County Greed, Failure, and Ineptitude on Display

By Andy Caldwell

You may recall that a County consultant wrote a report to the Board of Supervisors advising them that it was illegal to bill permit holders more than the actual cost to inspect the businesses subject to permit fees. That is, while it is permissible to charge a business owner the direct cost of inspections, it was not okay to charge the businesses for the vacation, sick leave, and holiday pay of the inspectors (when they are not “on the job”). The fee program this consultant was hired to review affects some 5,000 businesses in the county including restaurants, gas stations, auto repair shops, food trucks, tattoo parlors and the like. The reason the county hired the consultant was to justify a $1.1 million fee increase, but considering the fact the expert rendered all time-off as “unbillable,” that means the regulated community should be getting a 25% decrease in their fees instead.

What’s worse than being overcharged for these unbillable hours? Have you seen those road-side taco stands popping up all over the county from a common vendor company? There is reason to believe these stands are being run by Mexican cartels. Several counties are trying to shut them down because they are not following any food safety protocols, and that is saying it mildly.

They have been caught transporting meat in a five-gallon bucket.

Food that should be kept cold has been discovered in ice chests with no ice.

There are no sanitation facilities on hand.

And, of course, they are operating without a license.

In other words, they are not even trying to comply with the law.

Santa Barbara County has spent hundreds of hours of overtime trying to shut these vendors down, and rightly so. However, the county is charging the enforcement costs to the businesses mentioned above, who follow the law. This too is something the county consultant mentioned in his report. That is, the county is not to charge businesses for activities having to do with a public benefit. These lawless taco stands are a matter of public health and protecting the same is something the county should be paying for out of its general fund.

Something the County shouldn’t be Paying For

The county fire department’s new Regional Fire Communications Facility. This ill-thought-out venture seeks to duplicate the services previously supplied by the Sheriff’s Department. That is, for years the Sheriff ran dispatch for both his department, county fire, and ambulance services. However, about the same time the fire department was attempting to steal the county ambulance contract, they convinced the supervisors they needed their own standalone dispatch service for fire and ambulance calls.

When the fire department originally asked the board to approve the construction and operation of the facility, they promised that the county general fund would not have to contribute to the project. This has to do with the fact that the county fire department is technically a special district, meaning the department has a dedicated property tax revenue stream of its own. The Fire Department promised to make the Sheriff whole because his dispatch center costs were going to rise due to the duplicate dispatch services.

Well, guess what? The Fire Communication Center is one year late in commencing to operate. They are also $2 million short in funds, and they want the Board of Supervisors to make up the difference. And they have no plan to make the Sheriff whole for the long run.

Sounds about right for the Fire Department.

Speaking of the Sheriff, Supervisors Capps and Hartmann want to reduce the holding capacity of the north county jail while sticking to their story that crime is down. This has to do with their unwillingness to replace the jail cells that will be lost when the county closes most of the south county jail because it is antiquated and dilapidated.

Regardless, one person who isn’t buying the line that crime is down is the District Attorney. He reported to the supervisors that murder and attempted murder cases are up 74% since 2020; open murder/attempted murder cases are up 42% since 2019, and open felony caseloads are up 29% since 2019. I believe voters have more trust and confidence in the leadership and expertise of the Sheriff and the District Attorney than they do the county sups when it comes to prosecution and incarceration matters.

Since the Sheriff and the DA were elected by those voters to handle these matters, county supervisors should defer to their judgement and expertise accordingly.

Andy Caldwell, Executive Director, COLAB

Take a look at COLAB’s latest video, “The Great Fee Heist”