Goleta’s Revenue Neutrality PR Campaign Moves Ahead

The City of Goleta’s public-relations campaign against its tax-sharing deal with the county ​— ​the revenue neutrality agreement (RNA) ​— ​will move forward, although without paying an outside PR company to help with the process. The city recently received flak for an RNA-related $30,000 opinion poll that an outside firm posed to voters; 602 people rated the Goleta City Council, the Board of Supervisors, and Supervisor Janet Wolf, who is being challenged by Goleta City Councilmember Roger Aceves. Several coucilmembers said that pressuring the county to do away with the RNA ​— ​under which Goleta has given the county $80 million ​— ​isn’t politically motivated. Nearly half of survey respondents said they wanted the RNA to stop.

Councilmember Jim Farr, who has made ending the RNA his top priority and is in the process of organizing an independent citizens’ coalition to advocate against the deal, was speaking Tuesday about sitting down with county staff in the future when he got a timely call from a certain county supervisor. “Is this a joke? Salud Carbajal on my cell,” Farr said, showing Carbajal’s incoming call. When told that he should answer it, Farr laughed and said, “I don’t know. It might be entrapment.”