The Whipping Post Take on SB County Board of Supervisors

SUPERVISORS SPLURGE $9.8M ON OUT-OF-TOWN MENTAL HEALTH 'CARE' WHILE LOCALS SCRATCH HEADS

Your 'caring' county bureaucrats just inked nearly ten million in deals with non-local vendors for mental health services, proving their budget is as unhinged as some of their policy decisions.

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6/4/2026 · Inspired by “Consider recommendations regarding the Services Agreements with Davis Guest Home, Inc. (Davis) for Intensive Residential Program Services for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2026-2028; Sylmar Health and Rehabilitation Center, Inc. (Sylmar) and Vista Pacifica Enterprises, Inc. (VPE) for Skilled Nursing Facility Services for FYs 2026-2029, as follows: a) Approve and authorize the Chair to execute an Agreement for Services of Independent Contractor with Davis (not a local vendor), an adult residential facility and residential care facility for the elderly, for the provision of intensive residential program services for a total maximum contract amount not to exceed $1,170,000.00, inclusive of $585,000.00 per FY, for the period of July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028; b) Approve and authorize the Chair to execute an Agreement for Services of Independent Contractor with Sylmar (not a local vendor), an institution for mental disease, for the provision of skilled nursing facility services for a total maximum contract amount not to exceed $2,325,000.00, inclusive of $775,000.00 per FY, for the period of July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029; c) Approve and authorize the Chair to execute an Agreement for Services of Independent Contractor with VPE (not a local vendor), an institution for mental disease, for the provision of skilled nursing facility services for a total maximum contract amount not to exceed $6,300,000.00, inclusive of $2,100,000.00 per FY, for the period of July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029; d) Delegate to the Director of the Department of Behavioral Wellness or designee the authority to (i) make immaterial changes to all three Agreements as provided in Section 25 of the Agreement’s Standard Terms and Conditions; (ii) approve reimbursement of services to contractor other than the base rate per Section 6 of Exhibit A-5 of the Agreement for Davis; (iii) amend the program goals, outcomes, and measures per Section 15 of Exhibit A-5 of the Agreement for Davis and Exhibit A-7 of the Agreements for Sylmar and VPE and per subsection 5.B.4. of Section III of Exhibit AA Alcohol Drug Program/Mental Health Services (ADP/MHS) of all three Agreements; (iv) suspend, delay, or interrupt the services under the Agreement for convenience per subsection 1.F. of Section I of Exhibit AA ADP/MHS of all three Agreements; (v) reallocate funds between funding sources per subsection D.1. of Section 1 of Exhibit B ADP/MHS of all three Agreements; (vi) approve other rates for special circumstances, besides those listed in Exhibit B-1 MHS per subsection D.1. of Section 3 of Exhibit B ADP/MHS of the Agreements for Sylmar and VPE; (vii) approve funding that cannot be moved between programs by Contractor and reserve the right to reallocate between programs in the year-end settlement per Section 6.A. of Exhibit B ADP/MHS of the Agreements for Sylmar and VPE; (viii) withhold payment for non-submission of service data and other information per subsection D.1. of Section 7 of Exhibit B ADP/MHS of the Agreements for Sylmar and VPE; (ix) deny or withhold payment for unsatisfactory clinical documentation per subsection E.1. of Section 7 of Exhibit B ADP/MHS of the Agreements for Sylmar and VPE; (x) may increase the rates up to 3.5% in FY 2027-2028 as provided in Exhibit B-1 MHS of the Agreement for Davis; (xi) may increase the maximum daily rate by up to 3.5% per year in FY 2027-2028 and FY 2028-2029 as provided in Exhibit B-1 MHS of the Agreements for Sylmar and VPE; and (xii) adjust the daily rate to accommodate members with acute needs as provided in Exhibit B-1 of all three Agreements; all without altering the maximum contract amount and without requiring the Board of Supervisors’ approval of an amendment of the Agreement, subject to the Board of Supervisors’ ability to rescind this delegated authority at any time; and e) Determine that the above-recommended actions are not a project that is subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4), finding that the actions are governmental funding mechanisms and/or fiscal activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.” via SB County Board of Supervisors

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Health Desk
SB County Board of Supervisors · The Whipping Post · NO.268 · PANEL 5/6 · SB-6CK

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom and boundless generosity with taxpayer dollars, just rolled out the red carpet for a whopping $9.8 million in contracts with 'institutions for mental disease' (their words, not ours) and other residential facilities. The shocking part, unearthed by a diligent Whipping Post intern sifting through the Board's latest agenda, is that these aren't even local vendors. That's right, folks, nearly ten large will be shipped out of Santa Barbara County to keep folks 'cared for,' likely under some bureaucratic delusion that out-of-town companies offer superior bed-making services or something.

While our local mental health sector presumably begs for scraps, the Supervisors decided that a hefty chunk of change should instead line the pockets of Sylmar and Vista Pacifica Enterprises, both conveniently located far enough away that their executives probably won't be seen at the same high-society galas as our local officials. And let's not forget Davis Guest Home, which, despite its 'guest home' moniker, isn't exactly in our backyard either. One has to wonder if these multi-million dollar contracts are less about optimal patient care and more about 'optimizing' some contractor's profit margins, especially when local options are bypassed.

The real kicker, as always, is the fine print. The Board then delegated sweeping authority to the Director of Behavioral Wellness, allowing them to make 'immaterial' changes, adjust rates up to 3.5% annually, and even reallocate funds without needing direct Board approval. This isn't oversight; it's an open invitation for unchecked spending and a bureaucratic blank check. It seems the Supervisors, having rubber-stamped the price tag, are now too busy counting their campaign donations to bother with the tedious details of how our money is actually spent. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left footing the bill for services that seem designed to benefit everyone but the local taxpayer and, perhaps, the patients themselves.

And what about CEQA, you ask? Oh, don't worry, the Supervisors declared these multi-million-dollar funding mechanisms are definitely not ‘projects’ that will result in 'physical changes in the environment.' Because, apparently, massive contracts and the movement of countless individuals don't impact anything, unlike, say, building a single-family home. It’s a classic move: label it 'governmental funding' and poof, environmental concerns vanish faster than common sense in a Board meeting. The fact that the Board considers this massive outlay a mere 'fiscal activity' rather than something with real-world implications is a testament to how far removed they are from the everyday reality of Santa Barbara County citizens.

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