Saturday, June 13, 2009
Over the past 18 years, I have watched with growing dismay as the mission of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, its physical and financial conditions, and the morale of many of its staff members have gradually deteriorated. The recent layoffs have brought some of this into public view. What the Garden has officially characterized as a financial predicament caused by the economic situation has unfolded to reveal a much more disturbing story. The totality of the problems that have surfaced over the past few weeks is staggering and calls for decisive action. Yet many in the community do not understand the gravity of the situation.
According to public records, the net worth of the Garden’s endowment has fallen from $21 million in 2004 to a present value of around $6 million (though the Garden disputes this, claiming a current value of $9 million). This is a decrease that some feel cannot be attributed to reasonable investment losses, even considering the current condition of the economy. Much of the loss can be traced to actions by the highest levels of Garden management.
The Garden’s master plan, known as its Vital Mission Plan, is a particularly egregious example. Information from public statements and records indicates that some $6.5 million has been squandered on the multiple unsatisfactory versions of the Garden’s various master plans. Speaking as a licensed landscape architect, I find this excessive, notwithstanding the high cost of architectural and planning services. This great expenditure has generated no useful outcome, and has instead created one torrent of community outrage after another, resulting in a destruction of goodwill that will take decades to rebuild.
I have often winced at the incivility of some who have publicly criticized the Vital Mission Plan and other Garden undertakings. Yet it has been the Garden’s approach to presenting its side of the story that has, more than anything else, inflamed public opinion and turned the Garden from a cherished part of Santa Barbara’s culture to an untrustworthy adversary. Add to this the mounting restiveness in the community at large as it observes the unfolding story of Garden upper management versus nearly everyone else. In the midst of everything else, the Garden must now struggle to restore a faith that should never have been betrayed.
Besides the Vital Mission Plan expenditures, there have been in recent years a number of other misadventures, a few of which include:
• The purchase of high-value real estate seemingly unrelated to, and unnecessary for, the legitimate purposes of the Garden.
• The misguided, costly, and unsuccessful attempt to acquire control of an exotic garden in Ojai, resulting in the diversion of money and valuable staff time from other pressing needs.
• The ill-timed construction of the meadow terrace, causing still more community outrage, creating a potentially permanent eyesore in the very heart of the Garden, and embroiling the Garden in a costly, divisive lawsuit.
• The seemingly endless additions to the hard paving of pathways (not entirely a bad idea, but one that has gone well beyond what many Garden supporters feel is appropriate or necessary).
• The installation of a poorly conceived and inappropriate lawn area along the west side of the meadow.
Then there is the compensation issue. With a total of about 40 employees prior to the recent layoffs, the Garden’s top seven staff members took home 43 percent of the total compensation, and the top three claimed 24 percent. During the recent layoffs and rollbacks in staff hours, there has been no substantive cut in the salaries of these top people. The Garden’s apparent failure to examine reasonable cost-cutting options creates an impression that its own staff is one of its lowest priorities. Although salary concessions at the top would not have entirely stemmed the layoffs, they would have made a significant contribution, which along with other cost-cutting measures might have made the layoffs less draconian and improved morale. Upper management’s approach is dismaying, especially considering that those who were laid off have contributed far more to the well-being of the Garden than those at the top.
The Board of Trustees is operating seven people short of its legally required 15 members. One can’t help but wonder how this came to pass and what the reasoning is behind it. Furthermore, the trustees and upper management have refused to disclose financial and other information that, by law, must be made public on request. One wonders what lurks behind their secrecy and stonewalling.
Finally comes the recent public plea for massive donations to cover fire losses. It appears from its own press release that the Garden has allowed nearly a million dollars worth of assets to go uninsured—assets lost in the Jesusita Fire. Given that the Garden is located in one of the most fire-prone places on earth, this is an instance of irresponsibility that makes one’s head spin.
Forthright, substantive changes, made with alacrity, will go a long way toward restoring public faith and developing responsible management for the Garden. Continuing on the present path will push the beleaguered Garden closer to the brink of ruin. The following actions should be taken at once:
• It is gratifying to see that the Board is finally beginning to disclose long-requested financial information. It’s a good start. Now there must be a thorough, timely forensic audit by independent auditors. Should evidence of negligence or irresponsible conduct come to light, the responsible parties must be held fully accountable.
• The Garden must re-examine its budget and spending strategies, report its findings to the community, and explain its decisions.
• The Garden must stop paying lawyers and public relations firms to attack critics of Garden plans.
• The Garden has dismissed a number of essential long-term employees. This is a self-defeating act that must be reconsidered. The institutional memory and deep experience of these employees are assets the Garden simply must not lose. They must be re-hired quickly before necessity sends them elsewhere.
• Additional board members must be recruited to bring the board up to its legally required size. This will defuse an additional flash point of public mistrust and bring greater accountability to Garden management.
• Finally, and most importantly of all, the current top management team that has brought disgrace, financial ruin, community discord, and internal unrest to the institution they were hired to manage and protect must be dismissed and never again be allowed to take part in Garden affairs.
I cheer the actions of the Garden volunteers in protesting conditions and showing solidarity with the victimized staff by initiating a work stoppage. It must have been done with heavy hearts, and with a great deal of courage. I am with them 100 percent, and in solidarity I have resigned both my position as instructor, and my 38-year membership in the Garden.
In light of the top management’s continued intransigence, the next steps may have to be legal ones. Mounting an official investigation into wrongdoing may be in the offing. This will bring still more scandal to an already wounded institution. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden belongs to us all; we must stand up for it in its time of greatest need.
Owen Dell is a landscape architect and long-time volunteer and instructor at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.