Emergency management across Santa Barbara County is understaffed and underfunded, according to a new civil Grand Jury report.
With “only seven capable and dedicated employees,” the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management needs at least 12 staff members to protect lives and adequately maintain countywide alert and warning programs activated during wildfires, earthquakes, oil spills and terrorist attacks, the report found.
“The safety and protection of county residents depend on it,” the 18-page analysis conducted over the last two months states.
Top county leadership countered those claims Friday, expressing confidence the region is ready for the next disaster.
“Our county’s ability to respond to crises and to disasters is well proven,” said county Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Nelson, who represents the Fourth District. “We can never plan for the unplanable, but we have, I think, an appropriately robust staff for what we can imagine. We have a significant amount of public safety departments that are well staffed and ready.”
Second District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps called emergency preparedness fundamental.
“I appreciate the Grand Jury’s work,” she said in a statement. “The public should be assured that Santa Barbara County benefits from an outstanding team of first responders and emergency management professionals who are deeply committed to public safety.”
Santa Barbara County ranks among the most disaster-prone places in the nation. Of the 3,144 counties and equivalent jurisdictions across the country, it’s among the top one percent for overall risk, according to RiskByCounty, a data-journalism organization cited by the Grand Jury that analyzed data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
From the 1990 Painted Cave Fire, which burned hundreds of homes, to devastating floods and the 2018 Montecito Debris Flow, which killed 23 people and destroyed 400 structures, the specter of tragedy is deep-seated across the county and particularly on the South Coast.
The 19-member Grand Jury is a citizen watchdog group that investigates county and city governments, issuing yearly reports in June.
Criticizing a move that made the emergency management office a subdivision of the county Fire Department, the Grand Jury report calls for the office to be reorganized back under the county CEO’s office, where it used to be until 2023.
A return to the CEO would provide the emergency office with gravitas needed to train and assign the wide cadre of at least 204 county staff members needed to step up as temporary disaster service workers in the event of an extended emergency, according to the Grand Jury.
In addition, the report calls for boosting emergency volunteers, and for the reinstatement of the Oil and Gas Program, a facilities oversight role the report says shifted a decade ago to Fire personnel.
The Oil and Gas program had a dedicated emergency office manager, according to the report. “This position was responsible for overseeing all oil and gas product facilities, ensuring compliance with local planning and preparedness efforts, and participating in training and exercise activities.”
Contradicting the report, Supervisor Nelson said keeping emergency management within the Fire Department makes the most sense. The department, he said, brings together personnel focused on emergency services, meaning they do much more than extinguish infernos, whereas the CEO’s office handles a wide range of unrelated concerns.
Personnel at the CEO’s office were not available for comment Friday. Jackie Ruiz, county emergency preparedness spokesperson, deferred questions to Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta, county spokesperson. Similarly, county Fire Chief Garrett Huff declined to comment until a later date.
“The county does not have a comment on the report at this time but will respond to the Grand Jury within the required timeframe,” Gerckens Buttitta said in a statement.
The Board of Supervisors has 90 days to formally respond to the report and is expected to discuss it at a future public hearing.
The Grand Jury began its investigation after a series of April county budget workshops, stating in its report that those board hearings gave the impression that the office was not fully appreciated.
In its $1.66 billion 2026-27 fiscal year budget approved Tuesday, the county eliminated an emergency manager position at a savings of $190,942, a change the Grand Jury focused on.
During those workshops—which guided elected officials in their decision-making and shaped priorities—Supervisor Roy Lee asked Chief Huff if that staff reduction would leave the office vulnerable and the county unsafe.
“You’re confident you and your department can cover any necessary emergencies and positions?” asked Lee, who represents the First District.
Responded Huff: “With the strength of the Fire Department behind it, we won’t let it fail.”
