Sheriff’s annual bill to Carpinteria has been disputed by the City Council… again

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - A serious financial issues has come up again in Carpinteria over the cost of services from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department which serves as the city's police department.

The current billing shows an increase of 15 percent from a year ago, a figure the city is questioning.

The Carpinteria City Council has written a letter asking for a 30-day period to review the billing and resolve the dispute.

This happened last year too. Carpinteria is one of four contract cities in the county.

The council is very concerned about the cost since public safety is 40 percent of the city's annual budget.

For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the cost of the Sheriff's services would be about $5.3 million. The city says the cost already went up substantially the year before and the two-year increase would be $1.2 million or 30 percent.

At the same time, work on a new proposed contract to be discussed in a year, is underway now.