Santa Barbara City Council approves $5 million for Dwight Murphy Field, accepts police wellness donation and fiscal correction

Santa Barbara — The Santa Barbara City Council on May 20 approved a package of consent items and separate votes that included a $5,000,000 increase to the Dwight Murphy Field Renewal Project, acceptance of a $50,000 donation for Santa Barbara Police Department employee wellness, a clerical correction to the city’s third-quarter budget adjustments and the closing of a TEFRA public hearing on proposed revenue bonds for a continuing-care facility.

The actions were taken during the council’s regular meeting in City Hall chambers. Councilmembers present voted to approve the measures; Mayor Randy Rouse and Councilmember Mike Jordan were absent for portions of the meeting.

Why this matters: The council’s vote clears the way for construction and naming elements of the Dwight Murphy Field renewal, allocates private funds for police mental‑wellness programming, corrects a budget line item that would have underfunded a golf‑course infrastructure project, and completes the federal TEFRA procedural step for a large bond issuance that will fund a local continuing‑care community.

Dwight Murphy Field gift and naming The council adopted a resolution amending the fiscal‑year 2024–25 budget to increase revenue and expenditure appropriations by $5,000,000 in the capital outlay fund for the Dwight Murphy Field Renewal Project. The funding was presented as a gift and bridge funding from H. Ty Warner.

Bill Medel, speaking on behalf of H. Ty…