July twenty sixth Metropolis Council Assembly
Solvang can pay the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office extra for legislation enforcement below a contract settlement accepted Monday by the City Council.
The negotiated charge offers a 19.4% enhance to $2.1 million for fiscal 12 months 2021-22, down from the county’s requested 37% enhance.
City Manager Xenia Bradford stated the town, which has all the time contracted with the county for legislation enforcement companies, paid $1.8 million in 2020-21 for 24-hour, year-round protection with one deputy serving on every shift.
“It’s nonetheless considerably bigger than something we’ve ever skilled,” Bradford stated.
When the county initially requested $2.5 million within the ultimate 12 months of its five-year contract with Solvang and related will increase of its different contracting cities — Goleta, Buellton and Carpinteria — the cities joined forces.
Via dispute decision, the cities reached a tentative settlement. Additionally they discovered “plenty of points with the general mannequin with how the prices are calculated, and there’s actually little management and many surprises the mannequin can produce. We contemplate it to be arbitrary to some extent,” Bradford stated.
The cities will revisit the contract language within the coming 12 months as they contemplate legislation enforcement choices for the following contract interval.
The 4-0 vote, with Mayor Charlie Uhrig recusing himself, got here instantly on the heels of a report by Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Inexperienced, who serves as Solvang police chief.
Inexperienced stated crime charges in Solvang have been on the rise in 2020 and straight attributed that to a return to normalcy post-COVID. With extra individuals visiting and exploring Solvang, regular crime statistics are returning to some extent.
In 2020, property crimes dropped 7% in Solvang and violent crimes dropped 36%.
“That is smart as a result of clearly in the course of the shutdown we didn’t have as a lot of a populace to be there visiting and the resorts have been closed and tourism was down, in order that sort of is smart,” Inexperienced stated.
Midway by 2021, except for requires service, legislation enforcement has responded to 11 assaults, one housebreaking, two business burglaries, and three further burglaries related to automobiles. There have been 37 thefts reported up to now this 12 months, up from 22 for all of final 12 months, automobile thefts are down and mail theft is “actually sizzling currently,” Inexperienced stated.
Inexperienced credited a few of that enhance to Emergency Rule 4, the zero-bail order.
“As we catch a few of these individuals, we will solely hold them in custody 4 to 6 hours earlier than they get out, so it is smart that a few of our property crimes, our assaults, our housebreaking crimes are going up,” Inexperienced stated.
Deputies have additionally elevated site visitors enforcement on focused areas on the request of the town.
“You obtain a whole lot of complaints about what’s perceived to be a scarcity of enforcement,” Inexperienced stated.
The division has issued 48 citations this 12 months, 22 of which have been issued final week on the Chalk Hill Highway/Viborg Highway hall, with most of these going to locals.
Inexperienced added he believed one of these enforcement has additionally resulted within the metropolis’s crash charge trending decrease for the 12 months.
DUI arrests are up this 12 months at 9 in contrast with 4 in 2020, however down from pre-COVID-closure 2019, when there have been 16 such arrests.
General, Inexperienced stated, there have been 18 felonies in Solvang this 12 months, the identical quantity as final, whereas misdemeanors have elevated barely.
“That is smart since you’ve bought these individuals which might be stealing stuff and we’re truly catching a bunch of them, however we’re not capable of hold them in jail, in order that they sort of get out and repeat, a few of them,” Inexperienced stated.
In different motion, council members unanimously:
— accepted a $47,200 contract with Santa Barbara County Animal Companies for intensive animal companies from licensing, impounding, useless animal pickup and disposal, to catastrophe evacuation in addition to allow companies for animal-related companies within the metropolis;
— accepted a $30,000 finances modification for demographic companies associated to transitioning to election by district by the 2022 election;
— accepted the second studying of an ordinance establishing the Tourism Advisory Committee;
— granted $5,000 to Santa Ynez Therapeutic Using Program; and
— appointed Councilman Robert Clarke to the Santa Barbara County Library Advisory Committee.
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