This coming Tuesday, May 12th, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will be discussing proposed cuts to county employees and service reductions that will directly harm our community, especially our most vulnerable immigrant residents.
Last fall, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 620, which is the union representing the largest group of county workers, put out a call for citizens to come together and stop the County’s premature attempt to comply with the Trump administration’s directive to transition individuals with “unsatisfactory immigration status” out of County clinics. Members of DSA and several other community organizations answered the call, and we succeeded. Unfortunately, we are now facing a new set of cuts and layoffs that will have the same devastating impact.
The County is proposing to eliminate the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria pharmacies and laboratories operated by the County Health Department, leaving only Lompoc to serve the entire region. Regardless of what department leadership may claim, our community members cannot simply “go across the street” to a private pharmacy. County Health is the only option for many uninsured patients who cannot pay market rates or travel long distances for basic care.
At the same time, the Department of Social Services is facing deep administrative cuts, even though workload is expected to increase due to new federal verification requirements under H.R. 1 (“the One Big Beautiful Bill”). Delays in processing benefits will hit immigrant families, low‑income households, and seniors the hardest.
And in the Sheriff’s Department, the proposed layoffs target civilian staff, not sworn personnel, even though civilian workers are not the source of the department’s chronic overtime and budget overruns. Once again, the lowest‑paid workers and the public they serve are being asked to absorb the consequences of poor fiscal management.
At 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12, there will be a rally followed by public comment during the Board of Supervisors meeting. Key demands include:
- No layoffs and no service cuts
- Protection for the most vulnerable members of our community
- Immediate funds used for immediate needs, not long‑term capital projects such as the North County jail expansion
- Investment in housing and health, not incarceration
This is the final board meeting before the next fiscal year’s budget is adopted in June. We need every member to submit comment, ideally in person at the meeting. However, because board meetings take place at a time when most people are unable to attend, Zoom or email comment is also acceptable. Email comments will need to be sent to sbcob@countyofsb.org by 5:00 PM on Monday, May 11.
Rally Details
Date: Tuesday, May 12
Time: 8:15 a.m. – approximately 11:00 a.m.
Location: SB County Administration Building, 105 E Anapamu Street, Fourth Floor, Santa Barbara (the board is physically meeting in their Santa Maria hearing room at 511 East Lakeside Parkway, Suite 141, but a remote video link from the Santa Barbara chambers will be open)
Agenda Item: General public comment
Board Meeting Agenda
Zoom Webinar Registration
Please participate, if you are at all able.
