Election 2024

Survey Says ‘Meh’: Santa Barbara County Voters Not in Favor of Tax Hike

Respondents Reject Idea of Putting Sales Tax, Library Tax, or Parcel Tax on November’s Ballot

Buellton is planning to raise its sales tax one percent, said Supervisor Joan Hartmann, who questioned why the county’s should be a percent lower than its cities’, during a discussion to forego a library tax. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

An anticipated boost to library funding will not be coming this year, as a survey asking voters about a sales tax, library tax, or parcel tax got results that ranged from tepid to meh. The County of Santa Barbara had considered a November ballot measure for a potential rise in tax, but the survey results put to rest that idea on Tuesday.

The county’s general sales tax in unincorporated areas is 7.75 percent, compared to about 8.75 percent in the cities, explained Brittany Odermann, deputy CEO for the county. Raising it by one percent could raise $15 million annually, but the survey result was 50/50 for and against.

A special tax just to support libraries requires a two-thirds approval by voters, with the survey results showing a shortfall of 10 percent. The 844 voters interviewed gave the thought of a $60 increase in parcel tax an unequivocal “no.”

Libraries have suffered since about 2010 when the state stopped a historical funding stream in favor of sending the funds to education, causing the county to step in to supplement the monies libraries got from their associated cities. The library funding exercise has been an annual event and will be part of the budget hearings coming up, which include a discussion of $568 million in deferred maintenance in the county’s transportation network, bridges, general services, public works, and parks, as well as increasing costs over the next five years.

The survey results revealed that voters had a focus on homelessness and housing, which Supervisor Joan Hartmann found reinforcing given the county’s considerable investments. She noted that just as residents felt costs rising, for the county, the cost to fix roads was going up 30 percent, and insurance and workforce costs were also rising.

“It’s hitting us, the kinds of inflationary costs we’re seeing elsewhere,” Hartmann said, noting that $15 million is something the county could use to continue the services people expect. “I think we need to revisit this when the times are a little rosier.”