Dozens of layoffs and cuts to healthcare services are coming to Santa Barbara County, after elected officials on Tuesday approved a new $1.66 billion annual spending plan.
An estimated 77 county employees were expected to lose their jobs effective July 1—a slight drop from the 84 pinpointed last month, and fewer than the 277 positions initially identified in the Spring as potentially expendable.
“All the employees, I hope you can realize that we did our absolute best to save as many jobs as possible,” Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said after the Board of Supervisors voted 5-0.
Normal turnover, ongoing voluntary layoff offers, a modicum of restored funding and the reassignment of some staff members to new departments have helped to bring down the total, officials said.
The new budget funds 299 fewer positions than the last, most of them currently vacant.
And the cuts for fiscal year 2026-27 don’t stop there.
Amid $52 million in overall reductions, two county-run pharmacies will close, one in Santa Barbara and the other in Santa Maria. In addition, several types of patient care at county-run health clinics will be discontinued.
“This is a reduced budget after more than a decade of growth,” Budget Director Paul Clemente told the board, adding the only increases came to necessary spending on jail medical services, indigent care, in-home support services and jail construction.
All eyes on Sacramento
First District Supervisor Roy Lee said he hoped cuts now might prevent more in the future.
“These are tough times,” he said. “Going forward, we cannot just cut our way to success. We need to grow our local economy and generate more tax dollars.”
The vote came a day after California lawmakers in Sacramento adopted a $356 billion state budget that could help counties like Santa Barbara perhaps hire some people back.
Local officials said they were hopeful Governor Gavin Newsom will sign the state spending plan, and that some of the funding county brass have expected to go without might be restored.
At the county CEO’s office, officials have placed blame for the current crunch squarely on rising costs and a massive reduction in state and federal funding including Medi-Cal reimbursements, with much of the decrease driven by HR 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” approved by Congress and signed by President Trump in July.
“I think we’re going to try to find ways to bring back those employees,” said Board Chair Bob Nelson, Fourth District supervisor. “I think we’ve got some great things on the horizon. I think some of what we’re seeing at the state budget is potentially a lifeline.”
Breaking down the numbers
Speaking on behalf of the county workforce, union representative Lauren Robinson told the board she too hoped state funding eases the pain. She urged the board to hold off on making its final decision.
“Unfortunately, given the timing, county leadership has not had the opportunity to thoroughly review the state budget and make updated recommendations,” said Laura Robinson, executive director of the Service Employees International Union Local 620, which represents nearly 2,200 people across every county department.
The county in total employs more than 4,700 people in 22 departments.
Officials said they expected 28 layoffs at the Social Services Department, 47 at the County Health Department, one at the Sheriff’s Office and one at the Fire Department.
“We are laser focused on providing as much support as we can to affected employees,” said county HR Director Kristine Schmidt.
That support includes an additional month of county-paid health benefits, job search assistance and leadership planning for possible rehires, she said.
Pharmacy shutdowns
The pharmacy shut downs will save an expected $8.46 million annually.
Officials said they looked to cut programs duplicated elsewhere. They’ll direct affected patients to nearby Walgreens pharmacies, where they will receive the same pricing as they had through the county, said county Public Health Director Mouhanad Hammami.
“This will provide patients that have health coverage better access due to evening and weekend hours,” he said. “Santa Maria has a 24-hour pharmacy and locations that are within a couple of miles of our health centers.”
Uninsured and qualifying poor people will be able to have their prescriptions filled at the last remaining county pharmacy in Lompoc then delivered to county clinics in Santa Barbara or Santa Maria for pickup, Hammami said.
An SEIU field representative called the pharmacy cuts deeply concerning.
“These are essential services that thousands of residents rely on,” Leo Decasaus said. “The county is proposing to rely on outside providers, including Walgreens, a non-union, for-profit corporation.”
County labs in Santa Maria and Lompoc will discontinue in-house blood draw services, at an expected annual savings of $533,000. Patients will be referred to nearby Quest Diagnostics and Pacific Diagnostics labs.
At the county clinic in Santa Barbara, nephrology, urology, neurology and gastroenterology services will be discontinued, at an annual savings of $231,000. Affected patients will be referred to the CenCal Health Network, the public plan that administers Medi-Cal.
Isla Vista Foot Patrol funded
As they worked through key line items, supervisors embraced setting aside $812,000, with some conditions yet to be determined, to help maintain key operations of the Isla Vista Foot Patrol.
Sheriff Bill Brown had recommended cutting 12 positions there as a $2.61 million cost-saving measure.
The recommendation remained despite supervisors in April asking Sheriff Bill Brown to pull foot patrol reductions from his $223 million budget, Second District Supervisor Laura Capps said.
“It never occurred to me, never in my wildest imagination, that I would have thought to cut the Isla Vista Foot Patrol,” Capps said.
“Were there contracts that could have been reduced? Equipment?” she asked Brown.
Brown said he didn’t want to make any cuts, but that reducing positions was the only way to trim a mandated 5%.
“We believe that the Sheriff’s Office is grossly understaffed,” he said. “We basically went through these exercises that were sort of tantamount to ‘Sophie’s Choice’ kind of exercises.”
First, the foot patrol is contiguous to another Sheriff’s Office division that could manage it, Brown said.
“Number two, there has been a significant decline in crime in Isla Vista,” he said.
“The reality is that when we talk about travel and office supplies and those kind of things, that is budget dust compared to the number of people that we have, and we cannot make that number up on the periphery like that,” Brown said. “The reality is there are huge portions of the sheriff’s budget which we cannot cut.”
‘Risks ahead’
Acknowledging the county’s challenges repeatedly, county CEO Mona Miyasato also said Tuesday’s news wasn’t all bad.
“Even in a constrained year, this budget continues to invest in major community priorities,” she said, pointing to spending on behavioral health, housing, renovations to the Norther Branch County Jail, public safety radio, renewable energy and more. “Fiscal discipline does not mean standing still. It means choosing carefully.”
Looking ahead, Miyasato stressed caution.
“The risks ahead are real,” she said. “About a third of our budget is from federal and state sources… And safety net reductions may continue.”
Set to retire this summer, Miyasato said she’d delayed her departure to help shepherd the budget process to completion.
“Can I get the last word?” she asked Nelson at the end of the Tuesday’s hearing after the vote.
“Yeah. You deserve it,” Nelson said.
“I thought, ‘If the board does anything crazy, I’ll be really pissed,'” Miyasato said, drawing laughs. “But you didn’t. And I appreciate that. And I appreciate you just showing who you are. Very responsible, not just to your residents but to the longterm sustainability of the county.”
