Public Library does well in Council budget deliberations

Santa Barbara's Public Library emerged the big winner during the City Council's budget deliberations Wednesday, with independent contractors at Santa Barbara Airport and drivers who park in city-run lots scoring partial victories as well.

The council voted unanimously to take $600,000 from the city's Reserves for the Central Library to remain open seven days a week, and another $86,000 for the Eastside Library to stay open six days a week. This followed impassioned pleas by several public speakers to restore funding to the library.

Council members, responding to equally passionate speakers supporting independent flight instructors at the airport, agreed to scale back a proposal to raise the current $200 annual permit fee to $2,000, and charge them only the projected $650 cost of issuing the permit and not the costs associated with training. Other independent contractors affected include aircraft mechanics, maintenance workers and mobile detailers.

And while motorists parking in downtown city-run lots will have to pay $3 an hour as of July 1, versus the $2.50 they’re charged now, they will still be allowed to park for free for 75 minutes, as opposed to the staff-recommended 60 minutes.

The council made these decisions, and more, during a marathon 3 ½ hour nighttime session that led Mayor Randy Rowse to conclude at meeting's end, "That was like a novacaine-free root canal."

But before council members got down to their budget deliberations, they heard from several public speakers. Many talked about the library and airport permit fees, but some had other things on their minds.

– Some urged the council not to use voter-approved Measure C taxes to fund immediate short-term needs, diverting that money from its intended use of maintaining the city's infrastructure. One speaker called it a "betrayal of public trust."

The council agreed not to tap Measure C funds for anything else.

– And some city staff, who described themselves as "underpaid and overworked," pushed the council to raise their salaries to at least keep up with cost of living increases, warning the city could lose staff to neighboring agencies. The council did not discuss this.

The Library

Supporters stressed that the library not only offers patrons free access to books, DVDs and CDs, and rows of computers for them to use, but also provides youth and senior services, supports local business, and gives the homeless a place to go.

"It's more than a place to check out books," one speaker said. "Literacy is not a luxury. It's fundamental to our democracy."

Councilmember Eric Frieman suggested taking $686,000 from the city's Reserves to open the Central Library seven days a week, and the Eastside Library to open six days a week.

"It puts pressure on us to take it from Reserves and find a way to replace it," he said, but it's worth it.

He noted that the Library Plaza will open in October, "and part of its success will be for the library to be open and have the public there. It will be the first significant chance for the public to see where we’re going."

The council voted unanimously to support his recommendation.

Councilmember Meagan Harmon, however, questioned the repeated use of Reserve funds to pay for specific items without taking a broader look at how the Reserves are utilized.

"We need to have a real conversation about Reserve policy," she said. "If we’re going to use Reserve dollars we need to determine what this means. It's a huge amount of work, but we’ve been doing this year after year. It's not taking careful custody of taxpayer dollars."Mayor Rowse said this would be taken up as a separate agenda item in the future.

The only controversy was a protest by artists who complained about the library raising the fees they would have to pay to exhibit and sell their artwork in the Faulkner Gallery, claiming they wouldn't be able to afford them.

Library officials, however, said other, more diverse groups also want to use the gallery and often don't have the opportunity because of the artists’ predominance.

The council voted to send a proposal for a three-tier rate structure – one that would not charge groups that raise money for nonprofits, like the Santa Barbara Land Trust – to the library board for its consideration before returning to the council with its recommendation.

Airport Permits

Several speakers during the public comment period assailed the airport for wanting to raise the annual permit from $200 to $2,000 – a 10-fold increase – while at the same time people who use boats at the waterfront, and boat mechanics and detailers, only have to pay $200. They called the increase arbitrary, capricious, egregious and "likely illegal," adding that it would force most flight instructors to find another place to work.

Airport Director Christopher Hastert told the council his own conservative analysis concluded that annual aviation and noncommercial permits fees should actually be $3,216 – $650 to issue the permits and administer that program, and the rest to pay for things like quarterly training, including updating flight instructors on current conditions, reviewing their security plans and training mobile plane detailers on stormwater requirements.

He said he and staff agreed, however, to lower the fee to $2,000 to match the Finance Committee's recommendation.

Councilmember Mike Jordan voiced concern that even that amount would drive independent flight instructors away from the airport, "eroding the next generation of pilots who will be our customers at the airport."

Councilmember Friedman recommended cutting the permit fee to $650 to recover the costs of issuing the permit and still comply with minimum standards, and then gather valuable data "and come back to say what it should be. We could change it in six months or a year."

The council agreed, voting unanimously to set the permit fee at $650.

Parking Rates

Councilmember Oscar Gutietterez questioned whether the use of a recently approved automated parking system would reduce the amount of staff needed to operate the parking lots.

Sarah Clark, the city's downtown and plaza manager, said employees are still needed to assist people with leaving the lots to avoid a backup of cars. She said the jobs go to youth, with senior monitors available to help out if necessary.

Councilmember Jordan suggested increasing the hourly rate to $3 an hour, as staff recommended, but supported keeping the amount of free parking time at 75 minutes. He questioned "how a simple change in 15 minutes leads to an erosion of revenue."

Ms. Clark said cutting back to 60 minutes would allow the city to at least charge drivers something, noting these motorists might have left the lots before the 75-minute grace period expired.

Mayor Rowse, however, said he feared raising revenue this way to cover the parking program's $2.9 million deficit could backfire, and keep people away from downtown where they now shop and dine.

"I feel it could put the coffin nail" in Downtown Santa Barbara, he said.

"I say we go 50 cents and maybe defer small capital projects, and keep subsidized parking at 60 minutes."

Councilmember Sneddon, meanwhile, proposed raising the parking rate to $3 an hour, and giving motorists 90 minutes of complementary parking. "That would encourage people to stay longer," she said.

In the end, the council voted unanimously to raise the hourly rate to $3 an hour, but keep the 75 minutes of free parking now in place.

Other departments:

In a series of votes, the council:

– Restored funds to the Fire Department to pay for an inspector position, educational supplies and training. The inspector position has been vacant for two years.

– Restored funds for Monroe Elementary afterschool programs and Parks and Recreation youth services.

– Restored funding to the Police Department for parking enforcement. But the council rejected the idea of restoring two vacant officer positions and a vacant sergeant's position.

Councilmember Friedman noted that Chief Kelly Ann Gordon had complied with staff-recommended budget cuts, and identified those positions the department could do without. Keeping the officer positions vacant would not decrease the department's patrol strength in any way, the chief said.

– Increased annual parking permit fees at the waterfront from $125 to $135.

– Restored a 5% reduction in grant money from the City Administrator's Office for outside entities, like Old Spanish Days, the Santa Barbara Film Festival and the Summer Solstice Festival and Parade.

– Increased budgets for City Council members by $1,000 to use at their discretion for travel to various conferences, and to pay for Town Halls with constituents. It doesn't apply to the Mayor's Office, which has its own budget for that.

– Agreed to spend $119,000 to restore a planning technician/counter staff position in the Community Development Department. The funds would come from money now going to SB ACT and the Path shelter to help homeless people. Council members took no action on where and how those programs would continue to be funded.

– Supported the Department of Public Works’ offer to provide in-kind support of the Milpas Street Christmas lights by agreeing to clean up the roundabout.

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News-Press Staff Writer

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