit a lot of businesses, a lot of things were out of his control,” Rowse said.

Rowse said from the beginning the city had a “squishy” definition of the job.

“It was a tough position,” Rowse said. “I don’t know if we gave him the right amount of goals and definitions. It is really important that if you hire someone that you tell him exactly what you want.”

Rowse said overall the city is in a tough spot.

“We are tightening the belt in a lot of departments and a lot of places,” Rowse said. “We have to look at what will produce. We have to be as lean and mean as we can.”

Harris told Noozhawk that he is proud of his efforts to help establish the city’s first property-based assessment district for Coast Village, and start on a a downtown/funk zone assessment district.

“If adopted, it will produce benefits to these districts for years to come, and is a huge achievement as past efforts were unsuccessful,” Harris said.

He said that he helped businesses obtain financial benefits through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am also grateful to be able to have assisted more than 200 small businesses, entrepreneurs, and property owners through the regulatory process or access assistance during my three plus years,” Harris said.

Bjork told Noozhawk the decision was made for financial reasons.

“As Jason Harris himself has observed, it is very difficult to move the needle on economic development in a one-person shop and with no real incentives (such as tax credits) to offer businesses,” Bjork said.

She said the city is considering replacing the position with a business ombudsperson in community development “as we believe that will help get businesses through our development process more quickly and easily.”

“Over the past three years, we have worked very diligently to improve business processes for commercial tenant improvements, and to streamline other aspects of development and redevelopment,” Bjork said.

“Both of these have been identified as barriers for businesses considering relocating to Santa Barbara.

She added that the city is in a difficult situation.

“We are facing an on-going structural deficit that must be addressed to have a financially stable organization,” Bjork said.

Robin Elander, executive director of the Downtown Organization of Santa Barbara, said Harris will be missed.

“Jason Harris has been an excellent liaison and partner in supporting our business community during the pandemic,” Elander said. “He has also been influential building the capacity towards needed infrastructure for furthering economic development in our city.”

She said the downtown organization has fortunately been working hand-in-hand on many of those economic development efforts.

“In light of the loss of the city economic development position due to budget constraints, we will further prioritize our economic development efforts to continue to elevate the work in the downtown community in partnership with the city so that the economic development remains of high importance and focus for our community,” Elander said.