Ron Fink

Lompoc has a revenue problem that looks like it’s not going away anytime soon. Many are arguing that any proposed temporary sales tax to help alleviate the revenue problem should be for a specific purpose, so let’s try and figure out just what that purpose would be. The City Council majority is currently standing by […]

The Lompoc City Council had another discussion about what to do about the next two-year budget. To put it in plain language, they have a serious problem that is only going to get worse. City Manager Jim Throop, who has 30 years of budgeting experience, opened the meeting saying, “This is a very big budget […]

The Santa Maria Sun has a Canary whose opinions grace the paper each week, but this bird is not alone. Preening as she does and chirping away, the Canary is a piker when compared to the avian trio that perch on the dais during Lompoc City Council meetings. One citizen recently complained during a council […]

Why would people who ordinarily oppose taxes support a temporary sales tax increase in Lompoc? The Lompoc City Council met last week, and one of the topics was the state of the current budget. City staff was seeking guidance on how to increase revenue for the next two-year budget cycle. Staff painted a bleak picture […]

On Tuesday, March 5, the Lompoc City Council discussed the ongoing problem of the homeless using the streets of the city as a campground for their mobile residences. The city attorney explains the issue in his staff report: “The city has experienced consistent nuisance issues and other adverse impacts resulting from the parking of vehicles […]

The Sun correctly reported that the Lompoc City Council was allowing chickens, rabbits, and pot-bellied pigs to join households in the city (“Lompoc to allow residents to keep chickens as pets,” Feb. 14). But before you run out and build up your livestock herd, you should know that there are a lot of rules that […]

Both the 3rd and 4th District Santa Barbara County supervisors seem to have been ignoring Lompoc’s homelessness problem. Let’s examine the issue carefully and place current actions in context with history.   The homeless encampments have been in the riverbed for more than 30 years. At the start of these encampments, the entirety of the […]

Twenty-three years ago, I began my voluntary service with the city of Lompoc. I always felt that it was every citizen’s duty to give something back to the community, and at the time there was a need for someone to serve on the Water Commission. The city operates its own water utility, as well as […]

I keep trying to remain optimistic that there will be a dramatic turnaround of new growth and an influx of prosperity and wealth in Lompoc, but all the signs point in the opposite direction. In many ways a tone-deaf City Council majority has contributed to a reversal of improvements that have been made by previous […]

Another month and another attempted murder in Lompoc; what the in the world is going on? Lompoc has always been a relatively quiet place to live crime-wise. Sure, there were petty thefts or home and business burglaries, but the level of violent crime was always low. Domestic violence was the exception. Disputes were settled with […]

Politicians are slow learners and Lompoc has some of the slowest. When Proposition 64 was passed, voters approved a 15 percent sales tax. Eager politicians sensed a cash cow; they just knew that legalizing this product would reap millions for cash-strapped governments. They dreamed of new giveaway programs for non-productive citizens, illegal aliens, and others […]