Santa Barbara County drivers should see more road repairs after the Board of Supervisors approved a boost for the county roads operations fund.
The supervisors voted unanimously last week for increased Measure A allocations and General Fund contributions, as well as possible permit fee hikes, for ongoing road maintenance.
County budget director Paul Clementi said there are three major funding sources for the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department and the ongoing shortfall in the roads operations fund.
Fund 0015 — the operating fund — goes toward ongoing maintenance of roads, trees, sidewalks, bridges and more, as well as administrative costs, traffic studies, encroachment enforcement and transportation planning.
Fund 0016 — the capital maintenance fund — addresses deferred maintenance within the transportation network, and Fund 0017 — the capital infrastructure fund — improves and expands the transportation network.
Another funding source, Fund 0018, is a minor holding fund where Measure A funds — a half-cent local sales tax for regional transportation that is split between the North County and the South Coast — are passed through to the other funds and holds unspent Measure A dollars for future use.
Clementi said the operating fund has a growing gap between costs of ongoing operations and the revenue available.
“To maintain status quo operations, the department has been utilizing fund balance in Fund 0015, which reduces availability for things like project cash flow needs and emergency reserves,” he said.
According to a review of the budget, the shortfall is mostly due to significant cost increases of expenditures, liability insurance, increases in salaries and benefits, and other overhead charges.
Meanwhile, funding sources have remained flat.
For example, the Public Works Department typically recommends allocating about $6 million of Measure A dollars to Fund 0015, but overall Measure A revenue has increased 35% in the last five years.
The remainder of the revenue has been allocated to Fund 0016 or 0017, or earmarked for future use.
Staff recommended several ways to mitigate Fund 0015’s shortfall, while maintaining allocations for the other two funds.
Among the proposals were adopting a budget policy stating that “Measure A revenue shall be budgeted at fully anticipated amounts, primarily in Fund 0015” — allocating more Measure A dollars to Fund 0015 — increasing Fund 0015 General Fund contributions by $1 million in fiscal year 2023-2024, and considering permit fee increases.
While permit fees are a more minor source of funding for the Transportation Division, an increase in fees for encroachment permits is projected to add about $450,000.
The Board of Supervisors did not set any permit fee increases, but Clementi said Public Works staff would return later with recommendations.