MJEOL - Creation of new county would trigger big changes

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Santa Barbara County

Creation of new county would trigger big changes

Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 23 May 2006
[b]Creation of new county would trigger big changes[/b] May 16, 2006 Randi Block/Staff Writer If voters approve Santa Barbara County's split, which is Measure H on the June 6 ballot, their decision will trigger a vast restructuring of local services for residents throughout both jurisdictions. The governor-appointed Mission County Formation Review Commission determined in its report how to handle the creation of Mission County should voters approve, but implementing those steps efficiently would be a massive task, said Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Mike Brown. “This would be quite an effort and challenge to actually work through,” Brown said. An entirely new government would have to be created for the Santa Barbara County land north of Gaviota that would become Mission County. The review commission laid out a plan for this process, and the first step would be the election of five supervisors and an assessor, auditor, district attorney and sheriff in November, just five months after the June 6 election. Once the newly elected officials were sworn into office, Mission County would be officially created, probably in December. The new Mission County Board of Supervisors could then choose how to structure their new government and appoint people to positions including treasurer, county clerk and coroner. These people would then be eligible to run for their respective offices at the next primary and general election, in June and November 2008. For the first year after Mission County's creation, Santa Barbara County would provide the same level of services to residents that were available prior to the split. As compensation, Mission County would be required to give all of its revenue to Santa Barbara County. Mission County would be allowed to take up to a $5 million loan from Santa Barbara County to pay start-up costs for the new jurisdiction. The review commission determined that the newly formed Mission County would be saddled with an estimated $30 million annual operating deficit, based on current revenue and service levels. That figure does not include any start-up costs. Between July 2007 and June 30, 2009, the two counties are required to work together to create an efficient transition of services. During the two years, Santa Barbara County would be expected to cover services until Mission County officials determine they are ready to take over, according to the commission's report. Mission County would have to compensate Santa Barbara County for those services as appropriate. After June 30, 2009, Santa Barbara County would no longer have any obligations to its neighbor, unless the two jurisdictions negotiate to extend the timeline. To allow for continuity, Mission County should take over the ordinances and regulations of Santa Barbara County until its Board of Supervisors chooses to replace them, the commission said. Brown said that once Mission County was on its own, it would have to find a way to provide services to its residents, a task that could prove very difficult based on a lack of funding. “How they do what they want to do and what they can afford will be a reality which intrudes very quickly into that discussion,” he said. Issues the Mission County Board of Supervisors would have to face include the lack of a jail, probation and social services. While the state provides some revenue, it wouldn't be enough to fund all services, Brown said. Therefore, a possible way to raise additional sources of funding would be to ask voters to approve a tax increase. But if residents do not approve one and there isn't enough money to run the county, the state would be forced to run the departments and may institute its own tax hike, Brown said. However, split advocates have said that Mission County would save a significant portion of money by running government more efficiently and possibly by paying employees less. The split would also have a big impact on the remaining Santa Barbara County. Almost immediately, the existing Board of Supervisors may have to create five supervisorial districts on the South Coast. Upon formation of Mission County, at least two seats -the 4th and 5th Districts that represent Lompoc, Orcutt and Santa Maria - on the existing Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors would likely be vacant, said Shane Stark, county counsel. The North County supervisors would have the option of running for positions on the Mission County board in November. Third District Supervisor Brooks Firestone could hold his job if he moved to the Isla Vista area from the Santa Ynez Valley. But if Firestone doesn't move, that would leave only two members of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, which isn't enough to make any decisions. “The board won't be able to act or do anything,” Stark said. The governor would then likely have to appoint people to fill the remaining three positions, Stark added. Any other Santa Barbara County elected officials who live north of Gaviota would also have to either move south to retain their positions or leave their jobs and possibly run again in Mission County in November. This would affect three of the four candidates for sheriff - incumbent Jim Anderson and challengers Jim Thomas and Bill Brown - [b]as well as district attorney candidates Gary Dunlap and Christie Stanley, who all live in the North County, if they should win a Santa Barbara County office in the June 6 primary.[/b] Also, the remaining Santa Barbara County would be forced to lay off approximately 2,000 employees because of a shrinking work load. “Most of those people would probably seek work in other comparable jurisdictions and move out of the area, which means them leaving the schools and not shopping in the county,” the county executive officer said. The review commission outlined a strict procedure for deciding which employees would be laid off - primarily those with the least seniority. This would leave Santa Barbara County with an aging work force that would be ready to retire shortly. “Young people would be the first to go,” Brown said. The last successful county split in California was in the early 1900s, when Imperial County broke away from San Diego County. For voters to approve a Santa Barbara County split in June, the majority of voters in both Mission County and all of Santa Barbara County would have to approve it. Source: http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2006/05/16/news/news02.txt

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