SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

SPECIAL DISTRICTS ASSOCIATION

MINUTES

APRIL 26, 2004 at the Elephant Bar, Goleta

 

Attendees:

Name

TitleRepresenting

Arnold, Chuck

Director

Montecito Sanitary District

Barnard, Kevin

Manager

Los Alamos CSD

Begley, Bob

Director

Montecito Sanitary District

Blair, Charles

Director

Vandenberg Village CSD

Clark, Candyce

Secretary

Los Alamos CSD

Cunningham, Jack

Director

Goleta Water District

Emerson, George

Director

Goleta Sanitary District

Fox, John

Director

Goleta Sanitary District

Gabriel, Diane

General Manager

Montecito Sanitary District

Havener, Leo

General Manager

Vandenberg Village CSD

Horwitz, Pat

Director

Carpinteria Sanitary District

Lemere, Fred

Director

Carpinteria Valley Water District

McClain, Ron

Chief

Montecito Fire District

Menna, Tom

Director

Embarcadero Municipal Improvement Dist

Meyer, Larry

Director

Goleta West Sanitary District

Neill, Geoffrey

Public Affairs

Calif. Special Districts Association

Raggio, Jim

CEO

Lompoc Healthcare District

Schlottmann, Cathy

Director

Mission Hills CSD

Schwartz, S. David

Associate

  

Smith, Jerry D.

General Manager

Retired

Stone, Thomas F.

Attorney

Isla Vista Recreation & Park District

Treloar, Doug

Director

Carpinteria Sanitary District

Warnstrom, Susan

Director

Mission Hills CSD

Wilson, Larry

Director

Montecito Water District

 

 

Call to Order: President John Fox called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. at the Elephant Bar Restaurant in Goleta. The attendees were introduced. All present participated in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes: Motion, second, to approve the Minutes of March 22, 2004. Unanimous.

Treasurers Report: Check Arnold reported the checking account balance is $1,215.28 and the savings account balance is $2,694.23.

Guest Speaker: Geoffrey Neill, Public Affairs Assistant, California Special Districts Association: Mr. Neill said this is a crucial year for special districts. There will be impacts from the Governor’s budget proposal, $100 million in ERAF shifts are expected, and the legislature will consider many proposals regarding local governments. Mr. Neill said there is strong feeling in Sacramento to take property taxes away from enterprise special districts. It was noted that Sacramento again will not pass a budget by their constitutional deadline.

The LOCAL ballot initiative, Local Taxpayers & Public Safety Protection Act, is now in signature qualification. More than enough signatures were submitted. It will be on the November ballot. Districts were urged to pass resolutions in support of the resolution. Sample resolutions and information can be found either at the CSDA website, www.csda.net, or the ballot initiative website, www.protectlocalservices.com. Currently there is no organized opposition to our ballot measure.

State Senator Ortiz’ bill SB 1272 addresses special district reforms. It includes proposals to limit Directors fees and a variety of topics, including ethics, audit requirements, and whistle-blower protections. This bill is going to Appropriations and then will go back to the Senate Local Government Committee. Districts were urged to send letters of constructive criticism on this bill to Senator Ortiz with copies to Tom Torlakson and their local representatives.

Future Meeting Locations: It was noted The Timbers will no longer be available. There was a suggestion to hold a meeting at The Bistro in Solvang.

Motion, second, to hold the May meeting at the Union Hotel in Los Alamos, the June meeting at the Solvang Bistro if it can be arranged, and the July meeting back here at the Elephant Bar. The motion passed with Larry Meyer abstaining.

The speaker for our May meeting will be Bruce Carter on the topic of emergency preparedness.

Santa Barbara LAFCO: The next LAFCO meeting will consider their final budget, appointment of a public member, and consideration of changing LAFCO terms to more closely coincide with November elections.

New Business: None.

Old Business: None.

Adjournment John Fox adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. The next meeting will be held at the Union Hotel in Los Alamos on Monday, May 24, 2004.

s/ Cathy Schlottmann

Cathy Schlottmann

Secretary, SBCSDA