City of Santa Barbara Looks to Trim Down Unnecessary Boards and Commissions

The City of Santa Barbara is looking for ways to streamline its surplus of boards, commissions, and committees, after a recent trend of vacant seats and low public engagement have plagued some of the lesser-known and rarely attended meetings.

While most residents are familiar with the Historic Landmarks Commission, or the Architectural Board of Review, even the most engaged citizens would have trouble identifying all 45 boards and commissions currently listed on the city website. Some have long since served their purpose, though each is tailored to a specific subset of city business, from the Golf Advisory Committee to the Single Family Design Board to the awkwardly named Oversized Vehicle Off-Street Parking Ad Hoc Stakeholder Committee (or OVOSPAHSC, for short).

Despite the city holding two rounds of interviews in June, 66 positions remain open on 23 different boards. The most vacancies are on the Rental Housing Mediation Board, with nine openings, and the Neighborhood Advisory Council, with eight open seats.

“It’s become such a problem,” said City Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez, who told the Independent he has talked with city staff asking if some of these boards could be disbanded or folded together.

City Administrator Rebecca Bjork said that the sheer volume of boards causes a “significant” strain on staff time. Each requires a meeting with the committee chair, to research and write agenda reports, and write the minutes. 

The city hasn’t historically tracked the financial cost of all the boards and committees, but with a projected operating deficit over the next two years, Bjork said the city will conduct an audit to more efficiently divide the work and eliminate any “redundancies.”

The city will conduct the next round of advisory board interviews during city council meetings on October 21, October 31, and November 7, and will make final appointments for vacancies on December 5.