The saying "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" jumps out. A start would be to exchange the council's car allowance with a bicycle allowance.
Merry Christmas Bonnie! The numbers you lay out don't lie, we are being robbed by the inept leaders that run the city and county.
If our roads were smooth, and public services efficiently run it would be easier to stomach these increases--that is not the case--and why some of my friends talk regularly of leaving.
Santa Barbarans never met a tax increase fee increase or any other form of government empowerment they did not like. Measure P, sales tax increases are all adored by our left leaning voters typically by a 60% - 30% divide which matches the Democrat - Republican divide. While I feel a prisoner of government, the left is in love with the captors. Is it a form of Stockholm Syndrome?
Totally agree. I am always dumbfounded by the passage of everything in terms of new taxes/fees, always, every time. SB is a government town. If one were able to illustrate a population map by identifying those either directly benefiting from government resources (cash and tangible benefits) or indirectly, (subsidized assistance), clearly the majority of the population have a link. UCSB, CC, City, County, State, Fed., Special Districts and surely others I am not considering. Stepping way back it’s one sector controlling the other and living on their creative abilities.
I suspect 60% are receiving benefits they are afraid they would lose if Republicans were in charge. That leaves 30% paying for most of it. I hear those on the dole complaining that they pay taxes too. Indeed, with money confiscated from the 30% not on the dole. I would leave the state if it were not for responsibilities taking care of elderly family members.
I don't think it's a Republican or Democrat thing. The majority of people in the county and city of SB aren't even registered to vote. I don't agree with you most of the time but at least we both post what we believe. But most folks don't, they don't even have a clue about the things Bonnie brings up here. We're doomed.
I agree that we are doomed as long as voters continue to approve tax increases and bond measures. Also progressives continue to get elected to public office and prioritize more spending on bike lanes, road narrowing, roundabouts increased utility rates, and more hiring of useless overpaid city bureaucrats. Those who do not vote are not driving the rot it is the voters. Perhaps I am wrong but I believe it is a Democrar vs Republican thing. In my conversations all Democrats support government expansion and vote for tax increases while Republicans oppose it to a man. This observation is supported by the split that typically obtains on these issues being 60 - 30 which is tha ratio of Denocrat to Republican voters.
One potential solution would be to require college and university students to vote absentee in their home city, county, or state, consistent with the voting rules applied to members of the military.
Bonnie & Jeff, I see what you are saying but still, the majority of humans in our county and city are not registered and are not voting. So sorry, we are doomed. . .
Hi Bonnie and Merry Christmas.. 🎄Great article and a must needed topic once again
So isn’t this the plan ? Own nothing and be happy?
Doesn’t it seem like they Want everyone to leave unless you can afford the fees to include driving ?
Isn’t the plan no cars everyone on gov dole unless you are Oprah and the like .. with the wealth tax looming to strip the populace of their last dollar to pay for the illegals is such a slap in the face and attempting to take away Prop 13 will do in all the seniors and those hanging on to homeownership
There goes my inheritance lol and many others … possible all gone due to the agenda
Is everyone nuts? Who the hell keeps voting for this crap ? Dominion?
What are we going to do about it as a community?
How do we change this system and go back to doable , less government control and bring this situation to a halt?
Not to mention the train line to nowhere how many billions unaccounted for and more . How can they the people in charge lose billions of dollars like 3 times and have no paper trail ? Isn’t everything traceable w internet and technology ?
Time to hold these thieves accountable and resist compliance . Idk what else to do
Have a meeting w all landlords saying we will not comply backed by tenants to include replacing the CC and their playbook agenda .. or what is the solution
Literally the people would need to force the issue .. you know if the Unions can put that prop 13 on the ballot we should put on the ballot we want to vote out City Council and or vote to abolish the pensions and salaries as conflicting with affordability and bloated extreme unnecessary theft of tax payer dollars
If they can vote in these policies can’t we vote them out?
So well researched!! Thank you ! Great clarification of legal corruption!! Your article should have a real impact on voters in our once affordable beautiful Santa Barbara!!
Right Again Bonnie…the [D] controlled areas of Our Country live by the line, “tax the rich, feed the poor, till there are no rich no more”. Our Country has been captured & run by international crime syndicates, with nearly half the states + a few dozen big cities operating as profit centers.
Will be glorious when Team Trump is done with the cleanup, especially here in California…language is showing that the missing $76B in Cali will soon be examined for criminal activity, with our selected crime bosses finally exposed & held accountable.
Wouldn’t life be grand if we had no IRS and no taxes, instead funding our government through the Sovereign Wealth Fund with monies coming from our natural resources + the External Revenue Service, and American Citizens receiving dividend checks? Think McKinley model…
‘The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.’ — Twain
hmmm…always vote, consider it one of my duties as a citizen, although I know that the ballot gets gobbled up into the rigged machinery…I believe they’ve been rigging the elections for decades, all the way back to 1948, though they’ve now nearly perfected the cheating, since the electronic machinery was in introduced in the early 2000 as a result of Bush/Gore fiasco… brings to mind a few Qs:
Why do some elections take more than a day to count?
Can cheating be done after the polls are closed?
Who controls the pollbooks?
Who controls the databases?
Who controls the elections?
Why are extra BALLOTS printed?
If someone doesn't vote, can bad actors hijack their vote?
1-Election + D party officials filled out many thousands of blank BALLOTS?
2-Election + D party officials removed and destroyed 'legal' BALLOTS?
3-Election + D party officials deliberately organized non-citizen voting?
4-Election + D party officials in [XX] locations across the US [under lock & key] stored many thousands of 'blank' BALLOTS for purposes of 'altering the vote total'?
Who safeguards 'blank' BALLOTS?
Who issues 'blank' BALLOTS?
Who controls 'blank' BALLOTS?
How many 'blank' BALLOTS are generated vs. total county pop?
Thank you, Bonnie. Since the country's had a great economic growth quarter, our Dem officials should reap the rewards because they spend so much time fighting Trump for our sake so we don't have to live under his fascist dictatorship. Oh, and all the illegals deserve every cent gained because … because if you have to ask why it means you're a racist!
The first line of defense used by the Somali grifters in Minnesota was to claim that withholding of funds for frauds like Feeding our Future (FOF) were based in anti Somali racism. In 2020 FOF sued the state and won claiming funds were being denied or delayed due to anti Somali discrimination. No attempt was made by the state to confirm that the funds were being used to feed the needy, which they were not. It is estimated that less than 5% of the funds were used to feed the needy.
Well thought out and explained as usual Bonnie. Unfortunately the people that need to hear these words will not. They have been taught by local and state school systems that wrong is right, up is down and to never read such publications as the Santa Barbara current, as they preach unadulterated “hate speech“. We will never dig ourselves out of this hole as a state or nation until we take back the local, state, national school system from the liberal nut jobs that have been teaching our children to hate the democratic, capitalistic society that America has built over the last few centuries. Free and independent thought has been replaced by group think and activism.
I think a return to teaching the benefits of hard work,
Fairplay, Accountability, and Goodwill unto others would go a long way in benefiting this once great country.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours was
Also, I think this week’s federal ruling overturning California teachers ability to hide a child’s at school “identity” from their parents we’ll go a long way to curbing the CTA’s ability to try and steal the soul of our children.
You didn’t mention city administrator just was given 3.? Wage increase. The increases for city staff should be linked to the COLA allowance for rentals.
Also, rent stabilization plan should not allow additional staff or consultants.
Once again, Bonnie, you have hit the ball out of the ball park concerning the corruption that we are experiencing within the County and City of Santa Barbara. I do wish this newsletter would reach more people to awaken them to the mess we are in and hopefully that will come to pass. Wishing you and all the readers a great 2026!
Has anyone noticed the employee unions don't just suggest increases they "push as hard as they can" for increases. These are also very potent PAC's that influence voting for politicians who are advocates of increased wages and benefits.
It would appear it is time for a Charter Amendment to go back to a singular monthly payment for Council and zero benefits (the dog that breaks the back of the taxpayers).
It is time to limit the pay of the Administrators based upon similar pay in the private sector, minus 10%. This is what was the pay historically for government workers. The justification was a) they have the power of government to back their pay checks, b) when the private sector works hard to survive government workers are promised their vacations and c) if retirement and benefits are part of it, it should be handed to them as part of their monthly and gov. workers then have the right to invest where they want.
It is clear that the gov. benefit and retirement is incapable of meeting its obligations and that is EXACTLY why the push in increase of your taxpayer dollars to support a broken system.
It is also clear that the tolls that run for office are banking (like that?) on a retirement that will allow them to retire similar to millionaires. The County was warned they are broke this summer and have now handed out benefit and pay they cannot cover without cutting services.
The organization Cars Are Basic, Inc. has made this point to the the City of Santa Barbara that its increasing debt posture in the $millions is unsustainable. e.g. the City of SB is in debt, yet it is spending both time and costs for tree planting that at the least should be held off until the budget is balanced for a couple of years.
I'll note here that the City of SB has historic statistical evidence that the West Side along the freeway had a similar project that when the last long term drought hit killed almost 100% of those trees and many private yard trees. The City of SB has hard ground water data proving that the North side water table is shallow at best and is fragile from San Roque Rd. to Alamar. Each tree will draw from 5-10 gallons a day without any control valve.
So what is the point?
A City that is out of control financially, is pandering to narrow PAC's because the average voter is fed up with Tax & Spend hired gunslingers (read that as Council) and no longer believes in the system and does not vote.
How many $millions were spent on street destruction and the failed Vision Zero that has failed to get MTD ridership, reduced car use, pedal bike use, and a walking core in what is now called Death Valley (aka State St.)
Thanks Bonnie....
(and for the reader long winded if you have the patience thanks)
At some point the benefits packages will be unsustainable at the local and state level. The obligations of CalPers will outstrip their ability to keep up.
Sustainability of “fair” rates for housing, whether rentals or purchases will only trend with market rates. Santa Barbara, like Hawaii, is an attractive place to live, and climate is a big part of it. And like the islands of Hawaii, Santa Barbara is physically constrained by the ocean, and the mountains, the net result is expansion for additional bodies can only be accomplished by building higher, and denser. Neither of which will reduce costs to the renter or purchaser. We say this phenomenon of forced constraints with the Goleta water moratorium late last century. What happened? People could not get water meters. So prices in the Goleta valley rose. Then, they opened it up and meters magically became available, so new houses were built at the new higher market based pricing. And, more Ag land was converted to housing, again at higher prices. Density increased, shelter increased, prices increased. Goleta became a city, and of their deal was to give their new tax base over to the county, forever. Goleta, unlike Santa Barbara, decided commerce was good (ie, not evil) and big box stores came to Goleta, along with the resultant sales tax exiting Santa Barbara.
These two cities, and the county space in between, provide, directly or indirectly: police, fire, ambulance, sewer, water, water importation, desal, roads, communications, and trash services. For those items they don’t provide directly, they extract a tax on the service. None of these items will go down in cost in future years. And with increased population, the stress on supply for many of these services will have numerous negative impacts.
This Santa Barbara Island, from Gaviota Pass down through Coast Village Road, and if you want, include Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria, will only become more dense, and buildings will only become higher.
For the “worker”, the guy with a truck, the guy who pushes a mower, the gal who makes the beds in the hotels, the person who serves you a beer, sandwich, or a fancy dinner, things will never improve enough for them to buy a house, as wages won’t bridge the gap to keep up with escalating prices, let alone housing prices.
Why? Economics: this island is in demand. And the truth of it is that this island has a ton of people living in it under the illusion that it’s someone else’s fault it costs so much to live in this island. When demand outstrips supply, prices rise. Pure and simple. I would guess that 75% or more of the homeowners on this island are millionaires, if for no other reason than equity of their property.
Now back to public services, and the direct and indirect costs. If you look closely at the driver of costs, it is salaries and benefits. And yes, the Council members (and you could be spend it to Goleta and the County), have put their snouts in the trough too. Public salaries, with few exceptions, rise annually via Cost of Living clauses (COLAS)… they don’t go down. Administrators are quite mobile within the CalPers system: we recruit them to a new location with a significant salary increase, they stay for 3-5 years, and do it again. And when they retire, they get 80-100% of their highest 3 year salary for life. And the benefits flow with that too. If you search transparentcalifornia.com, look at the figures for police, fire, and administration. These costs don’t go away, they only increase.
Ironically, everyone gets a vote. So the politicians that survive (lifers and legacy’s) benefit by channeling their message to the broadest segment of people impacted by the cost of living on this island, knowing full well that you can’t tax your way to a solution, but you can maintain your station. So, the problem won’t be solved, but the power base will be maintained. This is how we end up with plush salaries, benefits packages, and car allowances for the Island council.
So, don’t expect logic to change things in this island. Too many people buy into the idea that there’s a rich person that’s the problem. It’s not. The problem is you can’t expand the size of the island, the salaries and benefits will keep driving direct and indirect costs, and the services will only go up in cost over time. And the Island decision makers can’t keep their power if they manage this island like a business, and cut their own costs and regulations to reduce their impact for the benefit of the islanders.
The saying "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" jumps out. A start would be to exchange the council's car allowance with a bicycle allowance.
Great idea. Bike allowance.
Merry Christmas Bonnie! The numbers you lay out don't lie, we are being robbed by the inept leaders that run the city and county.
If our roads were smooth, and public services efficiently run it would be easier to stomach these increases--that is not the case--and why some of my friends talk regularly of leaving.
Santa Barbarans never met a tax increase fee increase or any other form of government empowerment they did not like. Measure P, sales tax increases are all adored by our left leaning voters typically by a 60% - 30% divide which matches the Democrat - Republican divide. While I feel a prisoner of government, the left is in love with the captors. Is it a form of Stockholm Syndrome?
Totally agree. I am always dumbfounded by the passage of everything in terms of new taxes/fees, always, every time. SB is a government town. If one were able to illustrate a population map by identifying those either directly benefiting from government resources (cash and tangible benefits) or indirectly, (subsidized assistance), clearly the majority of the population have a link. UCSB, CC, City, County, State, Fed., Special Districts and surely others I am not considering. Stepping way back it’s one sector controlling the other and living on their creative abilities.
I suspect 60% are receiving benefits they are afraid they would lose if Republicans were in charge. That leaves 30% paying for most of it. I hear those on the dole complaining that they pay taxes too. Indeed, with money confiscated from the 30% not on the dole. I would leave the state if it were not for responsibilities taking care of elderly family members.
I don't think it's a Republican or Democrat thing. The majority of people in the county and city of SB aren't even registered to vote. I don't agree with you most of the time but at least we both post what we believe. But most folks don't, they don't even have a clue about the things Bonnie brings up here. We're doomed.
I agree that we are doomed as long as voters continue to approve tax increases and bond measures. Also progressives continue to get elected to public office and prioritize more spending on bike lanes, road narrowing, roundabouts increased utility rates, and more hiring of useless overpaid city bureaucrats. Those who do not vote are not driving the rot it is the voters. Perhaps I am wrong but I believe it is a Democrar vs Republican thing. In my conversations all Democrats support government expansion and vote for tax increases while Republicans oppose it to a man. This observation is supported by the split that typically obtains on these issues being 60 - 30 which is tha ratio of Denocrat to Republican voters.
One potential solution would be to require college and university students to vote absentee in their home city, county, or state, consistent with the voting rules applied to members of the military.
Bonnie & Jeff, I see what you are saying but still, the majority of humans in our county and city are not registered and are not voting. So sorry, we are doomed. . .
Doesn’t SB county use Dominion .. yep think so
Seems there are ALOT of Santa Barbara...ssss in America.
https://x.com/Adventuring_RE/status/2004356325300740148
"Why aren't People in Leg-Irons?"
PS1-Oppps it is everywhere in CALI-LAND>THE FRAUD CAPITOL OF AMERICA!
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2004298088052379997
PS2 - CALI State Audit Report for your Holiday Readings=FRAUD
https://x.com/JakeCan72/status/2004242737336668661
Hi Bonnie and Merry Christmas.. 🎄Great article and a must needed topic once again
So isn’t this the plan ? Own nothing and be happy?
Doesn’t it seem like they Want everyone to leave unless you can afford the fees to include driving ?
Isn’t the plan no cars everyone on gov dole unless you are Oprah and the like .. with the wealth tax looming to strip the populace of their last dollar to pay for the illegals is such a slap in the face and attempting to take away Prop 13 will do in all the seniors and those hanging on to homeownership
There goes my inheritance lol and many others … possible all gone due to the agenda
Is everyone nuts? Who the hell keeps voting for this crap ? Dominion?
What are we going to do about it as a community?
How do we change this system and go back to doable , less government control and bring this situation to a halt?
Not to mention the train line to nowhere how many billions unaccounted for and more . How can they the people in charge lose billions of dollars like 3 times and have no paper trail ? Isn’t everything traceable w internet and technology ?
Time to hold these thieves accountable and resist compliance . Idk what else to do
Have a meeting w all landlords saying we will not comply backed by tenants to include replacing the CC and their playbook agenda .. or what is the solution
Asking for a friend
Bonnie for Mayor !
Who would prosecute? The prosecutors are complicit.
Literally the people would need to force the issue .. you know if the Unions can put that prop 13 on the ballot we should put on the ballot we want to vote out City Council and or vote to abolish the pensions and salaries as conflicting with affordability and bloated extreme unnecessary theft of tax payer dollars
If they can vote in these policies can’t we vote them out?
So well researched!! Thank you ! Great clarification of legal corruption!! Your article should have a real impact on voters in our once affordable beautiful Santa Barbara!!
Right Again Bonnie…the [D] controlled areas of Our Country live by the line, “tax the rich, feed the poor, till there are no rich no more”. Our Country has been captured & run by international crime syndicates, with nearly half the states + a few dozen big cities operating as profit centers.
Will be glorious when Team Trump is done with the cleanup, especially here in California…language is showing that the missing $76B in Cali will soon be examined for criminal activity, with our selected crime bosses finally exposed & held accountable.
Wouldn’t life be grand if we had no IRS and no taxes, instead funding our government through the Sovereign Wealth Fund with monies coming from our natural resources + the External Revenue Service, and American Citizens receiving dividend checks? Think McKinley model…
‘The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.’ — Twain
captured decades ago, aided by both [Rs] & [Ds], and then handed on to those willing to submit to the evildoers wishes (mostly Ds)…
hmmm…always vote, consider it one of my duties as a citizen, although I know that the ballot gets gobbled up into the rigged machinery…I believe they’ve been rigging the elections for decades, all the way back to 1948, though they’ve now nearly perfected the cheating, since the electronic machinery was in introduced in the early 2000 as a result of Bush/Gore fiasco… brings to mind a few Qs:
Why do some elections take more than a day to count?
Can cheating be done after the polls are closed?
Who controls the pollbooks?
Who controls the databases?
Who controls the elections?
Why are extra BALLOTS printed?
If someone doesn't vote, can bad actors hijack their vote?
it’s all about the ballots, not the voting…
WHAT IF THE BELOW COULD BE PROVEN?
1-Election + D party officials filled out many thousands of blank BALLOTS?
2-Election + D party officials removed and destroyed 'legal' BALLOTS?
3-Election + D party officials deliberately organized non-citizen voting?
4-Election + D party officials in [XX] locations across the US [under lock & key] stored many thousands of 'blank' BALLOTS for purposes of 'altering the vote total'?
Who safeguards 'blank' BALLOTS?
Who issues 'blank' BALLOTS?
Who controls 'blank' BALLOTS?
How many 'blank' BALLOTS are generated vs. total county pop?
THE CONTROL AND ISSUANCE OF BLANK BALLOTS IS KEY.
Thank you, Bonnie. Since the country's had a great economic growth quarter, our Dem officials should reap the rewards because they spend so much time fighting Trump for our sake so we don't have to live under his fascist dictatorship. Oh, and all the illegals deserve every cent gained because … because if you have to ask why it means you're a racist!
The first line of defense used by the Somali grifters in Minnesota was to claim that withholding of funds for frauds like Feeding our Future (FOF) were based in anti Somali racism. In 2020 FOF sued the state and won claiming funds were being denied or delayed due to anti Somali discrimination. No attempt was made by the state to confirm that the funds were being used to feed the needy, which they were not. It is estimated that less than 5% of the funds were used to feed the needy.
Anti-racists need to eat well to keep their energy up to fight. The needy will get fed once the racists are defeated.
A fine Polly Frostism.
"Alex, I'll take quotable quotes for $500"
"Anti-racists need to eat well to keep their energy up to fight. The needy will get fed once the racists are defeated."
" What is a Frostism"
“What is a Bartonism?” Something that makes people who think they're too intelligent to say realize that they are too dumb to have a rebuttal to.
Well thought out and explained as usual Bonnie. Unfortunately the people that need to hear these words will not. They have been taught by local and state school systems that wrong is right, up is down and to never read such publications as the Santa Barbara current, as they preach unadulterated “hate speech“. We will never dig ourselves out of this hole as a state or nation until we take back the local, state, national school system from the liberal nut jobs that have been teaching our children to hate the democratic, capitalistic society that America has built over the last few centuries. Free and independent thought has been replaced by group think and activism.
I think a return to teaching the benefits of hard work,
Fairplay, Accountability, and Goodwill unto others would go a long way in benefiting this once great country.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours was
Also, I think this week’s federal ruling overturning California teachers ability to hide a child’s at school “identity” from their parents we’ll go a long way to curbing the CTA’s ability to try and steal the soul of our children.
Well written and makes sense, Bonnie. Thank you for writing this common sense argument and need for government restraint.
Here you see socialism in action.
You didn’t mention city administrator just was given 3.? Wage increase. The increases for city staff should be linked to the COLA allowance for rentals.
Also, rent stabilization plan should not allow additional staff or consultants.
Once again, Bonnie, you have hit the ball out of the ball park concerning the corruption that we are experiencing within the County and City of Santa Barbara. I do wish this newsletter would reach more people to awaken them to the mess we are in and hopefully that will come to pass. Wishing you and all the readers a great 2026!
You have stated the items below;
• Salaries
• Overtime
• Health benefits
• Pensions
• Consultants
• Compliance staff
• Growing administrative layers
Has anyone noticed the employee unions don't just suggest increases they "push as hard as they can" for increases. These are also very potent PAC's that influence voting for politicians who are advocates of increased wages and benefits.
It would appear it is time for a Charter Amendment to go back to a singular monthly payment for Council and zero benefits (the dog that breaks the back of the taxpayers).
It is time to limit the pay of the Administrators based upon similar pay in the private sector, minus 10%. This is what was the pay historically for government workers. The justification was a) they have the power of government to back their pay checks, b) when the private sector works hard to survive government workers are promised their vacations and c) if retirement and benefits are part of it, it should be handed to them as part of their monthly and gov. workers then have the right to invest where they want.
It is clear that the gov. benefit and retirement is incapable of meeting its obligations and that is EXACTLY why the push in increase of your taxpayer dollars to support a broken system.
It is also clear that the tolls that run for office are banking (like that?) on a retirement that will allow them to retire similar to millionaires. The County was warned they are broke this summer and have now handed out benefit and pay they cannot cover without cutting services.
The organization Cars Are Basic, Inc. has made this point to the the City of Santa Barbara that its increasing debt posture in the $millions is unsustainable. e.g. the City of SB is in debt, yet it is spending both time and costs for tree planting that at the least should be held off until the budget is balanced for a couple of years.
I'll note here that the City of SB has historic statistical evidence that the West Side along the freeway had a similar project that when the last long term drought hit killed almost 100% of those trees and many private yard trees. The City of SB has hard ground water data proving that the North side water table is shallow at best and is fragile from San Roque Rd. to Alamar. Each tree will draw from 5-10 gallons a day without any control valve.
So what is the point?
A City that is out of control financially, is pandering to narrow PAC's because the average voter is fed up with Tax & Spend hired gunslingers (read that as Council) and no longer believes in the system and does not vote.
How many $millions were spent on street destruction and the failed Vision Zero that has failed to get MTD ridership, reduced car use, pedal bike use, and a walking core in what is now called Death Valley (aka State St.)
Thanks Bonnie....
(and for the reader long winded if you have the patience thanks)
If any tax is based upon gross or net income is that not an income tax?
They call it a fee to avoid this legal issue.
There are only 2 forms of government allowed to have an income tax. State of Calif. and the Federal Gov.
Then should not all business and consumer advocates not fight these "income" Taxes?
Just a thought, like parking tax called a fee based upon your income.
Bonnie: Hope Santa was good to you.
Bonnie substitutes 'Common Sense' in place of "Default Socialism". . . It is getting to be a rare skill and I appreciate your skill very much. . .
Well said, Bonnie!
At some point the benefits packages will be unsustainable at the local and state level. The obligations of CalPers will outstrip their ability to keep up.
Sustainability of “fair” rates for housing, whether rentals or purchases will only trend with market rates. Santa Barbara, like Hawaii, is an attractive place to live, and climate is a big part of it. And like the islands of Hawaii, Santa Barbara is physically constrained by the ocean, and the mountains, the net result is expansion for additional bodies can only be accomplished by building higher, and denser. Neither of which will reduce costs to the renter or purchaser. We say this phenomenon of forced constraints with the Goleta water moratorium late last century. What happened? People could not get water meters. So prices in the Goleta valley rose. Then, they opened it up and meters magically became available, so new houses were built at the new higher market based pricing. And, more Ag land was converted to housing, again at higher prices. Density increased, shelter increased, prices increased. Goleta became a city, and of their deal was to give their new tax base over to the county, forever. Goleta, unlike Santa Barbara, decided commerce was good (ie, not evil) and big box stores came to Goleta, along with the resultant sales tax exiting Santa Barbara.
These two cities, and the county space in between, provide, directly or indirectly: police, fire, ambulance, sewer, water, water importation, desal, roads, communications, and trash services. For those items they don’t provide directly, they extract a tax on the service. None of these items will go down in cost in future years. And with increased population, the stress on supply for many of these services will have numerous negative impacts.
This Santa Barbara Island, from Gaviota Pass down through Coast Village Road, and if you want, include Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria, will only become more dense, and buildings will only become higher.
For the “worker”, the guy with a truck, the guy who pushes a mower, the gal who makes the beds in the hotels, the person who serves you a beer, sandwich, or a fancy dinner, things will never improve enough for them to buy a house, as wages won’t bridge the gap to keep up with escalating prices, let alone housing prices.
Why? Economics: this island is in demand. And the truth of it is that this island has a ton of people living in it under the illusion that it’s someone else’s fault it costs so much to live in this island. When demand outstrips supply, prices rise. Pure and simple. I would guess that 75% or more of the homeowners on this island are millionaires, if for no other reason than equity of their property.
Now back to public services, and the direct and indirect costs. If you look closely at the driver of costs, it is salaries and benefits. And yes, the Council members (and you could be spend it to Goleta and the County), have put their snouts in the trough too. Public salaries, with few exceptions, rise annually via Cost of Living clauses (COLAS)… they don’t go down. Administrators are quite mobile within the CalPers system: we recruit them to a new location with a significant salary increase, they stay for 3-5 years, and do it again. And when they retire, they get 80-100% of their highest 3 year salary for life. And the benefits flow with that too. If you search transparentcalifornia.com, look at the figures for police, fire, and administration. These costs don’t go away, they only increase.
Ironically, everyone gets a vote. So the politicians that survive (lifers and legacy’s) benefit by channeling their message to the broadest segment of people impacted by the cost of living on this island, knowing full well that you can’t tax your way to a solution, but you can maintain your station. So, the problem won’t be solved, but the power base will be maintained. This is how we end up with plush salaries, benefits packages, and car allowances for the Island council.
So, don’t expect logic to change things in this island. Too many people buy into the idea that there’s a rich person that’s the problem. It’s not. The problem is you can’t expand the size of the island, the salaries and benefits will keep driving direct and indirect costs, and the services will only go up in cost over time. And the Island decision makers can’t keep their power if they manage this island like a business, and cut their own costs and regulations to reduce their impact for the benefit of the islanders.
Sounds like “Island Fever,” and we (the taxpayers) are the Howlies!