Oh, come on now… who could be against a 13% increase in sales tax? 😉We know government is best positioned to spend your money. Especially when more than half goes to salaries which have short and long term costs tied to them: benefits, vacations, colas, retirement benefits…. Never ending!
Numbers tell a pretty clear story. The South Coast population was 132,450 in 2000 and sits at roughly 132,778 in 2026—essentially flat. Adjusting for inflation, $475 million in 2000 equals about $893 million in 2026 dollars (a 1.88× multiplier). Even giving it a generous ±10% range, you end up near $900 million, not $1.7 billion.
Carpinteria + Santa Barbara + Goleta — that’s what’s generally referred to as the South Coast.
The point I’m making is that when you look at those three cities together, the population has been essentially flat since 2000. In fact, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria both saw slight declines, with Goleta’s growth simply offsetting the losses.
So with no meaningful population increase, what justifies such a dramatic rise in spending? That’s the core question.
Thanks for the clarification. I have read that since 1980 the combined population of Santa Barbara and Goleta has increased from 110,000 to 121,000. However, all through Goleta there are seas of apartments where there used to be fields. I never recall traffic to be a problem until a few years ago despite the freeway widening. I know it us my anecdotal experience but it feels as if the population has increased substantially. Is it all commuters?
Great question, Jeff. There isn’t a single unified database that tracks every inbound commuter to the South Coast, but SBCAG’s transportation data and their Housing & Commuting Dashboard get you closest. They track things like workforce inflow/outflow, where people live vs. where they work, and how travel times and mode share have changed over the years.
A related factor is the ongoing 101 Multimodal Corridor Project, which is a major state‑level undertaking. It’s planned and funded by Caltrans, SBCAG, and the California Transportation Commission — not the cities themselves.
So even if commuter inflow has grown — and SBCAG’s data suggests it has — Highway 101 is a state‑maintained facility, and the South Coast population has remained essentially flat. That’s why increased local spending can’t really be justified by population growth, and highway costs aren’t something the cities are responsible for anyway.
Mike, well said and well done. SPending at the county and city are “drunken sailor” out of control as our structural deficits and necessary personnel cuts demonstrate. Our CEO Mona is no fool—time to get out of Dodge:) On a different note—THANK YOU James and Bonnie (you know why!)—I look forward to seeing you, and many other friend's on the Lobero Theatre Esplanade at 6:15 on Thursday before Dan Walters takes the stage at 7PM. Should be fun!
This is an excellent, concise, and very to-the-point article. Like Bonnie Donovan's fiscal reporting on the city I would hope to get informatin like this out to a broader political audience base.
The democrats are the party of tax and spend. It is beyond shocking. I have talked to democrats before about taxes, all I ever hear is they like taxes and think we should pay more. I am one who believes taxation is theft. I truly believe that sales tax...where you are paying tax on money you are spending, that has already been taxed..is double taxation. Property tax..the same...this all needs to go to higher courts for a new ruling
I am afraid if it comes to a vote, Santa Barbara voters will approve a tax increase. Didn't we pass a tax increase in the city up to 9.25% in November 2024? That did not satisfy the little gluttons for long. Audrey II : FEED ME!
Perhaps the way to solve this is what DeSantis is doing in Florida, abolishing the homestead property tax. If you own and occupy your single family home and are a resident of the state, you no longer have to pay property taxes. In effect, you are no longer renting your home from the county and the state. Dry up the revenue stream so the money is not there to fund this outrageous growth in county expenditures.
Once again the issue of when will the SEIU and others recognize their push for increased wages and benefits in excess of the private sector has to end? When will the government workers be handed their pay and told you do your own retirement, medical, and projections?
As the head of another organization I stood before the BOS and stated clearly that the County of SB has not reduced a standing capital improvement bill of 20 years ago. Stating as forcefully as I could the proposed "formula" wage / benefit increases proposed last year was irresponsible. (that includes the Supervisor pay). When you have over $400 Million in projects that has never been paid down there is serious fiscal mismanagement. It means government (in this case the County of Santa Barbara) is broke. That is exactly the statement made.
This lays directly at the feet of the likes of Gregg Hart, Das Williams, Capps, Hartmann, and let's go back a ways and name Schwartz, Carbajal, Rose, Marshall (just a few). Understand both the State of Calif. and the County of Santa Barbara (once again) are BROKE. The checks and floating of money from one department to another shows how uncaring the power brokers have been.
There should be an immediate cessation of grants until a minimum 50% of that $400+ Million is paid down. There should be an immediate halt to every feel good (we care) handout until the organizations that are getting the taxpayers money can PROVE what they are spending on works.
Metrolink bailed on commute work rail because it was and is clear it will not work. That should mean the other decades of failure should also be cancelled (did I mention Amtrak?).
Another TAX INCREASE????? NOT IN THE WORLD OF REALITY. This is not Flat Land (read up if you don't get it).
Ending with a out of control statement from the Left. STOP THE INSANITY.
For decades, SBC has been using the SBC Taxpayer Serfs as their ATMs. The most responsible for this are the multitude of fool voters who continue to vote other fools back to positions of power. This phenomenon is the cause of 99+% of the problems SBC has today.
NEXT WILL COME VAT: Value-Added Tax (VAT) is a broad consumption tax collected at each stage of a product's supply chain, not just at the final sale like a sales tax, with businesses paying tax on the value they add and getting credit for tax paid on inputs, ultimately making the end consumer bear the full tax burden. It's a key revenue source in over 170 countries (not the U.S.), also called a Goods & Services Tax (GST) in some places, and works by taxing the value added at each step (materials, labor, profit).
Fraud. Plain and simple. DOGE THEM!
Happy Birthday, Earl!
Oh, come on now… who could be against a 13% increase in sales tax? 😉We know government is best positioned to spend your money. Especially when more than half goes to salaries which have short and long term costs tied to them: benefits, vacations, colas, retirement benefits…. Never ending!
Numbers tell a pretty clear story. The South Coast population was 132,450 in 2000 and sits at roughly 132,778 in 2026—essentially flat. Adjusting for inflation, $475 million in 2000 equals about $893 million in 2026 dollars (a 1.88× multiplier). Even giving it a generous ±10% range, you end up near $900 million, not $1.7 billion.
What is the south coast vs SB county? Are you talking about the city vs the county? Not sure what your point is. Can you clarify?
Hello Jeff,
Carpinteria + Santa Barbara + Goleta — that’s what’s generally referred to as the South Coast.
The point I’m making is that when you look at those three cities together, the population has been essentially flat since 2000. In fact, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria both saw slight declines, with Goleta’s growth simply offsetting the losses.
So with no meaningful population increase, what justifies such a dramatic rise in spending? That’s the core question.
I hope that helps clarify what I meant.
Thanks for the clarification. I have read that since 1980 the combined population of Santa Barbara and Goleta has increased from 110,000 to 121,000. However, all through Goleta there are seas of apartments where there used to be fields. I never recall traffic to be a problem until a few years ago despite the freeway widening. I know it us my anecdotal experience but it feels as if the population has increased substantially. Is it all commuters?
Great question, Jeff. There isn’t a single unified database that tracks every inbound commuter to the South Coast, but SBCAG’s transportation data and their Housing & Commuting Dashboard get you closest. They track things like workforce inflow/outflow, where people live vs. where they work, and how travel times and mode share have changed over the years.
A related factor is the ongoing 101 Multimodal Corridor Project, which is a major state‑level undertaking. It’s planned and funded by Caltrans, SBCAG, and the California Transportation Commission — not the cities themselves.
So even if commuter inflow has grown — and SBCAG’s data suggests it has — Highway 101 is a state‑maintained facility, and the South Coast population has remained essentially flat. That’s why increased local spending can’t really be justified by population growth, and highway costs aren’t something the cities are responsible for anyway.
Mike, well said and well done. SPending at the county and city are “drunken sailor” out of control as our structural deficits and necessary personnel cuts demonstrate. Our CEO Mona is no fool—time to get out of Dodge:) On a different note—THANK YOU James and Bonnie (you know why!)—I look forward to seeing you, and many other friend's on the Lobero Theatre Esplanade at 6:15 on Thursday before Dan Walters takes the stage at 7PM. Should be fun!
You are insulting the sailor with your analogy, the sailor is spending his own money.
Also, when the sailor runs out of money, the sailor quits spending.
Excellent article and observations - the numbers are clear. As always, the Democrap solution is easy until you run out of other people's money.
This is an excellent, concise, and very to-the-point article. Like Bonnie Donovan's fiscal reporting on the city I would hope to get informatin like this out to a broader political audience base.
The democrats are the party of tax and spend. It is beyond shocking. I have talked to democrats before about taxes, all I ever hear is they like taxes and think we should pay more. I am one who believes taxation is theft. I truly believe that sales tax...where you are paying tax on money you are spending, that has already been taxed..is double taxation. Property tax..the same...this all needs to go to higher courts for a new ruling
I find gift tax to be particularly repulsive.
And here comes the mileage tax, just approved by Cali Dems…on top of the road taxes we pay at the pumps!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpYmO1tuEs
I am afraid if it comes to a vote, Santa Barbara voters will approve a tax increase. Didn't we pass a tax increase in the city up to 9.25% in November 2024? That did not satisfy the little gluttons for long. Audrey II : FEED ME!
The BOS and city Council sure look like plant food to me!
Happy Happy Birthday, Earl!!!
Why can't we have fiscal management?
The numbers are scary, why would you create a budget that you can not fund?
Unacceptable!
We pay too much tax in all of its forms as it is. That is, too much already!
Too many employees being compensated too richly.
Perhaps the way to solve this is what DeSantis is doing in Florida, abolishing the homestead property tax. If you own and occupy your single family home and are a resident of the state, you no longer have to pay property taxes. In effect, you are no longer renting your home from the county and the state. Dry up the revenue stream so the money is not there to fund this outrageous growth in county expenditures.
Once again the issue of when will the SEIU and others recognize their push for increased wages and benefits in excess of the private sector has to end? When will the government workers be handed their pay and told you do your own retirement, medical, and projections?
As the head of another organization I stood before the BOS and stated clearly that the County of SB has not reduced a standing capital improvement bill of 20 years ago. Stating as forcefully as I could the proposed "formula" wage / benefit increases proposed last year was irresponsible. (that includes the Supervisor pay). When you have over $400 Million in projects that has never been paid down there is serious fiscal mismanagement. It means government (in this case the County of Santa Barbara) is broke. That is exactly the statement made.
This lays directly at the feet of the likes of Gregg Hart, Das Williams, Capps, Hartmann, and let's go back a ways and name Schwartz, Carbajal, Rose, Marshall (just a few). Understand both the State of Calif. and the County of Santa Barbara (once again) are BROKE. The checks and floating of money from one department to another shows how uncaring the power brokers have been.
There should be an immediate cessation of grants until a minimum 50% of that $400+ Million is paid down. There should be an immediate halt to every feel good (we care) handout until the organizations that are getting the taxpayers money can PROVE what they are spending on works.
Metrolink bailed on commute work rail because it was and is clear it will not work. That should mean the other decades of failure should also be cancelled (did I mention Amtrak?).
Another TAX INCREASE????? NOT IN THE WORLD OF REALITY. This is not Flat Land (read up if you don't get it).
Ending with a out of control statement from the Left. STOP THE INSANITY.
(grin)
For decades, SBC has been using the SBC Taxpayer Serfs as their ATMs. The most responsible for this are the multitude of fool voters who continue to vote other fools back to positions of power. This phenomenon is the cause of 99+% of the problems SBC has today.
NEXT WILL COME VAT: Value-Added Tax (VAT) is a broad consumption tax collected at each stage of a product's supply chain, not just at the final sale like a sales tax, with businesses paying tax on the value they add and getting credit for tax paid on inputs, ultimately making the end consumer bear the full tax burden. It's a key revenue source in over 170 countries (not the U.S.), also called a Goods & Services Tax (GST) in some places, and works by taxing the value added at each step (materials, labor, profit).