Tracy Lehr
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara City Council unanimously passed its next fiscal budget.
“So the budget that the city council passed today is a balanced budget, we are living within our means, we are implementing priority projects that are important to this community, but we still have financial challenges, so what we are doing over the next couple of months, we are identifying ways to replenish those reserves to get us into a place where we are even more financial stable,” said City of Santa Barbara Finance Director Keith DeMartini.
The city’s Finance Director said if they delay passing the budget it would have hurt the credit rating and put capitol projects on hold.
“The city’s General Fund total budget is about $260 million and the total amount that we are below our reserve policy target of around $30 million, but about $6 million of that is the amount that we dipped into our emergency reserves, so that is what the city council talked about today is the priority to replenish those disaster reserves and what they talked about today and gave decisive action was to direct staff and the finance committee is to work towards identifying specific solutions to replenishing those disaster reserves,” said DeMartini.
The goal is to have 25 percent of the fiscal budget in reserves for emergencies such as a weather-related disaster.
The city also passed a motion to direct the finance committee to find a source to fund the local housing trust fund to help with the housing crisis.
The finance director said they are also about to get funding from a streaming lawsuit that allows the city to recoup streaming service taxes to the tune of $2 million that should reduce the use of emergency reserved by a third.
“The city has been successful with some recent litigation where our existing utility users tax is applicable on streaming services like Netflix, like Disney Plus, those services and we have been very successful with that litigation so we are going to see some one time revenue going back 3 years and then we will see some ongoing revenue going forward,” said DeMartini.
During the lengthy meeting the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department started counting about 2200 votes to create a Coastal Wildfire Suppression Assessment District.
Fire Marshall Ryan DiGuilio said it passed by 52 percent.
“Tonight our ballots were returned, we mailed a little over 2,000 ballot to the coastal and coastal interior high fire hazard areas and those parcel owners had a chance to vote on a benefit assessment district which would include things like roadside clearance, chipping programs, defensible space inspections throughout these neighborhoods,” said DiGuilio.
The council passed a resolution to adopt the program after learning the district passed.
That means the owners of parcels will be assessed about $100 a year, starting next year.
A similar program is in the foothill areas for the last two decades.
“We are starting this same kind of program in the coastal and coastal interior high fire hazard areas and it will be a really big benefit to the community for wildland fire prevention,” said DiGuilio.
The interim implementation of the State Street Master Plan was the last item on the agenda and many people at the meeting wore “Open State Street” stickers spoke.
But others spoke in favor of continuing the closure.
“This tug of war needs to stop,” said Robin Elander, the Executive Director of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association.
Around 9:30 p.m. the council voted 5-to-2 to reauthorize Title 31, that like a bridge, allows the city to maintain the promenade for now.
Mayor Randy Rowse and Councilmember Eric Friedman voted no.
Both would like to see cars return in some fashion under the master plan.
City staff said the alternative to reopen State Street to cars in the interim would cost approximately $700,000.
Mayor Rowse said he got a message during the lengthy meeting from someone willing to cover the cost to allow cars to return to the business district along State Street.
State Street Master Planner Tess Harris said the vote won’t let municipal code Title 31 expire as it relates to the car-free, pedestrian and bicycle zone.
“So council voted to maintain the promenade in its current configuration until the master plan is implemented so we will be coming back with an ordinance that maintains that,” said Harris.
When the staff does come back councilmembers asked them to address ways to prevent electric bikes from causing problems and to consider one way traffic in the future and ways to perhaps limit the number of blocks closed to traffic.
The council also appeared confidant that parades could return in the future by creating a flexible State Street Master Plan.
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