I love a sense of the incongruent. Irony. Those situations that make you laugh at the absurdity. For instance I chuckled when I got a press release from Santa Barbara County Association of Governments announcing an April 21 unmet transit needs meeting that would give people a chance to suggest new bus routes or service schedules needed in north Santa Barbara County that would better get them where they need to go.
The meeting is in Santa Barbara. Parrum-pum, pum, cymbal slap.
(To be fair, the press release did say that people who can’t make the meeting can call in or email their suggestions.)
It’s equally amusing when someone says that $15 an hour is way too much money for a minimum wage. Usually the person saying that makes $175,000 a year.
Budgets in general are a funny thing. They are only fair when you are the one doling out the dough. And you can believe the person tossing that dough is making way more than $15 an hour.
For a lot of organizations we’re entering the most wonderful time of the year. Time to adopt the fiscal year budget. If I had a say in budget planning, I imagine I’d be fluttering around in euphoria, making it rain here. Here. But not there.
I think most budget makers believe if they’ve got both wings firmly above the county median income line (approximately $63,000), they’re good.
I know, budgets are a hard thing to balance. That’s why I’m glad the Orcutt Unified School District and the Orcutt Educators Association came to an agreement on teacher salaries. Superintendent Debbie Blow, ($180,000 annually), said the district was able to find a way to pay the teachers more than what the district was offering, but less than what they were asking. That’s a good thing, because for a while there, the district couldn’t find the money. In the end, both sides report feeling like they got a fair deal.
Recently, the Board of Supervisors ($78,791 to $87,770 annually, not including other income, like that of our own 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam who also co-owns businesses) sat through budget workshops listening to requests from various organizations: funding for more law enforcement, money for long-deferred maintenance, money for a needed jail. When the budget hearings come up in June they’ll have some tough decisions to make.
What really makes budget planning hard is that these organizations are top heavy in terms of income. When you’ve got your own needs covered, it makes perspective a little hazy.
Sure on the one hand filleting a budget is pretty black and white. There’s a finite—in most cases—budget allotted and you have to divvy up that fixed amount. On the other hand, it’s about people. It’s always about people. It’s our neighbor who simply wants to provide for his or her family, it’s an employee who only wants the minimum that it takes to get the job done. It’s a community that wants money spent in such a way that they get a return—whether that means increased safety, needed services, or just a more enjoyable community in which to live. Let’s see if our elected officials, ahem, Supervisor Adam, can live up to their duty to their constituents.
The Canary is keeping score. Contact her at canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2016.