Goleta residents may return to their cars to find a ticket tucked under the wiper now that a new full-time officer will be hired specifically to enforce parking.
The Goleta City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to work with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and add one parking-enforcement officer position.
The position will be dedicated to enforcement of parking regulations across the city on a daily basis, according to community relations manager Valerie Kushnerov.
“Calls for service from the public regarding parking issues is the No. 1 call at the city,” Kushnerov said.
The previous enforcement officer retired, and Goleta had the opportunity to consider how the position could be restructured with the fiscal year 2016-17 budget, she said.
The budget sets aside $105,000 for the job, and staff estimates salary and benefits for the new employee to be $70,866 annually.
The Sheriff’s Office, which Goleta contracts with for law enforcement services, estimates the costs for this position to be $101,559 annually.
As part of the recently adopted budget, approval was given to contract a parking-enforcement officer from the Sheriff’s Office “to help provide a higher level of service to residents and businesses regarding the enforcement of parking regulations,” Kushnerov said.
The parking officer will be assigned to the Goleta Neighborhood Services and Public Safety Department.
Kushnerov said the Sheriff’s Office is working with Goleta on getting the new position assigned as soon as possible.
The monthly amount billed to the city will start when the position is filled.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
