The Whipping Post Take on SB County Board of Supervisors

SUPERVISORS GREENLIGHT SUPER-SIZED SUPER-PERKS FOR SUPER-BUREAUCRATS!

Santa Barbara's unelected overlords at the Board of Supervisors just rubber-stamped another golden parachute for themselves and their cronies, proving once again that 'public service' is actually 'pub

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9/18/2026 · Inspired by “Consider recommendations regarding employee benefit insurance program renewals for Calendar Year 2027, as follows: (4/5 Vote Required) a) Approve the following 2027 employee benefit insurance program renewals, each for 12-month period beginning January 1, 2027: i) Public Risk Innovation, Solutions, and Management (PRISM) Health Blue Shield Health Plans; renewal of the PRISM Blue Shield Tandem Narrow Network, Blue Shield Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) High, Blue Shield EPO Low, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a 10.7% premium increase for all active employees and retirees; ii) Kaiser Permanente Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Health Plans; renewal of the Kaiser Permanente High and Low HMO plans for active employees and early retirees at the existing benefit levels with a 10.7% increase in premiums, and renewal of the Kaiser Senior Advantage Plans for all Medicare-eligible retirees at the existing benefit levels, with no rate increase; iii) Retiree Health Plans; renewal of the United Healthcare Medicare Advantage Plans for retirees, and the Medicare PPO Advantage Plans with a 9% increase for the Low Plan and a 7.2% increase for the High Plan; iv) County Self-Funded Delta Dental PPO Plan; renewal of the County’s self-funded Delta Dental PPO Plan at existing benefit levels for active employees and retirees with no rate increase; v) DeltaCare USA - Dental HMO (DHMO) Plan; renewal of the DeltaCare USA DHMO plan at existing benefit levels for active employees and retirees with no rate increase for a two-year period; vi) Vision Service Provider (VSP) - Choice Vision Plan; renewal of the VSP Choice Plan for active employees and retirees with a 3.0% increase in premiums, at existing benefit levels due to an enhanced benefit providing an allowance for blue light filtering glasses or sunglasses; and vii) Empathia Life Matters - Employee Assistance Program (EAP); renewal of the LifeMatters EAP at existing benefit levels with no change in rates for all active employees and retirees; b) Delegate authority to the Human Resources Director, or designee, to execute all necessary agreements and documents, e.g. renewal letters, amendments, or plan change acknowledgements, required to manage the plans listed in recommendations a.(i) through a.(vii) in a form approved by County Counsel, Auditor, and Risk Management; c) Delegate authority to the Human Resources Director, or designee, to accept revenue from PRISM in the amount of $24,410.00 to support Countywide employee wellness initiatives, such as physical activity challenges and programs promoting mental health and overall wellbeing; d) Approve Budget Revision Request No. 1647, to establish one-time appropriations of $19,419.00 in the Human Resources Department’s Wellness Fund to accept revenue from PRISM; and e) Determine that these activities are not a "Project" under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(4) because the actions are the creation of a government funding mechanism or other government fiscal activity, which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.” via SB County Board of Supervisors

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SUPERVISORS GREENLIGHT SUPER-SIZED SUPER-PERKS FOR SUPER-BUREAUCRATS!Power & Politics
SB County Board of Supervisors · The Whipping Post · NO.824 · PANEL 1/6 · SB-5DG

It's 2026, and while the Trump administration is busy making America great again, our local Board of Supervisors is busy making sure their benefits packages remain untouchable. Just take a look at their latest bureaucratic ballet: an 'Administrative Item' (because nothing says thrilling democracy like 'administrative item') green-lighting yet another round of premium hikes for you, the taxpayer, so county employees can enjoy healthcare plans most private sector workers only dream of.

The geniuses at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decided, with a straight face, that a 10.7% hike for Blue Shield and Kaiser plans was perfectly reasonable. For active employees, mind you! And let's not forget the dental plans, vision plans, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that offers 'physical activity challenges and programs promoting mental health and overall wellbeing.' Presumably, these challenges include navigating the labyrinthine county bureaucracy and programs for coping with the public's justifiable outrage.

But here’s the real kicker that the other local outlets will conveniently miss: while you're tightening your belt to pay for these ballooning benefits, the HR Director gets delegated authority to accept a measly $24,410 from PRISM for 'wellness initiatives.' Translation? A tiny, symbolic crumb thrown to the plebs while the real feast is happening behind closed doors. And of course, these actions are declared NOT a "Project" under CEQA because they're just 'government fiscal activity.' Funny how every bridge, road, or private development gets tangled in CEQA red tape, but spending taxpayer money on bureaucrat perks sails through with nary a glance. It's a gold-plated gravy train, and we're all paying for the tickets.

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