Goleta Throws Down the Gauntlet on the County with RNA Alternative Tax

A major issue during the last campaign for council, NoozHawk reported that the City of Goleta's revenue neutrality agreement (RNA) with the County of Santa Barbara came under fire this week with the Chamber Trio of Onnen, Bennett and Blois seeking to put the issue on the ballot next November. One proposed measure would allow the City of Goleta to "unilaterally amend" the unaptly-named RNA. Aceves and Wallis dissented citing something called "contract law" and the fact that there are more appropriate ways to address the issue.

If that wasn't enough -- Goleta Chamber's Trio threw a tea party at the harbor and proposed an alternative sales tax for Goleta which would compete against and almost certainly derail Measure A.

Agreed. The RNA is not fair and the County of Santa Barbara took advantage of the deal by not including a sunset clause. Now with Montecito looking at incorporation -- we can expect a a firefight over this issue in Goleta. With shrinking revenue from all sides, I wouldn't expect the County to give up easily on this tax for which they have to do little but sit back and collect from the likes of Costco and Home Depot.

The final council vote to put these measures on the ballot is July 1. What is unsettling about this turn of events to me is not just the in-your-face approach which is clearly an election ploy to gain a fourth vote on council and retain Jean Blois -- it is the complete disregard for the bigger picture. It will cause a huge strain on the City budget in legal fees and puts the trio's rush vote to create in-house council in perspective. It will also likely derail the county-wide vote for Measure A with the amount of votes coming from Goleta in a presidential election holding court in the Fall. Like much of our society, the Chamber's Trio is only thinking of themselves with this entitlement tax.