MINUTES

MAY 23, 2005, at the Meadows Restaurant, Solvang

Attendees:

Vice-President Jim Raggio called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. The attendees were introduced. All present participated in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.

Treasurer’s Report: Chuck Arnold reported the checking account has $1,484.41 and the savings account $1,380.47 for a total of $2,864.88.

Approval of Minutes: Motion, second, unanimous, to approve the Minutes of the April 25, 2005 meeting.

Guest Speaker: Michael Brown, CEO of the County of Santa Barbara: Mike Brown has been the County’s CEO for 3 months and was the County Administrator for 8.7 years. Mr. Brown discussed changes in the Board of Supervisors, changes in Planning & Development Department, and economic and demographic changes. The chemistry of the Board of Supervisors changed with the election of Salud Carbajal (a former Marine who has a Masters degree) and Brooks Firestone (a grandson of the founder of Firestone Tires). It was noted the current Board has limited patience with the process of government, public safety (police and fire) is a priority, and private property is important. The current Board has increased the speed of accomplishing tasks. There is a major effort underway to overhaul and simplify the Planning & Development process. Mr. Brown talked about "tipping point"counties, which are located 2 counties away from major metropolitan areas. Mike said that half of our twenty-eight square mile county is federally owned (VAFB and forest lands). Eighty percent of the remaining half is in agricultural preserve. Another factor is the aging baby boom population. This results in tremendous pressure on the housing market, which is not tied to the job market. Our number one public policy dilemma is if the residents want to keep our county like it is, how are we going to pay for it? Additionally, there is a large drug abuse problem, mainly methamphetamines. Eighty percent of the County jail population on any given day is there because of drug problems or crimes to support their habits. Marin County is similar to our hour-glass county.

On the positive, Santa Barbara County is not having budget deficits. Our debt rating is "AA-." It was stated the vote on the county split will be June 6, 2006.

Executive Board Meeting: Cathy Schlottmann said that at this meeting, there was discussion of our supplemental tickets at the dinner meetings and also the LAFCo budget.

LAFCo Report: Tim Campbell reported the MSRs are still proceeding. Drafts for Santa Maria and Goleta/Santa Barbara should be out in June. The MSRs should be completed by December 31, 2005. It appears that Supervisor Firestone’s proposal regarding Laguna Sanitation District and Goleta West Sanitary District is dead. It was stated that any contact with Bob Braitman must be approved by the LAFCo chair.

Legislative Report: George Emerson said that our own State Senator McClintock is supporting the Ortiz bill. Districts were urged to contact McClintock and voice their support of the Salinas assembly bill instead of the Ortiz senate bill.

New Business: None.

Old Business: None.

Adjournment Vice-President Jim Raggio adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, June 27, 2005 at this location.

Cathy Schlottmann