The voters of Guadalupe sent a very strong message during the recent election; they want their local government to remain intact even if it cost them more. In fact, all three of the tax initiatives passed with margin of 80 percent, which is simply an amazing feat.
On behalf of the police officers, firefighters, and human resources director, we offer our heartfelt thank you for your support of the increase in tax. It was inspiring to see the community rally together to “save Guadalupe” and achieve unprecedented results.
Having personally spoken with many residents during the grassroots campaign, I was humbled by the support of our police and fire departments. As a whole, the community is pleased with the level of service currently provided and concerned about extended response times had the city unincorporated.
The services provided by the sheriff and Santa Barbara County Fire are of the highest caliber, but the cost to contract for services offered no financial relief. We thank the county of Santa Barbara for engaging in discussions to explore all potential options and will look forward to a continued working relationship to provide the best response to our community, as well as surrounding areas.
There was a secondary message from the Guadalupe community, which was also received loud and clear. The community does support local city government, but demands that we make smart business decisions with the tax dollars to avoid a repeat of our current fiscal crisis. While they do support us and have faith in the management ability, there will be no second chance to return to the voters for greater increases.
I am proud of my role as the community director of public safety. I am equally proud of the quality and skills of our police officers and firefighters who have dedicated their professional careers to the city of Guadalupe. But the most important source of pride is in the community that remained aware of the issues concerning Guadalupe and overwhelmingly voted to support the proposed tax measures in order to sustain our local government and lead us into a brighter future.
Once again, thank you for your support on Nov. 4, 2014, which should be noted as a turning point in the history of the city of Guadalupe.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2014.