Joe Armendariz writes that Santa Barbara County could generate more in annual property taxes from increased oil and gas production (“Man-made disaster and unforced error,” Dec. 13), which is needed because our county is in a “chronic financial crisis.”
I respectfully disagree on several points.
The number of tax dollars from increased oil production cited is misleading and inflated. In fact, oil property taxes make up less than 1 percent of the county budget.
He refers to the need for us to take advantage of the current market price of crude oil; however, the price of crude is going down all over the world, particularly in Canada and the U.S.
He’s also wrong that the county is in dire financial straits. Revenues are up, there have been no cuts to overall expenditures, and we spent less than we brought in:
“Revenues of $930.9 million exceeded expenditures of $913 million and other financing uses of $2.3 million for a net positive change to the county fund balances of $15.6 million,” according to the county’s 2018 financial highlight.
Agriculture generates $2.8 billion annually and more than 25,000 local jobs. Wineries bring in tourist dollars that support industries and employment across the board. Renewable energy is creating jobs 12 times faster than the rest of the economy and employs more people in the U.S. than fossil fuels, and there are eight times as many jobs in renewables in Santa Barbara County than in oil.
Finally, Aera, one of the companies seeking to expand oil and gas production, polluted agricultural groundwater in Kern County, which resulted in penalties of $8.5 million, a mere fraction of the true cost to flush toxins from the soil. What happens to the “big-bang positive economic impact” Mr. Armendariz touts when our taxes have to pay for the inevitable spills and polluted groundwater?
An interesting note: Mr. Armendariz is a strategic consultant, among whose clients are Exxon/Mobil. As a private citizen who is concerned about the effect of oil on our land, water, agriculture, and the health and safety of our 450,000 citizens, I can connect those dots. Can you?
This article appears in Jan 3-10, 2019.
