The three measures that Guadalupe residents will vote on in November need to pass in order for the city to stay financially afloat, but that outcome will only keep Guadalupe from drowning in budget deficits; it won’t save the city completely.
“It’s grim. Sadly, even if those measures pass, the city still isn’t bringing in much revenue,” City Administrator Andrew Carter said. “If these pass, we’ll continue to limp along.”
He said the only thing that could significantly change the city’s financial outlook is if DJ Farms, an approved 209-acre residential development actually gets developed. It would bring the city more property tax revenue as well as more residents who could potentially increase the city’s sales tax revenue.
If approved, the ballot measures would increase the sales tax 0.25 percent; remove the utilities tax cap, which now sits at $2,500 a year; and change the city’s business licensing fee.
Guadalupe’s financial situation comes down to this: The budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year currently has a $335,000 deficit—and that’s with a 5 percent across-the-board cut to employee salaries and department funding. The projected deficit was originally almost twice what it is now. In fact, Guadalupe’s budget has been in the hole for several years running, but nobody knew how bad it was because of the way funds were allocated in past years.
Carter said that in the past, special fund money was used to balance the city’s general fund, something which isn’t allowed, especially because special fund money is earmarked for certain things. The administrator took his job in February 2013, and this is the first fiscal year in which he crunched the numbers on his own.
Mayor Frances Romero, who’s also relatively new in her position, said Carter found out that every year for the last 15 years the budget was made whole in those ways.
“We now know we can’t go on anymore because it’s not right,” Romero said. “If the best of all things happens, and the voters pass all three ballot measures, we will have to borrow money.”
If all the measures pass, the city’s budget should be $35,000 in the black. However, if they don’t pass, the city has another, less savory option.
“Disincorporation is obviously the direction we’re headed if those measures aren’t passed,” Romero said. “It’s not a good thing from the standpoint of fire and safety.”
The biggest concern Romero has with disincorporation is the length of time it would take for county public safety services to respond to incidents in Guadalupe. She estimated it would take the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office about 20 to 30 minutes to respond to a Guadalupe call, because the closest stations are in Orcutt.
Spokesperson for the County Sheriff’s Office Kelly Hoover said it would take sheriff’s deputies about 20 minutes to respond to a call, but that’s “approximate non-emergency response time.” She said that response times could be lowered if patrol resources were pre-positioned in the Guadalupe area.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2014.