Any fireworks set off during the Board of Supervisors budget hearings may have flared when the supes went into a closed session to discuss the lawsuit between AMR ambulance company and Santa Barbara County over the county awarding the emergency service contract to the fire department. But the main board meeting focused on the budget and proposed cuts.
The county’s $1.59 billion budget could budge very little, according to budget director Paul Clementi. Growth in property tax revenue, which accounts for 79 percent of the county’s discretionary general fund — money not tied to a specific use– was weakened by slowing home sales due to higher interest rates, Clementi explained. The largest overall revenue source was usually state and federal funds, but California’s projected $27.6 billion gap made the county’s budget process a cautious one.
All departments were asked to make no new funding requests, and they all complied, Clementi said. However state funding to county Public Health, Behavioral Wellness, and Social Services could be negatively impacted.