COUNTY SPLIT: New County Would Pay Employees Less

At a January 18, 2006, meeting in Buellton where proponents of the county split were presenting their views, the Santa Maria Times quotes Dave Cross as saying, "Mission County could likely do things cheaper [than the current Santa Barbara County] and would hopefully pay county employees less."

The election to decide on the county split proposal is fast approaching -- June 6, 2006 -- and the group advocating the split (Citizens for County Organization -- CFCO) has started beating its drums.

CFCO members businessman Jim Diani, Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Robert Hatch, former county supervisor Harrell Fletcher, and former Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce President Dave Cross appeared in Buellton before the members of the Committee to Improve North County, a nonpartisan group that examines local issues.

During the meeting, CFCO members appeared to be of the opinion that the six-month, 490-page Mission County Formation Commission study they persuaded us to pay $1 million for was worthless and that their quarter-inch-thick response really contained the true facts about the proposed Mission County.

Even though the Mission County Formation Commission determined that a new county would face $30 million in debt if the split passed, the pro-split presenters stated that those numbers are inaccurate. 

Why do they believe they're "inaccurate"?  CFCO states that the Commission used the current cost of existing services in Santa Barbara County.  As Cross stated, the CFCO feels that cutting employees' salaries will help Mission County "do things cheaper".

If the CFCO is willing to cut employees' salaries to reduce that $30 million debt, what else will they cut?  Social services?  Education?  Roads? 

Interestingly, at the February 2nd, 2006, county split forum hosted in Santa Maria by the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN), Cross is quoted again by the Santa Maria Times as saying, "Mission County would use the money more efficiently and set new priorities (emphasis added)."

To take effect, the split will have to be approved by 51 percent of the entire county of Santa Barbara and 51 percent of the proposed new county. 

The citizens of Santa Barbara County need to think long and hard about this decision.

                                                                                       One Tin Soldier