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Creeks Advisory Committee recommends FY27 Creeks Division budget to City Council
Summary
The Creeks Advisory Committee voted 5–0 to recommend the Creeks Division’s FY27 budget to City Council. Staff reported roughly $7.0 million in revenues, a proposed $3.5 million capital transfer, a $350,000 stormwater grant line, and a planned $1.5 million use of reserves to balance the year.
The Creeks Advisory Committee on Friday voted unanimously to recommend the Creeks Division’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget to Santa Barbara City Council after a staff presentation and committee discussion.
Creeks Division staff said the division’s FY27 revenues are "just over $7,000,000," funded primarily by Measure B (a voter‑approved 2 percentage‑point transient occupancy tax dedicated to creeks work) along with interest on reserves and a $300,000 transfer from the Police Department to support the residential street‑sweeping program. Staff described the Creeks fund as an enterprise fund that does not receive general fund support.
The proposed spending plan shifts some position costs out of the salaries line (a shared project engineer is now accounted for under supplies and services) and includes a roughly $200,000 increase in allocated costs to fund partial positions in other departments (a park ranger portion for encampment enforcement and cleanup, a development liaison, and a library services technician). Staff also proposed a $350,000 special projects/stormwater grant fund to help finance multi‑benefit green‑infrastructure and interdepartmental projects, and a proposed $3.5 million transfer into the capital improvement program for active CIP work.
Staff said the FY27 budget includes a $1.5 million transfer from reserves to balance expenditures while maintaining a $4.0 million reserve target. A committee member noted an apparent gap between revenues (about $7M) and expenditures (about $9M); staff confirmed the difference would be covered with reserves.
Committee member Lee Heller moved approval of the staff recommendation and Todd Rulon Miller seconded. The clerk recorded a roll call of five yes votes — Penny Owens, Todd Rulon Miller, Lee Heller, Stephanie Morey, and Chair Anne Burdette — and the committee passed the recommendation 5–0.
Members asked questions about personnel turnover, compensation and TOT volatility; staff said the division generally retains staff, experienced two large retirements in 2025 that created temporary vacancies, and that TOT has been stable overall though it was volatile during the COVID pandemic. Members also requested continued monitoring of program outcomes tied to the new spending lines.
The committee’s action was to recommend the FY27 Creeks Division budget to City Council; final adoption is scheduled by Council later in the budget process.
