Santa Barbara News

SANTA BARBARA –Santa Bar­bara offi­cials are mov­ing toward a sales-tax increase as their pri­mary tool in address­ing the city’s mount­ing infra­struc­ture needs.  On Tues­day, the City Coun­cil got the ball rolling by vot­ing to nego­ti­ate a con­tract with a polling firm to con­duct a sur­vey and con­vene focus groups.

The city will likely begin gaug­ing pub­lic opin­ion next month on the nature of a sales-tax increase that, depend­ing on the amount, would help fund main­te­nance needs for streets, side­walks, ...