SB City Council to hold budget work session

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Santa Barbara City Council will hold a special meeting today for a budget work session for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

Council members will meet at 2 p.m. at the Carrillo Recreation Center, 100 E. Carrillo St.

The council will hear a presentation from staff related to the development of the budgets for the fiscal years, then provide direction to staff on how to proceed.

On June 14, 2022, the council’s Finance Committee received a report regarding the purpose, scope and timeline of the Fiscal Sustainability Initiative, where an overview of the major fiscal and budgetary challenges were discussed, staff said in their report.

“Revenue options and operational and process improvement working groups were established to develop recommendations and solutions to ensure the city continues to meet the needs of the Santa Barbara community now and for many years to come,” staff said.

Since then, the Community Development, Parks and Recreation, and Library departments presented a “deep dive” financial review of their operation including challenges and opportunities.

The Housing Authority also presented an overview to the Finance Committee.

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The Grace Fisher Foundation’s Inclusive Arts Clubhouse is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays at La Cumbre Plaza, Unit F118, Santa Barbara. It’s kitty corner to Williams Sonoma. For more information, go to www.gracefisherfoundation. org.

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

“What a blessing it is to see so many members of the Santa Barbara community come and support Grace’s vision!” said Debbie Fisher, the mother of the creator of the new Inclusive Arts Clubhouse.

On Wednesday, the Grace Fisher Foundation opened the Inclusive Arts Clubhouse located at La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara.

In honor of the opening, the foundation hosted a ribboncutting ceremony in partnership with the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce.

This clubhouse was started by Grace Fisher, the creator of the foundation. Grace modeled her vision after her own experience with music and adaptive art therapy. Grace, who was a Santa Barbara High School senior at the time, was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis in 2014 when she contracted a virus that spread to her spine. She was paralyzed

Catalytic converter theft suspects plead not guilty

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Two days after their arrest Sunday, two suspected catalytic converter thieves entered not guilty pleas at their arraignment Tuesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

The defendants, Bryan Arciniega and Nathaniel Santiago Reyes, are each charged in a four-count felony complaint with conspiracy to commit a crime, in that they allegedly conspired to commit the crime of grand theft of personal property.

Prosecutors allege they collected gloves, a hydraulic jack and multiple reciprocating saws with metal blades, drove to the Santa Ynez Valley, identified victim vehicles and used tools to access catalytic converters.

The pair also are charged with receiving stolen property with a value exceeding $950, i.e. the stolen catalytic converters.

Vision 2030 was then introduced to the Finance Committee as the communication framework of the Fiscal Sustainability Initiative.

“This effort positions the city as a leader in smarter, proactive government, ensuring the city is sustainable, and the community is thriving,” staff said.

In late April, City Administrator Rebecca Bjork will present her recommended budget for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to the council as required by the city charter. This will be followed by a number of public hearings during which each department will present its respective budget to the council and the public. This budget work session is held in advance of finalizing and issuing the recommended budget to provide the council and the public an overview of the city’s finances.

Staff will provide an overview of recent Vision 2030 initiatives, including working group updates regarding process improvements and revenue strategies. In addition, staff will provide the council with a summary of the recent revenue trends, projected costs and a long-term forecast of the city’s finances.

Staff will then present the budget instructions that were issued to departments to guide the development of department budget proposals.

email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com

COURTESY PHOTO Law enforcement reported finding these allegedly stolen catalytic converters in this car in Buellton.

He allegedly brought or sent into the jail a controlled substance and a means of injecting or consuming it, or assisted in doing so.

And Mr. Reyes was charged with evading an officer, in that he “did willfully and unlawfully elude a pursuing peace officer by willfully driving on a highway in a direction opposite to that in which traffic lawfully moves.” from the neck down, but that has not stopped her goal of spreading encouragement and love through

Mr. Arciniega was charged with bringing or sending drugs into the Main Jail in Santa Barbara.

The complaint notes that Mr. Reyes has two prior felony offenses, and Mr. Arciniega has six prior felony offenses, all stemming from crimes committed in Los Angeles County. They are due back in court in Lompoc on March 15 to confirm

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