The Goleta City Council approved funding on Tuesday for a fourth motor deputy and a second parking enforcement officer as part of the city’s two-year budget.
Residents have been asking for more traffic and parking enforcement for a long time, especially after the city lowered speed limits and the California daylighting bill, AB 413, went into effect in January.
The daylighting bill prohibits parking within 20 feet of an approaching crosswalk. The goal of the bill was to improve pedestrian safety by making crosswalks more visible to oncoming traffic.
However, the bill hasn’t been strictly enforced in Goleta because of the city having only one parking enforcement officer, according to the city.
Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said the city has been waiting for a fourth motor deputy for quite a while.
Goleta’s assistant city manager, Jaime Valdez, said the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office motor deputy will start in July.
The second parking officer will start later in the fiscal year.
Because of the increased enforcement, the city’s contract with the Sheriff’s Office increased from $11.5 million in fiscal year 2024-25 to $12.7 million for fiscal year 2025-26. The contract for fiscal year 2026-27 is expected to be $13.4 million.
