President Charlie Blair called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States. Attendees were introduced.

Approval of Minutes: Motion, second, unanimous, to approve the Minutes of March 24, 2008 as presented

Treasurer’s Report: Tom Gibbons said the checking account balance is $3,418.88, and the savings account balance is $3,013.06, for a total of $6,431.94

Guest Speaker: Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal: Supervisor Carbajal has a degree from UCSB and served as a U.S. Marine. He said he is amazed at the diversity of special districts which are partners with all the other local governments within our County. He noted we are non-partisan, focusing on the services we provide. It was noted County government is more cooperative than four years ago when he was elected. Each supervisor represents about 80,000 people. The County’s budget is approaching $1 billion. In discussing the budget, he noted the small percentage that is discretionary spending.

Supervisor Carbajal said that a Blue Ribbon Task Force has reviewed much of County government. A variety of their recommendations has been implemented. The process whereby the State puts forth housing mandates has polarized our communities. It was noted that fifty-three percent of Santa Barbara County land is private. Furthermore, seventy-four percent of that 53 percent is in agricultural preserve under the Williamson Act.

Supervisor Carbajal said that Measure D failed because they tried to please everyone. There will be a measure to continue the same one-quarter percent sales tax, including both a north county and south county plan with a certain amount to widen Highway 101.

Upcoming challenges include a $26 million budget shorfall. The actuarial for the County’s retirement system have been updated, resulting in a shortage of several million dollars. The County and the State are working on a joint solution for a re-entry facility coupled with the north county jail. The State is facing a deficit of about $20 billion. We will not know until June what the State will do to balance their budget.

County Treasury Oversight Committee: Craig Geyer reported that approximately eight percent of the County Treasury is special district funds. The rate of return for the last quarter was 4.3%.

Chapter Website: Larry Meyer said that to send something to the chapter’s e-mail list, you must be on it. Contact either Larry Meyer or Cathy Schlottmann for instructions for subscribing.

CSDA Legislative Committee: George Emerson distributed updated information on legislation. The Legislative Analyst Office estimates the State’s budget shortage at $14.5 billion. Proposition 99 on the June ballot is a better alternative than Proposition 98.

CSDA Update: John Fox encouraged attendance at CSDA’s Legislative Day. He also urged contacting our legislators locally.

Special District Selection Committee Draft By-laws: Charlie Blair said the latest draft of the by-laws is 5 pages. Cathy Schlottmann submitted questions which are in black. Charlie Blair’s responses to them are in red. Once the committee completes the draft, they will be forwarded to the membership and discussed at our next meeting.

Executive Board Meeting: The next meeting of the executive board will be Wednesday, May 7^th at Ellens.

Future Speakers: Allan Pfuntner, General Manager of the Mosquito & Vector Management District of Santa Barbara County, will be the speaker at our next meeting on May 19^th. County Auditor-Controller Robert Geis will be the June speaker. County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Joe Holland will be the September speaker.

Adjournment: President Blair adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. The next monthly Chapter meeting will be held Monday, May 19, 2008 at The Meadows Restaurant, Solvang, California.

s/ Ca thy Sch lottmann

Cathy Schlottmann

Secretary, SBCSDA