The Carpinteria City Council voted 3-2 to spend $25,000 to survey residents’ attitudes about the quality of service City Hall provides as the first step towards placing an increase in the bed tax on the November ballot. By raising the bed tax from 10 percent to 12 percent — what Santa Barbara charges — council supporters hope to generate an additional $250,000 a year. But councilmembers Joe Armendariz and Kathleen Reddington argued the money could be better spent otherwise. Mayor Al Clark argued a survey was necessary. “I think I know at least half the town,” he said, “but really I know maybe 200 people. For us to go forward, we need a better idea about what the public thinks.”
