Board of Supervisors — 2019-12-10

Good morning, everybody. I'd like to welcome you to this meeting of the County Board of Supervisors. Good morning. All right, Madam Clerk can I get a roll call please?

Mr. Adam? Here. Mr. Williams? Here. Mr Hart?

Here

Ms Hartman? Here Mr Lavinino?

Here If you could all

Move approval of both package of minutes.

Although I believe it's November 19th.

As corrected.

Second?

Wait a minute. I said November 19th two on the 26th one on the 30th is that wrong? Okay, well it won't be the first time or last time I will be wrong today. So here we go so we have a motion to approve all of these minutes Is there second and a second? All those in favor? Aye Any opposed? Pass unanimously CEO Mia Sato. Do we have a CEOs report today?

Yes, we do Good morning supervisor Supervisors chair Lavinino today. We have three items in the CEOs report The first is to kick off our toys for tots and holiday food drive The county is sponsoring two worthwhile campaigns this holiday season the Marine Corps We are also collecting socks and personal hygiene items for those experiencing homelessness. Toy and food collection bins are located in the county administrative buildings in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria through December 18th. Collection boxes are also located at all our county fire stations, and many sheriff substations.

To provide new unwrapped toys, non-perishable food and socks. Today with us Tom Reed from the Unity Shop is here to officially kick off the toy and food drives. And so I'd ask Tom to come up and say a few words and then I believe the board would like to be the first to drop off their donations in the box.

Thank you very much Chairman Steeve friends on the board it's a joy to be here this is a fabulous season unity shop has been around 102 years I've been there the whole time. It's a great season. We are taking care of families, about 150 families a day right now. And as you would know these are the food insecure families that are basically in crisis. They are about to have or could have Christmas season holiday season without enough food and certainly without toys or warm winter clothes and so we're taking care of those families and it's really a joy for us to do that.

Some of you may have heard and are aware that unity had to close back in October for a while temporarily, and that had to do with Thomas fire. We've been doing disaster work since the T fire case you see the fire even the painted cave fire. And so when disasters happen, we have a long-term disaster recovery program and we jumped into it. When the Thomas Fire happened, we had four fundraisers that canceled almost immediately. One was the Association of Realtors. That was about a $70,000 benefit to us. The other ones were smaller but then the telethon that year Distracted everybody was evacuated and then three weeks later here comes the Montecito debris flow We hired three people dove in as everybody did it was a community effort And so when we didn't get reimbursed for those expenses, that's kind of a black art.

Nobody's figured out how to do that quite We ended up not having enough funds to carry us through this year So we had to close temporarily were thrilled to have been reopened November the 12th and we're back on track The community really stepped up to help Some don't understand what happened and assume there's mismanagement of some kind and so We're still struggling because of some people withholding funding, but let me just tell you we're having a great time And we're celebrating Brad Paisley will be on the telethon this Saturday so please tune in from 4 until 8 and he's opening the second Unity shop in Nashville next year.

And so we're gaining a lot of national attention, and many people in this community are taking unity for granted because we've been around 100 years. Always been here, but it is truly unique. It's a very special thing something all of us all of you folks can be very proud of so thanks for helping today with the food for the with the toys for tots and Telethon is this Saturday 4 to 8 KUAT God bless y'all. Thanks so much. Thank you for all that you do

Well, we're going to bring him down but I really think Supervisor Adam needs to explain his toy for a second. He

wants to explain his toy. Well, I think we usually explain our toys to some extent or another. So what we have here, I tasked my staff on finding me a mascot for the Bank of Unicorns and Rainbows. And so what I ended up with was a two-parter which I wasn't looking for. I was really just looking for the one perfect mascot But I ended up with the rainbow stacker, which is a good toy and then the stuffed unicorn there.

And that's not a real unicorn by the way. No unicorns were harmed during the making of this toy. So and then and then you know as always apropos for our proceedings we have the box of lies. So that's a Jimmy Fallon game, and I think somebody will have a lot of fun with that so Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. Supervisor Hartman?

Oh, I didn't realize my light was on but we are working on an ag tourism ordinance and we sit between two major metropolitan areas San Francisco and Los Angeles a lot of people don't know about how food is where it comes from in what country life is like I think we have an opportunity especially in my third district and the Santa Ynez Valley.

Supervisor Williams

Well I have a kid's lab product because science experiments are really cool and I'm pro-science so. Supervisor Hart?

My toy is fun.

You win! I went old school, so I'm not sure the kids gonna be too excited when they open mine but the parents will love it. It's light bright and spirographed. Do we want a photo? Yeah. That's funny. All

right, turn around.

We've

got to simulate

drop. OK. Get in here. Jump on the biggest one. OK,

thank you.

Thank you again, Tom. Our second item today is that Chris Lee is here from the California State Association of Counties, or CSAC. To personally present three awards that the county received this year. One is a merit award for the Tejiguas project. One is a merit award for the co-response unit and a challenge award for our shared mobility device program which is regulating our electronic scooter bike program. Chris?

Good morning Chair Lavandino, members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Chris Lee with the California State Association of Counties. For anyone who doesn't know we are the voice of California's 58 counties at the statewide level and we're pleased to represent you and your 57 other county colleagues before the state legislature. I also have the pleasure of working very closely with your Public Works Department as the director of CSAC's County Engineers Association of California, which is our public works affiliate. And I just want to say, as evidenced by the awards today we really view Santa Barbara County as a leader in public works not just at the statewide level but with our national association as well.

As the CAO mentioned, we're here today to present the challenge awards for 2019 that were won by the County of Santa Barbara. We had over 200, I think 268 applications for our annual challenge awards this year which is the second highest that we've ever had in our 26-year history And we do this not just to highlight the great work that you're doing here in Santa Barbara, but also with an eye towards are these programs replicable? Can other counties learn from them and implement the best practices that you're doing here. So I'll move quickly to our first award today.

Two programs were awarded with merit awards, which is kind of the lower level award. Let's start first with the development of a regional waste management solution. So this 10-year process sought to replace the dwindling capacity of the Tajiguas landfill and develop infrastructure to comply with mounting state requirements to keep food scraps and organics out of landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After extensive research and consultation, the Santa Barbara County Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division chose to build an anaerobic digester in a materials recovery facility at the site of the existing landfill. The new operation called the Resource Center is the first operation in California to combine a large-scale digester with a materials recovery facility at a landfill.

The center will serve 210,000 residents and businesses, divert 60% of waste from the landfill, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions creating 100 permanent jobs. For innovation in environmental protection I am pleased to present this CSAC merit award to Todd Curtis, Civil Engineer, Carlisle Johnston, Project Leader for the County Department of Public Works, and Jeanette Gonzalez-Knight, the Operations Manager for Permits & Engineering

Scott, get over there. Scott, get over there. And Leslie. Yes, Leslie. Leslie Wells as well and Scott McGaulpin our department director. How'd you know it was the big one, Scott? You might be...

You

better look!

All right, next up is the Merit Award for the program Behavioral Sciences Unit Co-Response Team. So in response to an increase in mental health calls for service, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office created the Behavioral Science Unit to provide training, oversight and management of its responsibility to mentally ill persons experiencing crisis. Under the management of a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in police psychology, the BSU has two primary initiatives. The crisis intervention training for law enforcement and a field response unit called the co-response team.

Staffed with a crisis intervention trained deputy sheriff and a mental health crisis worker from the behavioral wellness department The co-response team responds to mental health related calls in progress and follows up with heavy system utilizers to improve treatment compliance and reduce relapses. This innovative program, including the co-response team has reduced the number of deputy sheriff's time spent on calls involving mental health crises. I'm pleased today to present this CSAC merit award to Dr. Sherrilyn Lee from the behavioral science manager for the Sheriff's Department and Commander Rob Plastino from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

And Dr. Glegorn.

Excuse me, I'd also like our Behavioral Health Director Alice Glegorn to come because this is a collaboration of behavioral wellness so thank you all.

And now on to our challenge award. We're privileged to present a 2019 Challenge Award to Santa Barbara County for the Shared Mobility Device Program. These shared devices, like bikes and scooters in particular, offer a well-functioning alternative and transportation choice but unregulated programs can have negative impacts like improper parking and roadways. Santa Barbara County Public Works worked quickly to engage stakeholder groups and create a successful program that changed the county code carefully to provide on-demand service while avoiding nuisance and safety issues. A provision in the program includes removal of abandoned or destroyed SMDs, and gives the county authority to remove a scooter or bike left in a right-of-way or that obstructs traffic flow.

Within just a few months of launching the shared mobility devices program within the community of Isla Vista, SMD violations are down 93%, keeping the streets and sidewalks safe. For this effective and well thought out program we are proud to present Santa Barbara County with a 2019 CSAC Challenge Award. Accepting the award today are Gary Smart, Traffic Engineer, and Alyssa Hazard, Engineering Technician II.

That concludes my presentation. Thank you for the opportunity to present and to represent you in Sacramento.

Very good, thank you so much for being here.

And now for our last item for the CEO's report. Second District Supervisor Greg Hart has asked for a quick report out on the San Antonio Basin and the impact of the rains last weekend. So I've asked Tom Fairam from Public Works to give a quick update.

Thank you, CEO Misada. Mr. Chair and members of the board a quick report on our actions following the cave fire. This map up here is a watershed map that shows the outline of the cave fire. The main area of concern that we would have in terms of watershed impacts are the San Antonio Watershed which drains through Goleta as well as Marie Ignacio. As we've seen in past fires, we're having less and less time to actually mobilize and get going following a fire. And in this case I think we had 30 hours from the time the fire was at least under control where we could get into the first rain that has fallen since that time our San Antonio debris basin has been Pursuant to our protocol, completely clean back out to line and grade.

It had minimal material in it within our operating protocols but with a fire we completely empty it. Stream clearing has taken place in San Antonio Creek from the debris basin down to 101 and will be working on Maria Ignacio Creek to do the same Also as an update, we did receive this month six inches of rain on San Marcos Pass so we have gotten some rain. There has been some material mostly silty sand material that's been brought into San Antonio Debris Basin and our staff will be entering that basin today and we'll have it cleaned up for future rains.

And while this is obviously a concern we want to make sure everybody knows we have not taken our eyes off of Montecito. We now just have another watershed to watch really closely and as always we'll be on station all winter long Doing whatever we need to do. So, unless there's any other questions? Supervisor Hart?

I just want to thank you for your quick response and getting out there quickly clearing out the debris basin and making things as safe as possible and being on top of it after every storm. I really just appreciate the extra work of your team all the contractors that are out there all hours of the day and night to make this happen so thank you.

Yes, I'd also mention supervisor that in Emery Ignacio we also had a debris rack put in also at Debris Rack in Tucker's Grove Park And that was all done by our contractors. Our contractors, they answer the phone at all hours and respond immediately. We're very appreciative to them. Thank you.

That concludes the CEO's report, but I just want to note for those who haven't noticed the obvious at three of those reports. One report was done by Tom Fairam and the other two awardees were from the Public Works Department so I want to acknowledge Scott McGulpin who wasn't recognized as department director for all their excellent work. Thank you Scott.

All right, that takes us to our honorary resolutions. Can I get a motion to approve items A1 through 3?

So moved.

Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Aye. I guess we're all on those then. Okay so let's go with A1

Chair Lavinino, members of the board. Administrative item number one is sponsored by Supervisor Williams and Supervisor Hart. It is to adopt a resolution celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District. And if I can have Jerry Estrada, Hillary Blackerby and Dave Davis to the podium please? And they'll go ahead and read the resolution.

Whereas on February 1st 1969 The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District, Santa Barbara MTD began public transit service with 12 buses serving eight routes with a base fare of 25 cents. And whereas Santa Barbara MTD's service territory encompasses Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Isla Vista, Summerland, Montecito and other unincorporated areas in Santa Barbara County where fixed route transit operates 363 days a year. And whereas Santa Barbara MTD has long been a pioneer in the clean transportation space, beginning with the introduction of battery electric shuttles into service in Santa Barbara in 1991. Proudly operating the first battery electric transit fleet in the United States and whereas Santa Barbara MTD provides high quality public transit service to people of all ages backgrounds and abilities and has partnered with UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College for decades to provide unlimited and affordable transit to students with a pass program And whereas Santa Barbara MTD now provides over 6.4 million passenger trips annually with an average daily ridership of over 21,000 and whereas Santa Barbara MTD operates a fleet of 114 vehicles and has set a goal of having 100% battery electric fleet by 2030.

Now therefore let it be resolved that this Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara County does hereby honor and commend Santa Barbara MTD And its leaders for their service to our community on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of providing public transit service passed and adopted today.

Thank you very much. I'm Dave Davis, I'm the chairman of the MTD board. I can say that 50 years ago I was riding the bus when I was a student at UCSB so 50 years later I'm still riding the bus in that regard and we're very proud of your support. We're very proud of what MTD has done over the years. I'd like Jerry to say a few words as general manager

Good morning, thank you so much for this honor. As General Manager of MTD it's my privilege having grown up here in Santa Barbara County being a local, being able to serve the people and the community I grew up in is a real privilege on behalf of MTD again thank you all the employees 50 years we're really proud I think of what we've accomplished at this point we essentially handle 80% of the public transit ridership countywide The electric vehicle program has been in place for decades at this point and it's growing.

We've made the move to renewable diesel this month as well, and ultimately we produce were recognized by the Federal Transit Administration is small transit intensive community on the south coast. In the entire country that has scored at that level on all six measures since the inception of that program almost 20 years ago. And that's a real credit to the community that's embraced public transit and continues to support it, and we say thank you to the community.

Yeah, we're going to go. OK if you want to do it now let's do it now.

Chair Lavinino and members of the board, we do have one request to speak on MNO325 number 1 and that is Tom Becker.

Good morning.

Thank you. I'd like to say that MPD has now run on, is now running on renewable diesel. Now according to their flyer that they submitted at their press release, renewable diesel has a carbon footprint one-third that of their electric buses. In other words, when the electric buses plug into the grid they generate three times the amount of carbon footprint that renewable diesel did.

Now in 2000 MTD killed a renewable diesel alternative to their electric buses known as the South Coast Transit Plan. They killed it MTD said, no we can't do it because we have to have special tanks blah blah blah. Well turns out now that they admit, no, we don't need to have special tanks or special equipment. It's a drop in fuel. Now, MTD got caught in bid rigging in 2000.

That's the reason why they didn't want renewable fuel because MTD management it turns out had secretly started an electric bus parts business and had rigged the specifications for the buses so you'd have to buy their parts when a complaint was registered with the Federal Transit Administration They gave that money back so fast it made your head swim, and they did it to avoid a criminal investigation of their practices by the Federal Transit Administration.

So what MTD did is that they went with hybrid buses which was I guess the next best politically correct thing to do but now we get to the issue of public safety Just this last October there was a fatal accident in Santa Barbara. One person was killed, another person grievously injured. That accident was so bad that the legs on one of those victims were actually severed and flung into a parking lot.

That was a hybrid electric bus that was involved in that accident. Now I talked to several of the bus drivers at work for MTD And they informed me that the hybrid electric buses have a problem with surging from a stop or from slow speed. That there's a transition between the electric motor and the diesel that causes a surge, and the bus basically has an uncommanded acceleration.

These people right back here knew that. They were warned about that surge by their drivers. Now this accident is still under investigation. We don't know what caused it. It's been two months now, but the drivers that I talked to did point to the surge problem as a possible causal factor in that absolutely horrendous accident. And we'll talk more about this on A30.

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, we'll go to A2.

Yes, Chair Lavinino and members of the board. Administrative item number two is sponsored by Supervisor Adam. It is to adopt a resolution in support of human rights for the people of Hong Kong. And if I can please have Charles Lam from the Hong Kong Forum to the podium please? Thank you. I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Whereas- She's going to

read the resolution. And you can bring your microphone down so that it moves. There you go. Go ahead.

Whereas the people of Hong Kong are entitled to certain human rights under the Basic Law, embodied in an agreement entitled The Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong done at Beijing December 19th 1984 referred to as The Joint Declaration. And whereas the people of Hong Kong have been subject to increasingly brutal repression violence hardships and denial of these same rights enumerated in the joint declaration by a tyrannical communist government of the People's Republic of China and whereas the demands of the protesters in Hong Kong are as follows. One, full withdrawal of the extradition bill allowing alleged criminals to be deported from Hong Kong to mainland China for trial.

Two, a commission of inquiry into alleged police brutality. Three, retraction of the classification of non-violent protesters as rioters. Four, amnesty for arrested protestors and five Dual universal suffrage for both Legislative Council and the Chief Executive, as guaranteed under the 1984 Basic Law. And whereas the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors finds these five demands of the protesters reasonable, legitimate and proper. And this board supports the rights to which the people of Hong Kong are entitled including individual freedom, liberty and most especially the right to vote for the representatives and executive. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors endorses and supports S1838 the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 Which has been passed and signed by the President on November 27th, 2019.

Be it further resolved that we stand with Hong Kong passed and adopted today.

Mr Chair and fellow supervisors I'm Charles Lam an executive board member for Hong Kong Forum Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the organization that concerns about the democracy movement of Hong Kong. I would like to express my gratitude to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, especially Supervisor Adam for introducing this resolution. The democracy movement is entering its seventh month now.

In the past six months we saw 16,000 tear gas canisters launched against the protesters all over the city and it's a very tiny city The abuse from the Hong Kong government and the law enforcement in Hong Kong has not stopped. Clearly, the Hong Kong government has yet to open a dialogue with the residents of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people remain steadfast on the five demands which leads to universal suffrage for Chief Executive and the Legislative Council and we demand not one less.

Many volunteers in this country from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to Seattle, Boston, New York and Miami have worked with our elected officials to voice our support for Hong Kong. We are extremely grateful for the support that we received and as the residents keep fighting for their rights and protect the international interests, we ask that you keep Hong Kong in your mind.

Your support keeps us energized And last but not least, as our slogans would say, fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong. In five demands, not one less. Thank you.

I believe we have a couple of public speakers on item A2?

Yes, Chair Lavinino and members of the board. We have two requests to speak on this item and we are going to Santa Maria to begin with Joe Armaderez To be followed by Andy Caldwell. Joe?

Good morning, can you hear me? Yes. I'm Joe Armendariz representing Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association. Before I forget, Merry Christmas to all of you. I think this is the last meeting before Christmas. Sincerely and genuinely congratulate Supervisor Adam for putting this item on the agenda. I think the moral clarity that it required for him to do that should not be unnoticed. I've said many times in my writings and in my waxing poetic over the many years, that the democracy movement, The ideals, the first principles articulated in Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence were not meant for white people only. They were meant for all people in all places, in all climates, in all geographical locations.

The yearning for freedom is embedded in our DNA and America which is the indispensable nation The exceptional nation must always, through its elected representatives, stand up for freedom. Stand up for liberty. Stand up for the right to pursue happiness which I would argue is inextricably linked to the right to own property, the right to keep more of what you earn. These are not American ideals they are universal ideals and what has happened over the last several days weeks and months as it relates to Hong Kong particularly With respect to the NBA has been shameful. And I think that Supervisor Adams' decision to put this on the agenda and showcase it, and focus on it, and highlight it is something that he ought to be complimented for and congratulated on.

And also want to acknowledge the other four of you for agreeing to sign onto this thing so thank you very much.

And our final speaker on this item is Andy Calwell in Santa Maria.

Chairman Lavinino, members of the board. I'm Andy Caldwell representing CoLab. I've done quite a number of shows on this subject with people that have actually lived and worked in Hong Kong. And what's remarkable to me is that there's a big huge push on college campuses across the land for what's called the BDS movement, Boycott Divestment Sanction. Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinians in that issue. But nobody's talking, scarcely anybody is talking about what's going on in China And secondly, as is evidenced later on in your agenda. There's all this talk virtue signaling and an echo chamber about greenhouse gases and pollution in the ocean. And yet China, India, and Pakistan are responsible for some 60% of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

There's a couple of other countries that are responsible for upwards of 80% of all the pollution in the ocean. And yet, the American left and the progressives and the so-called environmentalists are silent. They instead are literally grasping at straws here in America. And it was only until what? A week ago that the Senate and the House finally weighed in on the freedom and liberty of the people from Hong Kong.

China is one of the most repressive murderous regimes in all of human history. In fact, most people believe it is number one in terms of the number of people its own people that they have slaughtered Since they became a communist country decades ago. And yet they get a free pass, they get a free pass from people like as Joe Armendariz mentioned LeBron James because he wants to sell shoes and jerseys in China.

Somebody once told me that if the left didn't have double standards they wouldn't have any standards at all. And my question to you is, why aren't you and not necessarily in your capacity as Board of Supervisors because I agree with the basic principle of Steve Lavinino that many of these things are out of your lane. But the bottom line is individuals as activists and leaders in the community, why not condemn wrongdoing wherever you find it by whomever it is committed without prejudice or favor?

The bottom line here is China is not a country that values equality, freedom, liberty and it certainly is not kind to the environment. And I wish that American environmentalists so to speak would focus their attention where it really matters. Thank you.

Okay, that takes us to A3. Supervisor

Williams? I just wanted to thank Supervisor Adam for authoring this resolution. I want to say that sometimes we think of these things as just symbolic, but I do think that it creates the atmosphere and conditions in a In a shared democracy like we have, where we take a stand and maybe then state legislatures take a stand and maybe Congress takes a stronger stand.

So hopefully this resolution will be noticed because I do think it helps create the conditions for a stronger stance on China. And I do advocate for that in the past. We have in fact done resolution about Human rights abuses in regards to religious persecution of the Falun Gong. And I do think that, I think Andy's being a little unfair here. I think that what is good in a democracy that right now is so divided is if we can unify around an issue like this where The ideals of what holds America together really is, as Mr. Armendariz articulated, are also universal values that we call American values Because maybe we hope that we can be a beacon of those, but they're really universal yearnings in the human heart.

And that maybe in this divided time we can pull together and exemplify those values. So thank you. Thank

you, Supervisor Hartman.

Thank you Mr. Chair I just wanted to add that it is symbolic but as we heard it's also energizing to protesters to hear that we stand with them and I also wanted to note that there was bipartisan support for this bill in the U.S. Congress.

OK.

Oh Supervisor Adam well I will say that I was I started this quite a while ago and having it passed by the Congress and signed by the president Before it got here, was a little disappointing because I thought I was going to be on the other front end of the thing and then it turned out I was too late. Trailblazer. But yeah well you know we do a lot of these things and I normally subscribe to the Supervisor Lavinino school where we should probably stay in our lane but this one you know I watched Fox Business in the morning and they've been covering this story a lot Particularly Maria Bartiromo, if anybody watches her. And it's just tragic and so I got moved and I had to do it so there we are and thank you Mr. Lamb for coming in and giving us a person to talk to and hear from.

All right, very good. That takes us to item A3.

Yes, Chair Lavanino and members of the board. Administrative Item number three is sponsored by Supervisor Lavanino. It is to adopt a resolution of commendation honoring Raul Baez of the Assessor's Office as the December 2019 Employee of the Month in Santa Barbara County. And if Raul can come to the podium please and anyone you'd like to join you? And I'll go ahead and read the resolution.

Whereas Raul Baez began his career with the county in 1980 as a clerk typist one with the assessor's office, and due to his diligence and hard work was promoted to an appraiser aide in May 1983, and then hired as an appraiser one in March 1985. And whereas Raul, a certified appraiser for property tax purposes by the Board of Equalization continued his appraisal training and education and was promoted through the ranks from an appraiser one to an appraiser two To an appraiser three and then in 1999 to an appraiser supervisor. And whereas over the past 40 years, Raul has well and faithfully served the citizens of Santa Barbara County overseeing and ensuring fair and equitable assessments and explaining the complicated property tax structure of California including proposition 13 supplemental assessments.

Proposition 8 and disaster valuations, both in English and Spanish to a non-property tax audience. And whereas Raul is an avid soccer enthusiast and has shared his talent with his community as a semi pro player, coach, coach instructor, and referee over the years. Raul, aka Lowe's 49ers is also an undying San Francisco 49ers fan and rooted for his team through the highs and the lows. And whereas Raul is extremely personable and is always willing to mentor and help his staff and share his vast knowledge with his colleagues. Now therefore be it hereby ordered and resolved that this Board of Supervisors recognizes Raul Baez as the employee of the month for December 2019.

Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board, fellow employees and guests. My name is Susan Morrison. I'm the Chief Deputy Assessor and on behalf of Mr. Holland, the Clerk Recorder, Assessor, Registrar of Voters who is out of the state currently, I would like to offer our sincere congratulations to Raul who has served not only our department in our county but the citizens of Santa Barbara County for the past 40 years.

He is so knowledgeable about everything related to property taxes and assessments, and we truly appreciate his service to our community. One of the highlights Raul's service during the unfortunate Montecito debris flow. And the aftermath of that, he spent countless hours at the county, I don't even know, the center where people came to get information. He was out there manning the desk providing information to property owners that were unfortunately affected by the fire and the debris flow that had damage or loss to their property.

He provided great service to the citizens in that respect. And unfortunately, rumor has it that Roel is retiring soon and we will be losing his services but we do want to acknowledge his many years of service to our citizens here in Santa Barbara County.

Wow, 40 years. Yeah, I started at four years old. All right, eight years old. But I just want to say thank you for this recognition. I accept this award on behalf of all my colleagues and co-workers in the Assessor's Office who dedicated all the hard work allowing me to be selected for this honor. I truly believe there is no I in this team. In particular, I want to single out a thanks to my staff, to upper management, all the HR and this whole staff from the assessor's office.

In closing, I would like to thank my wife Teresa, my daughter, my sister and all my family always been there for supporting on my work. I'd like to say thank you very much.

OK so are there any items that anybody would like to pull from the administrative agenda. I think from the public we've heard a 30

yes chair Levin you know members of the board have one request to speak on item A 17 and 16 requests to speak on item a 30.

OK. And a 15 a 15. I heard a 19 earlier somebody had no that's a no. Yeah yes. OK. A 19 and I'm pulling 8 8. And so let's start off it looks like we'll go in order let's start with a 8 0 can I get a motion to approve the balance of the administrative agenda.

So moved.

Moved and seconded all those in favor. Aye. Any opposed. It is all passed unanimously. All right, let's go to A8 please.

Chair Lavinino and members of the board administrative item number 8 is from the auditor controller it is to consider recommendations regarding single audit reports for the fiscal year ended June 30th 2019 all right

thank you very much I just wanted to pull this item to highlight some great work that's being done in our county This is an area, this single audit report just for people that don't know what it is. It's the federal government coming in and meticulously examining some of the records in our social services department. This was a major concern of mine when I first took office ten years ago.

And the reason why it was a major concern was because during these audits we routinely failed these audits and they would find a number of inconsistencies in our work. Through some corrective action and I think really some great leadership at the top of the department with Daniel Nielsen, his management staff. And then the buy-in of all the front line staff.

This goes all the way to AOPs that are inputting the codes. It's our eligibility workers, it's our social workers. It went from in 2003, eight of the nine programs that were audited received a qualified opinion. Which qualified sounds good but it's actually a failing opinion. Now we've moved it to for the last three years in a row out of everything that's been audited there have been no findings all of the programs have passed the audit and what these are is the reason why it's so important to me These are programs like SNAP, which is food stamps. This is Medicaid, foster care, home funds. So the reason why it's important to me there's two reasons and it's number one the people that are coming into our social services department are getting the service that they deserve.