Fire and Police Commission - October 22, 2026

The City of Santa Barbara Fire and Police Commission met on October 22, 2026. It approved the August 27 minutes, with a correction removing Commissioner Hill from a report of attendance; two commissioners abstained. Kingdom Causes presented its youth trafficking prevention and early-intervention work, including a case worker at Noah’s Anchorage and screening data showing 38 of 80 youth screened since January were identified as medium to high risk. The presenters described grant and donation funding, a countywide strategic plan, and efforts to coordinate services and data, but no funding allocation or procurement action was considered. A public commenter alleged that police parking enforcement had discriminated against and improperly displaced disabled people during the Solstice event; the commission also heard further allegations during the parking-program and misconduct agenda items.

Police staff reported that the department had 13 parking enforcement officers, one above its 12 positions through salary-savings funding, and described parking enforcement operations, citation appeals, payment plans, and a third-party citation system and administrative-hearing service. No contract award or purchasing vote was presented. The Fire Department reported 3,639 calls and 2,500 training hours for the quarter. In response to a question, staff said the department’s ladder truck cost $1.6 million and was financed over seven years; delivery took nearly four years, and the price was about $700,000 higher than when ordered. The commission also discussed co-response staffing, police activity and complaints, and a request for community input on a proposed automated license plate reader policy. No new procurement approval or spending action was taken.