While the light-blue-line crowd gathered on the steps of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse yesterday to pitch their tax and spend agenda, the Santa Barbara Republican Party came out against Measure S 2010, a proposed half-cent tax increase to fund a North County jail.
According to the group… “The problems of under-funded law enforcement and an overcrowded jail are not new developments in Santa Barbara County. Dating back to the 1980′s, the need for expansion was known and should have been budgeted for. Instead, those tasked with planning and handling the county’s growth, the County Supervisors, have been grossly negligent in their duties to include jail funding in the budget. There have been numerous years of surplus that the Supervisors have squandered on pet construction projects, and never controlled the growth of spending within existing infrastructure. Even if the funds are used only for their designated purpose, there is no accountability that the funds will be spent wisely. And based upon their existing track record, there is a high risk for waste.”
“On top of poor management at the government level, the private sector has shrunk dramatically in Santa Barbara County due to the recession. We have high unemployment throughout the county, and everywhere businesses and families have had to tighten their belts to make ends meet. While Measure S’s supporters tell us it is only a half-cent per dollar, they let slip its real impact when they expect it to take $30 million dollars a year out of our local economy. That is an additional $30 million taken away from local businesses and their customers that they can’t spend elsewhere. Attempting to “hide” the new tax behind a larger one doesn’t make it a right decision, and our tax dollars are not an entitlement of the government. Those dollars belong to their earners, and in this recession, it is the government that should practice some belt-tightening.”
Since when are Dale Francisco, Joe Centeno, Bill Brown, Joni Gray, etc the Light Blue Line Crowd? The Republican Central Committee is out of touch with reality. But nothing new there.
Maybe they could house them in the emergency Taj Majal they are building on Foothill. Looks big enough for a couple thousand, with room leftover.
Dale has been at city hall to long and is drinking the cool aid