In an effort to avoid proposed budget cuts for next fiscal year, Santa Barbara County staff members presented the Board of Supervisors Tuesday with a recycled list of possible taxes and fee increases.

The list was first presented to supervisors in February, and since then the supervisors had already heard and rejected three of the items: increasing planning and development fees and implementing parking fees at both county beaches and regional parks.

However, faced again with the list Tuesday, the board decided to leave all three open for consideration at a later date.

Supervisors directed county staff to return with more detailed explanations of the fee and tax increases.

For the 2007-08 fiscal year, supervisors have approved $6.9 million for adult mental health services from the county's strategic reserve. However, to balance the 2008-09 budget, adult mental health may face

$8.4 million in cuts for basic services.

After a few arguments and much frustration Tuesday, Supervisor Brooks Firestone encouraged the other supervisors to re-examine the revenue ideas in terms of “no matter how bad the budget gets we still would not consider.”

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A $50 parking fee for county employees, for example, was voted down as something the supervisors would never consider in any circumstance.

In one year, potential revenue from the three fees to be reconsidered is more than

$3.7 million, according to the staff report presented to the supervisors.

Other revenue ideas the supervisors may consider included:

n a new crude oil tax for on- and offshore facilities that extract oil from county land;

n increasing the transient occupancy tax;

n creating a local phone tax;

n implementing a 9-1-1 phone call fee as a monthly charge or a one-time use fee;

n imposing a $10 quagga mussel eradication program fee for boaters at Lake Cachuma; and

n approving a $4,100 fee increase to recover costs for planning permit appeals.

“This will be the most challenging year,” board chairman Salud Carbajal said.

County CEO Mike Brown told supervisors that the 2008-09 budget is “technically balanced, but very fragile,” and that the projections for 2009-10 budget show a gap that could probably be resolved with typical annual revisions.

However, Brown said, with the proposed North County jail operating costs and growing county retirement costs, the 2013-14 budget shows a potential $71 million shortfall.

“Unless we develop some kind of action plan of cutbacks or revenue, there will be severe cutbacks willy nilly,” Brown told supervisors.

In the 2013-14 fiscal year budget projections, the county may have $238 million in revenue and $309 million in spending.

The county has yet to find a revenue stream to support the approximate $12 million in annual operating costs for the proposed North County jail and $16 million needed to sustain the county's retirement system.

The county has until Sept. 18 to sign a contract with the state on the proposed North County jail, Brown reminded the supervisors Tuesday.

Last week the county sheriff's department was recommended for a $56.3 million grant from the state to help pay for construction of the 800-bed facility in Santa Maria. During the next

90 days, the state will verify whether the site for the facility is valid before approving the grant for Santa Barbara County.

Sam Womack can be reached at 739-2218 or swomack@santamariatimes.com.

May 14, 2008