SUPERVISORS INK ANOTHER SEWER DEAL! DO YOU SMELL TAX DOLLARS GOING DOWN THE DRAIN?

Your elected officials on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom and administrative capacity, have once again proven their mastery of the public purse – specifically, how to empty it. This time, they donned their special 'Laguna County Sanitation District Board of Directors' hats to approve nearly a million dollars for something called a 'Tertiary Filtration Skid Replacement Project.' That's government-speak for 'we're spending a lot of your hard-earned money on what sounds like a giant, very expensive skateboard for sewage.'

Naturally, the agenda item — which originated from the local SB County Board of Supervisors — assures us this nearly seven-figure expense, bringing the total cost up from what was surely a much lower initial estimate, is 'not subject to environmental review.' Because, of course, replacing a 'skid' at a sanitation plant is an 'administrative activity' that won't result in any 'physical changes in the environment.' Only in Santa Barbara County could a massive infrastructure project involving wastewater be deemed an administrative trifle, sidestepping those pesky CEQA regulations that halt actual job-creating businesses for decades over a gnat's eyelash. Funny how those rules only apply when developers want to build homes, not when the county wants to spend taxpayer cash on a glorified plumbing upgrade.

While the rest of us grapple with inflation fueled by Washington's runaway spending, our local mandarins here in Santa Barbara are merrily approving contracts that swell by hundreds of thousands. They call it 'final quantities,' we call it a 'blank check.' We suspect the only 'tertiary filtration' happening is filtering more taxpayer money directly into the coffers of contractors who just happen to be 'local vendors' — a term that often means 'well-connected friends of the current political machine.' One can only imagine what new 'administrative activities' they'll dream up next to justify more spending while claiming zero environmental impact. Perhaps a 'bi-directional flow stabilization module' for the supervisors' re-election campaigns.