With October the official start to high fire season and El Niño storms looming, the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management finds itself the focus of intense scrutiny. In less than a year, four of its five experienced managers have left the department. One filed a fair-employment complaint with the state, and a lawsuit against the county appears inevitable. In addition, the department has been subject to an unprecedented months-long audit by County Auditor-Controller Bob Geis after accusations arose that grant reimbursements were not billed correctly.
At the helm of the department is Ryan Rockabrand, who worked in the city of Chicago and Los Angeles County and took over a department already awash in turmoil two years ago. Though there was an expectation change was coming, observers noted his first days resembled those of a bull in a china shop. According to several sources, collaboration with local jurisdictions has suffered in recent years. Further, the Orfalea Foundation, which donated $8.1 million to disaster readiness in the county, expressed frustration with departmental leadership.
The four certified emergency managers who left, Joe Guzzardi, Jay McAmis, David Flamm, and Richard Abrams, had collectively worked for the department for 55 years, and their expertise in the field was widely known. Currently, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is looking to hire three people and plans to rotate positions between its headquarters and a new office in Santa Maria.