Measure B for Financial Balance

Does it make sense that the City of Goleta has the lowest sales tax in the county, when we are a destination for shoppers from all over? Don’t we need to build and maintain infrastructure to serve all those people, plus our own growing population?

Measure B, which will be on the November ballot, is the best way to restore Goleta’s financial balance. It would raise the city’s sales tax by only one percent, bringing it up to the same level as Lompoc, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria. Measure B would add only 50 cents to a $50 meal!

Measure B would be heavily funded by non-resident shoppers. It would not raise taxes on medication, gas, or groceries, so that lower income shoppers are not pinched where it would hurt. It would replace some of the money we have to give to the county from our sales and property taxes (part of the deal that let us split off and incorporate as our own city). And it will not go into effect until 2024, when the economy will likely have improved.

Whether or not we like how Goleta has grown, that growth has had a huge impact and imposed huge costs. We need funding to pay for road maintenance, public safety (police and fire), homelessness, bikes and pedestrian walkways, parks, and a clean and healthy environment.

I’ll be voting for Measure B when my ballot comes. Look for it at the bottom of your ballot. I hope you’ll do the same.