Great introduction to this important local political voice. And good to learn the uphill fiscal battle prior supervisor Peter Adam waged, is still being carried out with some positive results. Now we just need two other county supervisors who honor this same fiscally solvent dedication and keep paring down the county's prior billion dollar infrastructure and unfunded pension back logs
I urged new county supervisor Roy Lee to use Bob Nelson for mentoring, while Lee was getting his feet wet in his newly elected supervisor position. And to please avoid Laura Capps for that same mentoring role. Didn't happen, but you can't win them all. At least I tried.
One continues to marvel at the tenacity of those who refuse to engage sensible dialogue, making it a more complex dance for the relational pragmatist who tries to penetrate the delusions (and perhaps the corruption?).
Probably better I didn’t attend, I sense a touch of smugness, maybe even arrogance. We’re not broke? What else do you call it? Maybe not in his conservative district, but the rest of us that lives in La-La land may see it differently. Sure, what else do you call unfunded pension liabilities which could top $1 billion, a shrinking tax base and more and more “businesses” being not for profits, with 1 in 7 properties being tax exempt for starters? Wait there’s more, schools that are failing (maybe not in Orcutt), mounting deferred maintenance costs, and a pervasive county wide radical woke ideology rounding out the “ugly.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s a “Republican,” but he kinda reminds me of the Dutch kid with his finger in the dike and our financial health and standard of living is showing some major cracks!
Wouldn’t it be nice if the people in Santa Barbara would vote for the most qualified person on the ballot even if they happen to be a republican. This is called being a mature adult. After seeing how much we pay these government officials in Santa Barbara, I now know why our property taxes are so high.
I wasn't keen on his handling of the question from the Isla Vista landlord. I wasn't there, but it seems as though he did a typical politician no-answer maneuver by putting the blame on the landlords and making them the butt of a joke. On the other hand, he's right about oil and electricity, ICE and the homeless situation. He's better than Capps and her cartel, but how effective is he actually at battling them?
He's outnumbered, it's hard when you have 3 against 2. Now if we could elect another supervisor with his views ,it would be a stalemate. But at least it wouldn't be a majority of people going on feelings.
The population growth northwards keeps changing the middle Third District swing seat.
No wonder they want to cram so much more housing in south county before it is too late. Or keep expanding UCSB enrollments. It would be nice to see Capps and Lee isolated and fighting for their fiscally reckless "progressive" agenda on their own as the new board minority, some day.
Did some precinct walking in IV a number of years and a lot of the apartments were pretty awful. Due to no small part the abuse inflicted by the student tenants themselves. But also a lot of out of town owners, who probably just cashed the rent checks from this flock of potential local voters.
One complex had a joke sign warning about alligators in the courtyard, due to the chronically over-flowing plumbing system. Lord knows what got flushed down them, but the students were sending the message this was not getting fixed. So basic health and safety stuff unattended, when taking on the joys of providing student housing.
Excellent point TVW, didn’t hear much from Sup. Nelson about the ongoing and deliberate efforts by our Country Officials to thwart ICE and Federal Agents in removing known, criminal illegal immigrants. Why the impediment for removal? Why are our tax dollars being used for, among other things, evasion of Federal Immigration Laws?
Why is our County Sheriff trying to walk a tightrope when in comes to cooperating with sworn Federal Agents?
You and LT are absolutely correct. Please listen to Bob’s full video (link at end of story) I tried to condense the essence of what he saying but may not have found the correct words.
Wow! $300 per hour for a 37-hour work week is $11,100 per week for one inspector.
$20,000 for one plan inspection is 67 hours of work. A 20-page letter of rejection of the submitted plans suggests incredible overkill to justify the $20,000 bill at $1,000 per page, accompanied by 9 weeks of delay, delay.
I think serious thought should be given to outsourcing this inspection function via competitive contract bidding from qualified competitors. Using the example quoted in this article, most people would expect that the job would be completed at a much lower price, with faster turnaround, accompanied by personal consultation and collaboration with the submitter of the plans, to resolve any issues within 4 weeks of submission of plans.
Outsourcing is clearly the responsible solution to the debacle of going through the permitting process. The problem of course is that this is their fiefdom. They're not interested in efficiency by and large...they're interested in preserving...and growing...their jobs and power.
I've dealt with planning and departments for decades. With some notable exceptions, the overall culture is not sympathetic or innately collaborative with the client…the poor sap just trying to get a permit and/or "permission". Often the relationship and process is adversarial and egregiously expensive in both money and time. Perhaps those fees explain in part how they can afford to shuffle huge amounts of taxpayer funds to the illegal alien "community".
I think that AI could speed up and pre-qualify the process of drawing up the plans, provided that the specifications to be met are adequately specified in concrete terms by words, numbers, and illustrations. This should speed up the approval process. However, the more in the inspection process that is left to human judgement, or political pressures, little will change.
I'll be pragmatically cynical... They will strongly resist that effort. Can you even imagine the double barrel response from the employee unions? Yikes!!
I vote for a five-year building moratorium in the city and tell the "state" to stuff it. No projects, no need for planners. Bring back the former no-growth ethos of the 1970's. That is when city voters decided, in an non-binding advisory vote, 80,000 was as big as we ever needed to be.
Bingo. It is immoral what is happening to this once jewel of a city. Agree with the 80k population limit. The majority of the resident's concurred. The courts overturned...imagine that. Observe the consequence of that unilateral ruling.
OK, just to clear the air on the issue of is the County is BROKE?
Sup. Nelson is most likely referring to the comment I made before the Board of Supervisor's about a month ago. The statement was the County has been facing over $400 million in capital improvements and that goes back some 15-20 years. I stated to the obvious disgust of the County Administrator (sitting at her desk) that if you cannot eliminate that crushing backlog you are in fact broke.
"county is going bankrupt?” "county has bolstered reserves to $200 million and is five years from paying off its pension debt, ...."
Is that a good thing? YES without a doubt. Bankrupt? Laugh, the Socialist clearly state never going to happen because we will tax Joe Public to death just to survive. Let's put it in perspective.
The reserve, is to be able to operate (paying civil servants) in bad times. Comparing the size of SB County to other counties of the same size it pays far more in wages and benefits then they do. But what about the above mentioned $400 million in capital projects sitting on the books?
Sacramento saddled every county with localized jails because the majority party was faced with felons and more that they had to look at every year. The "get out jail free" Democrats had to have a scapegoat. How about that growing item on the Supervisors desk? It is called the County Jail.
The Supervisors just voted themselves a raise and of course the union then demands a raise, and and and........
If the County of Santa Barbara wants to bill for services then the employees should be taking care of their own medical / retirement. Don't like it? Find another job.
No more getting per Diem and travel. The bills presented to applicants, the Supervisor stated are outrageous when you consider their offices and operations come out of the taxpayer pocket.
$26 per hour for AG?????????? Even the workers will not be able to buy groceries at that pay.
Here is one.... inspection ordinance Nelson backed. .... OK what about insurance? Many of these units have mortgages. I have to meet annual inspections, should not the owners have the same and cut the government out of this? Just a thought.
Unfortunately this quote "conservative principles and pragmatic compromise ...." is not what most would like. Why? Because with RHNA, Sacramento changing CEQA, intentional inflationary energy costs, demands by radical Socialist groups for living conditions equal to what I have worked hard for, for 40 years makes little sense. Sup. Nelson is in a rock and a hard place.
3rd and 2nd District are, and have stated clearly, they border on the line of total government control regardless of what reality is about.
Then again except for emergency services, government should be privatized.
Now there is a statement that should cause a few comments.
James Fenkner, CFA, said it... The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
“Thank you, James, for this insightful article on Supervisor Bob Nelson. It’s refreshing to see leadership that blends fiscal responsibility with practical solutions, especially when tackling issues like homelessness and the burdens of overregulation. Bob Nelson has proven himself a true advocate for Orcutt and all of Santa Barbara County—fighting for jobs, common sense policies, and accountability, even in the face of a progressive majority that often works against the best interests of residents. While Congressman Salud Carbajal seems determined to block and dismantle efforts that could restore stability and prosperity to our communities, Nelson stands out as a rare voice of reason and service. We need more leaders with his courage and integrity.”
OK. It's a bureaucratic fiefdom. So, the question is how it can be brought to earth? Who could be available as a source for contracting out this work? Why not ask them to do a case study of the $20,000 phase one cost of the application for approval and of changes demanded for approval, and the and develop a bid price to do the work? Why not then submit their conclusions and bid for a second inspection to the other members of the County Commission with a copy to the local press, recommending the outsourcing of this function as the existing inspection process is not fit for purpose?
The Santa Barbara County grand jury has commented on and made recommendations for many years regarding the inefficiency and the quasi-adversarial attitude of both the county and the city planning & building departments. I don't need to tell you what happened with those recommendations other to say that ox has never been, not will it ever be gored. Have a nice day.
Thanks Bob for all that. To use a 70’s saying “RIGHT ON”!
On another subject entirely, would you please encourage your constituents in DC to pass Salud’s bill to recognize Phil Conran’s bravery in Laos (he was honored in chambers by you and the Board some months back) to have his Air Force medal upgraded to the Presidential Metal of Honor he so deserves!!!
If only we could elect a couple more like him down here in South County perhaps we’d be able to straighten things out
Great introduction to this important local political voice. And good to learn the uphill fiscal battle prior supervisor Peter Adam waged, is still being carried out with some positive results. Now we just need two other county supervisors who honor this same fiscally solvent dedication and keep paring down the county's prior billion dollar infrastructure and unfunded pension back logs
I urged new county supervisor Roy Lee to use Bob Nelson for mentoring, while Lee was getting his feet wet in his newly elected supervisor position. And to please avoid Laura Capps for that same mentoring role. Didn't happen, but you can't win them all. At least I tried.
One continues to marvel at the tenacity of those who refuse to engage sensible dialogue, making it a more complex dance for the relational pragmatist who tries to penetrate the delusions (and perhaps the corruption?).
Probably better I didn’t attend, I sense a touch of smugness, maybe even arrogance. We’re not broke? What else do you call it? Maybe not in his conservative district, but the rest of us that lives in La-La land may see it differently. Sure, what else do you call unfunded pension liabilities which could top $1 billion, a shrinking tax base and more and more “businesses” being not for profits, with 1 in 7 properties being tax exempt for starters? Wait there’s more, schools that are failing (maybe not in Orcutt), mounting deferred maintenance costs, and a pervasive county wide radical woke ideology rounding out the “ugly.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s a “Republican,” but he kinda reminds me of the Dutch kid with his finger in the dike and our financial health and standard of living is showing some major cracks!
Seems like Mr. Nelson is actually doing work to solve problems and crime. See what electing a Republican can do for your City.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the people in Santa Barbara would vote for the most qualified person on the ballot even if they happen to be a republican. This is called being a mature adult. After seeing how much we pay these government officials in Santa Barbara, I now know why our property taxes are so high.
I wasn't keen on his handling of the question from the Isla Vista landlord. I wasn't there, but it seems as though he did a typical politician no-answer maneuver by putting the blame on the landlords and making them the butt of a joke. On the other hand, he's right about oil and electricity, ICE and the homeless situation. He's better than Capps and her cartel, but how effective is he actually at battling them?
He's outnumbered, it's hard when you have 3 against 2. Now if we could elect another supervisor with his views ,it would be a stalemate. But at least it wouldn't be a majority of people going on feelings.
The population growth northwards keeps changing the middle Third District swing seat.
No wonder they want to cram so much more housing in south county before it is too late. Or keep expanding UCSB enrollments. It would be nice to see Capps and Lee isolated and fighting for their fiscally reckless "progressive" agenda on their own as the new board minority, some day.
Did some precinct walking in IV a number of years and a lot of the apartments were pretty awful. Due to no small part the abuse inflicted by the student tenants themselves. But also a lot of out of town owners, who probably just cashed the rent checks from this flock of potential local voters.
One complex had a joke sign warning about alligators in the courtyard, due to the chronically over-flowing plumbing system. Lord knows what got flushed down them, but the students were sending the message this was not getting fixed. So basic health and safety stuff unattended, when taking on the joys of providing student housing.
Agree, but why didn't Nelson use the opportunity of this question from an IV landlord to make the points you are?
“…contentious issues like cooperation with ICE...”.
Think about that.
Unfortunately the majority of our local officials view federal laws as a smorgasbord from which they arrogantly pick and choose.
Perhaps the plebes can exercise the same arbitrary discretion regarding which of the myriad of itemized taxes to pay on their property tax bill.
Excellent point TVW, didn’t hear much from Sup. Nelson about the ongoing and deliberate efforts by our Country Officials to thwart ICE and Federal Agents in removing known, criminal illegal immigrants. Why the impediment for removal? Why are our tax dollars being used for, among other things, evasion of Federal Immigration Laws?
Why is our County Sheriff trying to walk a tightrope when in comes to cooperating with sworn Federal Agents?
Cooperation with ICE should be automatic; not "contentious". There they(D) go again, jumping in first to control the narrative.
You and LT are absolutely correct. Please listen to Bob’s full video (link at end of story) I tried to condense the essence of what he saying but may not have found the correct words.
Wow! $300 per hour for a 37-hour work week is $11,100 per week for one inspector.
$20,000 for one plan inspection is 67 hours of work. A 20-page letter of rejection of the submitted plans suggests incredible overkill to justify the $20,000 bill at $1,000 per page, accompanied by 9 weeks of delay, delay.
I think serious thought should be given to outsourcing this inspection function via competitive contract bidding from qualified competitors. Using the example quoted in this article, most people would expect that the job would be completed at a much lower price, with faster turnaround, accompanied by personal consultation and collaboration with the submitter of the plans, to resolve any issues within 4 weeks of submission of plans.
Why has this not happened already?
Outsourcing is clearly the responsible solution to the debacle of going through the permitting process. The problem of course is that this is their fiefdom. They're not interested in efficiency by and large...they're interested in preserving...and growing...their jobs and power.
I've dealt with planning and departments for decades. With some notable exceptions, the overall culture is not sympathetic or innately collaborative with the client…the poor sap just trying to get a permit and/or "permission". Often the relationship and process is adversarial and egregiously expensive in both money and time. Perhaps those fees explain in part how they can afford to shuffle huge amounts of taxpayer funds to the illegal alien "community".
Absolutely right on.
AI should speed up a lot of the "plans checking". Sifting out what still needs human consideration. How likely will that happen?
I think that AI could speed up and pre-qualify the process of drawing up the plans, provided that the specifications to be met are adequately specified in concrete terms by words, numbers, and illustrations. This should speed up the approval process. However, the more in the inspection process that is left to human judgement, or political pressures, little will change.
Human workers rarely pull the kill-switch on their own jobs.
I'll be pragmatically cynical... They will strongly resist that effort. Can you even imagine the double barrel response from the employee unions? Yikes!!
That said...great call.
I vote for a five-year building moratorium in the city and tell the "state" to stuff it. No projects, no need for planners. Bring back the former no-growth ethos of the 1970's. That is when city voters decided, in an non-binding advisory vote, 80,000 was as big as we ever needed to be.
Bingo. It is immoral what is happening to this once jewel of a city. Agree with the 80k population limit. The majority of the resident's concurred. The courts overturned...imagine that. Observe the consequence of that unilateral ruling.
OK, just to clear the air on the issue of is the County is BROKE?
Sup. Nelson is most likely referring to the comment I made before the Board of Supervisor's about a month ago. The statement was the County has been facing over $400 million in capital improvements and that goes back some 15-20 years. I stated to the obvious disgust of the County Administrator (sitting at her desk) that if you cannot eliminate that crushing backlog you are in fact broke.
"county is going bankrupt?” "county has bolstered reserves to $200 million and is five years from paying off its pension debt, ...."
Is that a good thing? YES without a doubt. Bankrupt? Laugh, the Socialist clearly state never going to happen because we will tax Joe Public to death just to survive. Let's put it in perspective.
The reserve, is to be able to operate (paying civil servants) in bad times. Comparing the size of SB County to other counties of the same size it pays far more in wages and benefits then they do. But what about the above mentioned $400 million in capital projects sitting on the books?
Sacramento saddled every county with localized jails because the majority party was faced with felons and more that they had to look at every year. The "get out jail free" Democrats had to have a scapegoat. How about that growing item on the Supervisors desk? It is called the County Jail.
The Supervisors just voted themselves a raise and of course the union then demands a raise, and and and........
If the County of Santa Barbara wants to bill for services then the employees should be taking care of their own medical / retirement. Don't like it? Find another job.
No more getting per Diem and travel. The bills presented to applicants, the Supervisor stated are outrageous when you consider their offices and operations come out of the taxpayer pocket.
$26 per hour for AG?????????? Even the workers will not be able to buy groceries at that pay.
Here is one.... inspection ordinance Nelson backed. .... OK what about insurance? Many of these units have mortgages. I have to meet annual inspections, should not the owners have the same and cut the government out of this? Just a thought.
Unfortunately this quote "conservative principles and pragmatic compromise ...." is not what most would like. Why? Because with RHNA, Sacramento changing CEQA, intentional inflationary energy costs, demands by radical Socialist groups for living conditions equal to what I have worked hard for, for 40 years makes little sense. Sup. Nelson is in a rock and a hard place.
3rd and 2nd District are, and have stated clearly, they border on the line of total government control regardless of what reality is about.
Then again except for emergency services, government should be privatized.
Now there is a statement that should cause a few comments.
James Fenkner, CFA, said it... The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
“Thank you, James, for this insightful article on Supervisor Bob Nelson. It’s refreshing to see leadership that blends fiscal responsibility with practical solutions, especially when tackling issues like homelessness and the burdens of overregulation. Bob Nelson has proven himself a true advocate for Orcutt and all of Santa Barbara County—fighting for jobs, common sense policies, and accountability, even in the face of a progressive majority that often works against the best interests of residents. While Congressman Salud Carbajal seems determined to block and dismantle efforts that could restore stability and prosperity to our communities, Nelson stands out as a rare voice of reason and service. We need more leaders with his courage and integrity.”
Thanks James for the great article. You very ably reported the speech so I felt like I was in the room with you.
OK. It's a bureaucratic fiefdom. So, the question is how it can be brought to earth? Who could be available as a source for contracting out this work? Why not ask them to do a case study of the $20,000 phase one cost of the application for approval and of changes demanded for approval, and the and develop a bid price to do the work? Why not then submit their conclusions and bid for a second inspection to the other members of the County Commission with a copy to the local press, recommending the outsourcing of this function as the existing inspection process is not fit for purpose?
The Santa Barbara County grand jury has commented on and made recommendations for many years regarding the inefficiency and the quasi-adversarial attitude of both the county and the city planning & building departments. I don't need to tell you what happened with those recommendations other to say that ox has never been, not will it ever be gored. Have a nice day.
Thanks Bob for all that. To use a 70’s saying “RIGHT ON”!
On another subject entirely, would you please encourage your constituents in DC to pass Salud’s bill to recognize Phil Conran’s bravery in Laos (he was honored in chambers by you and the Board some months back) to have his Air Force medal upgraded to the Presidential Metal of Honor he so deserves!!!