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www.santabarbarafertility.com • 805.965.3400
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805-312-6367
24
THE INDEPENDENT
may 1, 2014
COURTESY COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA
Experts in Personalized Fertility Care
Goleta Santa Barbara
REPRESENT: Aceves said that some county residents feel “disenfranchised.” Wolf said nd District residents “want a safe environment and to keep their quality of life.”
Goleta Beach
headed by Supervisor Peter Adam that would require the board to spend anywhere from $17 million-$39 million a year on the upkeep of county-owned roads, parks, and buildings. A wide array of county officials have repeatedly warned that Measure M could mean big trouble for public-safety funding, particularly for the delicate plan to save the millions of dollars needed for jail operations once the new jail opens in 2018. “Can they both coexist? Yes,” Aceves said. “Will it be difficult? Yes.” He has suggested selling some county facilities, such as the Santa Barbara Bowl, to their operators and using that money for maintenance. Where those operators would get that money has not yet been discussed. Wolf joins her three remaining colleagues, Salud Carbajal, Doreen Farr, and Steve Lavagnino, in agreeing with the county’s auditor-controller, Bob Geis (who appears in a television ad endorsing her), and Sheriff Bill Brown, who both oppose the measure.“You cannot be in favor of public safety and support Measure M,” she said. Aceves has also made much ado about what is legally nothing but what he says is ethically something: accepting campaign donations before a vote. He accused Wolf of engaging in a “pay-to-play” system in which she received checks of $20,000 and then $40,000 from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) days before the board discussed SEIU-related matters. He said she should have mentioned the money, but the California Fair Political Practices Commission clearly doesn’t require that of county supervisors. The candidates do have to file disclosure forms with the county elections office, which are publicly available.“Thankfully, there are rules,” Wolf said, calling for the forms to be posted online. Aceves hasn’t suggested anything specific beyond that, but at a recent Goleta council meeting regarding Venoco, he did mention the $500 the company gave him.
More Mesa
Arroyo Burro Beach
Leadbetter Beach
A County Divided? Ending the tax-sharing deal entered into between Goleta and the county at the time of Goleta’s incorporation in 2002 has been on Aceves’s “bucket list” for a long time. Known as the revenue-neutrality agreement (RNA), it was approved by voters at the time as a way of compensating the county for lost revenue from the new city. In recent years, city officials, led by Councilmember Jim Farr and Mayor Michael Bennett, have been increasingly complaining about the agreement. It’s unfair to make the city forever fork over millions every year — through percentages of property and sales taxes and formerly hotel bed taxes — to the county, Aceves said, as the city could use that money to revitalize Old Town or create a civic center or parks department. Wolf’s response? The RNA’s end would mean more money for Goleta but less money for the county to provide services to many of the 80,000 nd District residents who live outside the city limits in the unincorporated area between Goleta and Santa Barbara. She said she’d be open to negotiations in the future — past attempts have gone nowhere — but is quick to point out that the county forgave $1.5 million it loaned the city when it formed. Still, Aceves frequently draws parallels between the county’s relationship with Goleta and the board’s relationship with North County. He said he plans on being not just a nd District supervisor but a “regional” supervisor, particularly with respect to energy projects and the Chumash tribe — issues that often split 3-2 on the current board. He cited the November vote to approve Santa Maria Energy’s 136 cyclic steam-injection wells that also set a stricter greenhouse-gas-emissions limit than previously mandated. Wolf explained her vote as an effort to “balance” economic and environmental interests. Aceves, who attended that six-hour hearing, said all he saw was “disinterest” from the South