Santa Barbara City Council Finalizes Priority List for Sales Tax Ballot Measure

Though Measure I will appear on Santa Barbara ballots as a half-percent sales tax the city expects will raise $15.6 million to cover a $7.1 million hole in the current budget, what consumed the discussion on Tuesday afternoon was the order of the list of priorities, or whether there was one, actually.

What will appear on the ballot is a sentence listing eight categories the additional tax would fund, but what appeared in the staff report was this bulleted list:

∙ Maintaining 9-1-1 emergency fire, paramedic, and police response
∙ Making contributions to the City’s Local Housing Trust Fund, improving housing affordability, and addressing homelessness
∙ Keeping local fire stations open
∙ Maintaining library services
∙ Keeping public areas and parks safe and clean
∙ Stormwater protection
∙ Improving natural disaster preparedness
∙ Retaining local businesses and jobs




https://www.independent.com/2024/08/27/santa-barbara-city-council-finalizes-priority-list-for-sales-tax-ballot-measure/