Santa Barbara County has so far navigated the pandemic-fueled recession, but the relentless downturn is not ending anytime soon. The supervisors grappled with the five-year county fiscal forecast on Tuesday, ultimately preparing for three different scenarios.
“I’m shocked at how many businesses have survived through this tough COVID recession,” said 1st District Supervisor Das Williams. “I’m shocked at how many people are still getting by, barely. At some point the shoe drops. And it will affect our revenue.”
Jeff Frapwell, the county’s budget director, explained that he and his team created three different budget scenarios that depend on how severe the recession becomes over the next five years. The first is the mild recession, the second is the baseline scenario, and the third is in the case of a pronounced recession.