Santa Barbara County supervisors pushed making a decision on budget rebalancing plans for the Public Health and Social Services departments. The plans discussed at the Oct. 7 supervisors meeting would eliminate more than 175 positions across both departments effective in January.
“We’ve been receiving a lot of frustration for a lack of information,” 2nd District Supervisor Laura Capps said before hearing the Public Health presentation.
The board voted to continue the items until Nov. 18. Until then, Supervisor Capps directed Public Health to conduct more stakeholder outreach.
At the meeting, community members in purple shirts supporting SEIU Local 620 and 721 held signs reading “Protect county services” and “Zero layoffs.”
A phlebotomist at the county health clinic in Lompoc has served the county for 24 years.
“This isn’t just about our patients,” the community member said during public comment. “If I lose this job I lose everything. My paycheck, my health insurance, and my stability.”
Starting next year, roughly 7,500 county residents will be disqualified from Medi-Cal services at county clinics because of federal changes. Patients with “unsatisfactory immigration status” are being directed to find new primary care providers so county health care centers can continue receiving federal funding.
Due to losses from Medi-Cal reimbursements, county Public Health expects to see a $5.2 million decrease in revenue for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30, 2026. In future fiscal years, the loss is estimated at $8.2 million, according to a presentation by Public Health Director Mouhanad Hammami.
To account for the revenue loss, Public Health proposed to cut 55.2 full-time equivalent positions—18.6 are currently vacant and 36.6 will be layoffs, effective Jan. 5.
An injunction is delaying the federal changes, but there’s no timeline for the outcome of the litigation.
“We do not know when that litigation might be lifted,” Hammami said during his presentation. “Taking that risk is playing Russian roulette with the health care of these individuals.”
805 Undocufund Executive Director Primitiva Hernandez wants the county to engage with labor unions and other organizations that serve the impacted populations to inform its decision.
“Together we can look at options that will be based on community input,” Hernandez told the Sun.
Laura Robinson, the executive director of SEIU Local 620, said union members are afraid.
“It’s frustrating because our members go into this line of work because they care about the people they serve,” Robinson told the Sun.
In the county’s Social Services Department, staff proposed a plan to reduce staffing by 121 positions, 65 of which are currently filled, effective Jan. 5, according to Social Services Director Daniel Nielson. The department implemented strategies like eliminating non-emergency overtime and non-essential travel to reduce the gap but still needs to balance its budget.
Similar to the Public Health budget, supervisors voted to delay the decision.
On Nov. 18, the board will discuss closing the social services department’s funding gap for filled positions and eliminating vacant positions.
This article appears in Oct 9 – Oct 16, 2025.