She's helped guide Santa Barbara County through some of its biggest problems in decades. There was the Thomas Fire and the deadly Montecito debris flow, followed by the pandemic. Then, in the last year the county has been hard hit by the impacts of federal and state budget cuts that have taken millions away from important services.
Mona Miyasato is retiring on August 18 after more than a dozen years as Santa Barbara County's Executive Officer. She talked to KCLU News about her time as the county's top non-elected official.
"The most difficult thing I've had to deal with is the accumulation of disasters. We have activated our Emergency Operation Center or declared disasters over 40 times since I've been here," said the CEO. "Doing that, plus keeping government running day-to-day has been a struggle, and at times, it was difficult to figure out what to focus on, but it's made us a stronger organization overall."
Even as she prepares to leave her post, she said the county needs to be looking at the next potential disaster it may be facing.
"We should be focusing on preparation for El Niño. We know that's happening this season, the weather reports predict that, and if there's any year-end savings we should store that away, because you need to prepare for the storm before the storm comes," said Miyasato.
Having enough money to provide programs and services is a perpetual issue for government. But Santa Barbara County found itself facing an unexpected financial crisis this year: the Trump administration made a number of policy changes and federal funding cuts, which also impacted state funding for the county.
"I think it threw all of us for a loop. It was so unprecedented, so far reaching, and so quick, a lot of us didn't have enough time to think about a response," said Miyasato. "It came in very quickly. We're still adjusting and adapting, and doing the best we can. The state's been helpful, but they've also had to adjust. It's a changed time for everyone, and I don't think we've seen the full impact yet, and we probably won't for months and years to come."
At one point, the county was looking at cutting more than 200 positions for the current fiscal year, many connected to social services and health care programs. But through a lot of reorganization on the county's part, and some unexpected state funding, the number of layoffs was reduced by more than 80%.
"We had over 200 positions we had to reduce. But, out the door, the number of people without jobs is actually 36," said the CEO. "The county really is a county family. All departments looked into their budgets and their operations to see who we could rehire. My department took someone who was laid off. We hope that we don't have to repeat that. We are financially strong in the county and stable, but we are also susceptible to all the changes at the federal and state levels in regards to funding."
She announced her retirement in January, and could have stepped down before a very difficult budget cycle. But Miyasato wanted her successor to be able to start with a clean slate, and have time to prepare for future budget challenges.
"I felt it was time. I didn't want to be here so long that I stayed past my prime," said the CEO. "I still enjoy the work and I'm going to miss the work, but when you get to a point where you no longer have new eyes looking at programs and services, you can't really do a good critique of yourself."
"I'm proud that since I've been here we have become more resilient, not just in our operations on disasters, but financially, organizationally, and operationally. We've modernized our systems, we have a fully funded strategic reserve, we gained a AAA bond rating, and we hired some great people, and have an excellent management team. I'm really proud of that."
During her public service career, Miyasato spent five years working for Marin County and a decade with the city of Santa Monica. She's planning to stay in Santa Barbara County after her retirement.
Santa Barbara County Supervisors selected Jana Peterson as the county's new CEO. She's currently County Administrator for Boulder County, Colorado. What advice does Miyasato have for the new CEO?
"How do you prepare for what's right ahead of us, but also what may be a reality in two, four, five, ten years? That's what's going to be tricky. Know when to lead from the front, know when to lead from behind, and know when to get out of the way. We have a lot of great people here. And we need to recognize sometimes we need to let things be, and sometimes we have to charge ahead," said Miyasato.
