SUPERVISORS GREENLIGHT $476K FOR 'COMPLIANCE' CONSULTANTS: ARE THEY DROWNING IN RED TAPE OR DOING THE DRAINAGE DANCE?

Your Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom and bottomless pit of taxpayer funds, has once again proven that no problem is too small to throw piles of money at. This week, they rubber-stamped nearly half a million dollars — $476,370, if you're counting — to Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. for 'regulatory compliance' at our solid waste facilities. Because apparently, managing a dump requires more external expertise than running a small nation.

One has to wonder: if the County employees tasked with managing these 'solid waste facilities' possessed even a modicum of competence, would they need to outsource basic groundwater and landfill gas compliance? Or is this just another classic county workaround, where instead of holding staff accountable, we just hire expensive 'local vendors' to hold their hands? The agenda proudly declares these actions are 'not subject to environmental review,' which, given the typical CEQA gauntlet for anyone daring to build a shed, is almost certainly the real prize here for the county planners.

Speaking of prizes, the real gem of this bureaucratic boondoggle is the 'stormwater compliance services' for the Tajiguas Landfill's 'Active Treatment System.' One might think a landfill, especially one that presumably contains 'waste,' would naturally generate 'stormwater.' But fear not, for Geosyntec is here to ensure this natural phenomenon complies with… well, whatever regulations they deem necessary to justify the $281,100 price tag for one year. It's a classic case of the county creating a regulatory maze, then paying fortunes for someone to help them navigate it.

The real Whipping Post Take? Follow the money. Half a million for consultants to tell the county how to manage its own garbage. This isn't about 'compliance'; it's about shifting responsibility and doling out lucrative contracts while avoiding any actual oversight. Meanwhile, small businesses are still wrestling with permits and fees that make their heads spin. But hey, at least our landfill's 'stormwater' will be 'compliant.' Priorities, people, priorities.