RE: Incompetence and Autocratic Management at Santa Barbara County; Semi-Pro Santa Barbara By Greg Mohr
This is just sad from every angle. For the many who haven't worked in the P&D arena and have not had any interaction with that branch- let me give another perspective. That of a private citizen trying to get a building permit. Those poor souls who attempt to extract a building permit from the P&D dept in this county experience much of what you describe, from the people who work at that department. Forgive the "taking out of context" phrases used in describing top management and executive branch individuals at the county.
The fact is, the phrases you chose could not be more applicable, from the stand point of a hopeful building permit applicant, as they relate to the bureaucrats running the asylum (P&D) now! In fact there is a cottage industry in Santa Barbara of "expediters" who function as an agent to help the tax payer navigate the ever so treacherous world of the building permit. "The Process" as they call it at the county, is so arduous that any sane person who could afford an agent, would never attempt "the process" on their own. For that matter, the process might financially ruin anyone who attempts a property improvement. The requirements for a permit are never spelled-out up front. No one could imagine the testing and reports which might be required of an applicant, on a repeated basis. The applicant being notified of each one just after the last is completed creating an inefficiency that only a large governmental agency could replicate- all at the expense of the applicant. Everyone has heard the phrase time is money, to the P&D dept in Santa Barbara, it certainly is! The more time it takes, the more money they get. Oh, and let's not leave out those esteemed members of the architectural review board, (at least many of them)... they could not be described more eloquently either; "demonstrate extraordinary blends of arrogance, malice, duplicity, ignorance, and careless disregard"
"the monetary cost alone should stagger the taxpayers’ and fee-payers’ imaginations"
"recriminations against those who dare to speak out against the madness"
"personal disrespect and outright hostility"
Anyone who has attempted to get a building permit from the county has certainly experienced all of the above, delivered with such condesention that it is palatable.
They also say the fish stinks from the head down. I'm glad I've never had to get close enough to get the stench on me.
Previous Month
Posted on September 19 at 12:53 p.m.
RE: Incompetence and Autocratic Management at Santa Barbara County; Semi-Pro Santa Barbara By Greg Mohr
This is just sad from every angle.
For the many who haven't worked in the P&D arena and have not had any interaction with that branch- let me give another perspective. That of a private citizen trying to get a building permit.
Those poor souls who attempt to extract a building permit from the P&D dept in this county experience much of what you describe, from the people who work at that department.
Forgive the "taking out of context" phrases used in describing top management and executive branch individuals at the county.
The fact is, the phrases you chose could not be more applicable, from the stand point of a hopeful building permit applicant, as they relate to the bureaucrats running the asylum (P&D) now! In fact there is a cottage industry in Santa Barbara of "expediters" who function as an agent to help the tax payer navigate the ever so treacherous world of the building permit. "The Process" as they call it at the county, is so arduous that any sane person who could afford an agent, would never attempt "the process" on their own. For that matter, the process might financially ruin anyone who attempts a property improvement. The requirements for a permit are never spelled-out up front. No one could imagine the testing and reports which might be required of an applicant, on a repeated basis. The applicant being notified of each one just after the last is completed creating an inefficiency that only a large governmental agency could replicate- all at the expense of the applicant. Everyone has heard the phrase time is money, to the P&D dept in Santa Barbara, it certainly is! The more time it takes, the more money they get. Oh, and let's not leave out those esteemed members of the architectural review board, (at least many of them)... they could not be described more eloquently either;
"demonstrate extraordinary blends of arrogance, malice, duplicity, ignorance, and careless disregard"
"the monetary cost alone should stagger the taxpayers’ and fee-payers’ imaginations"
"recriminations against those who dare to speak out against the madness"
"personal disrespect and outright hostility"
Anyone who has attempted to get a building permit from the county has certainly experienced all of the above, delivered with such condesention that it is palatable.
They also say the fish stinks from the head down. I'm glad I've never had to get close enough to get the stench on me.
On Incompetence and Autocratic Management at Santa Barbara County