[Noozhawk’s note: Second in a series. Click here for the first commentary.]

On June 2, Santa Barbara County Auditor-Controller Betsy Schaffer will be seeking a third term against former Chief Deputy Controller Kyle Slattery.

Schaffer’s first and only election in 2018 was embroiled in controversy when then challenger Jennifer Christensen alleged that Schaffer was self-dealing.

The allegation was based on the county’s cozy relationship with local software provider SimplerSystems that was founded by Schaffer’s ex-husband, Rick Schaffer.

Between 1998 and 2025, the county paid SimplerSystems $5.2 million.

In part one of this series, I focused on a scathing 2017-2018 Grand Jury report that outlined 14 “weaknesses” in the SimplerSystems platform.

Based on the Grand Jury’s report, the Board of Supervisors mandated a process that, in 2022, led the county to choose global software provider Workday Inc.

In 2018, Schaffer defended herself by saying she had no interest in SimplerSystems, was not involved in contract decisions and that other software providers would have cost the county much more.

Other Providers

While the idea that other systems may have cost more is not a defense to the claim of self-dealing, it’s interesting to explore.

In reviewing agreements that date back 25 years it’s nearly impossible to compare costs and/or options across a myriad of programming tasks.

One reason for this is that many of the contracts were categorized as “professional service” in nature, exempting them from a competitive request for proposal process.

That is precisely why best public sector practice guides recommend an RFP, even when an exemption exists, i.e., Schaffer’s claim would have been easier to prove (or disprove) had there been a competition.

Gifts and Income

The California Fair Political Practices Commission’s Statement of Economic Interests, also known as Form 700, ensures public transparency by requiring the disclosure of investments, gifts and outside income.

It also requires that officials report spousal and/or partner income. Note: It wasn’t until 2016 that Schaffer was first required to file. Because her marriage reportedly ended in divorce in 2013, she did not report any spousal income.

After reviewing 44 years of Individual Statements of Economic Interest for Schaffer (2016-2025) and past Auditor-Controllers Robert Geis (1995-2016) and Theodore Fallati (2005-2019) there was not a single gift entry that related to SimplerSystems.

Disclosures for as little as $13.70 were found for the type of shmoozing one would expect from county vendors for lunches, dinners and/or golf outings, but for SimplerSystems, there was none.

Schaffer was the county’s division chief of financial reporting when Fallati appointed her as assistant auditor-controller.

As the new role required, she filed her first Form 700 with an “assuming office” date of June 6, 2016, and a form filing date just 17 days later.

According to the documents, she listed her outside employment at SimplerSystems as “bookkeeper” and her compensation (presumably for the period in question) between $1,001 and $10,000.

This was the first and only time that Schaffer mentioned SimplerSystems employment and/or compensation.

Over the 35 years that Geis and Fallati filed their statements, no income of any type was ever reported from SimplerSystems.

Contracts and Conflicts

Government Code Section 1090 prohibits public employees from benefiting financially from contracts made by them in their official capacity.

The section is construed broadly to ensure that the public has the official’s “absolute loyalty and undivided allegiance,” thereby avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.

The idea of “financial interest” is also broadly interpreted such that if you benefit “in any way,” either directly or indirectly, it is a violation.

So, while Schaffer’s divorce is important it is not, according to case law, dispositive.

For example, we might want to understand if the Schaffers remained living together or had income-dependent alimony or dependent children/child support.

Note: Perhaps, county officials should have demanded that Schaffer get Fair Political Practices Commission permission to negotiate!

Planning a contract or even being involved in discussions are enough to trigger the section.

Here, however, we have much more in that certain contracts actually have Schaffer’s name on the signature line, albeit with the full approval of the Board of Supervisors and County Counsel.

I found one contract particularly interesting in that it created a “Simpler Academy” that apparently ran — at a cost of $15,000 per month — between July 2023 and June 2024.

Some of the scope seemed minimally Workday-integration related (although the county also signed a third-party, multimillion-dollar integration contract), but much of it seemed more about management consulting not software.

For instance, this description: “Transformational Guidance meetings with individuals who are responsible for the implementation of Workday … to identify potential risks and concerns around people and processes and discuss with Auditor-Controller executive staff.”

Isn’t this a day-to-day management function of the county’s $300,000-per-year auditor-controller and/or someone within her 55-member staff? Just sayin’.

Or, how about “Leadership Coaching,” in which SimplerSystems would “work with individuals in Auditor-Controller IT management roles to develop effective leadership and governance skills. Assist with communication and conflict resolution between operational, technology, and management staff.”

Translation: Fix what sounds like a trainwreck of a culture.

Finally, I asked Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann why she changed her endorsement from Schaffer in 2018 to Slattery in the upcoming election.

She replied that she didn’t “change (her) endorsements lightly. But when the evidence is this clear — millions in cost overruns, a culture of fear, and a department turned inward — loyalty to a person cannot outweigh responsibility to the public. Kyle Slattery is the most capable, principled, and hardworking person … (and) exactly what this moment requires.”

Evidently, Supervisors Laura Capps, Steve Lavagnino and Bob Nelson agree because they, too, are endorsing Slattery.