AnonymousSource: City Of Santa Barbara
Sales Tax Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2018
Santa Barbara received $6.78 million in sales tax revenues during the quarter ended September 30, 2018. This includes approximately $1 million in late payments from the state that relate to last fiscal year. A new software system implementation at the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration—the state agency which oversees the sales tax program— has caused delays in processing returns since May of this year. Correcting for these delays, the amount of sales tax revenue actually generated is closer to $5.67 million, which is about 2% above the same quarter last year.
As the second largest General Fund revenue, the sales tax budget for the fiscal year is $22,276,000. Sales tax results for the December quarter will be available in February 2019.
For additional information on recent sales tax results, click here.
Transient Occupancy Tax Revenues for October 2018
The City of Santa Barbara collected approximately $1.63 million in transient occupancy taxes (TOT) for October 2018, which is 5.3% below October of last year, primarily due to a general decline in hotel occupancies.
The City has collected approximately $8 million in TOT revenues through the first four months of this fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. The City’s adopted TOT budget is $19,605,700.
The Transient Occupancy Tax table can be viewed here.
Yes, tourism is down because the driving force of tourism are millennials (see Forbes, BBC, GlobalBlue) who turn to the mobile to find their next destination. And app #1 for their search is AirBnB. If your city is not on AirBnB’s platform, you are not in the millennial’s destination plans. Put STRs in SB and you’ll put millennial tourists in SB and you’ll save State St. Simple as that. – AB
All I know is that SB gets less sales tax from me. When they implemented a sales tax increase I decided to do my shopping in Goleta. Often better prices out there anyhow.
Factotum, re read the article. The sales tax revenues went up by 2%. 1% of that is due to the increase in the rate, the other 1% is due to increased sales. The TOT is tracking with budget projections. The city is doing just fine and the sky is not falling Mr. Little.
Mas G, Look at the revenue charts also presented over time, not just this one quarter and realize the devastation this city was facing last year before you conclude a minor quarterly increases over last year will fund the magnitude of the city’s continued and irresponsible spending patterns.
Goleta has an extremely bright future. They’ve learned many of the “not to do” lessons from Santa Barbara. They’ve put up several higher-end brand hotels: Hilton, Courtyard, Marriott, and have renovated a few in the Calle Real “corridor.” They are the cusp of really breaking through as their own destination, without the Santa Barbara “piggy-back” overflow effect. National store brands are coming in folks, and that means only one thing for Goleta: $$Ka-Ching-a-ling-a-ling$$. My cousin in Salinas could not believe what she saw in downtown SB when she was visiting for Thanksgiving. To use her words, she was “sickened by the filth, stench, and empty businesses.” Maybe it’s time SB start taking a look at what the City of Goleta is doing so well.
State St is sinking.
STRs would save it.
Remove the ban.
City workers were just handed a 2% raise – while city revenues are declining. Their ace in the whole is the automatic 2% increase in property taxes to fund these continued employee raises and benefits. This also means this raise will cannibalize any new Measure C taxes that were promised to be spent on capital improvements and infrastructure. Nope, now the city employees get first dibs, just as opponents to Measure C warned. Property sales are flattening too so without the automatic 2% increase, this would be a declining revenue source too. The city voters finally ate all their seed corn, electing one to many tax and spend city councils.
Read the handwriting on the wall – tourism is down so even STR cannot save this town. Uncontrolled vagrancy blight destroyed one more critical sector of the local economy.
Look at Portland and San Francisco for what is going to be Santa Barbara’s future with the way they handle vagrants over tourism … The “occupancy rate for shelters, trailers and sidewalks is increasing ten fold- The word is out! Not to mention all the “trimmers” that will be converging on Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County for the harvesting of pot… They will soon be arriving in their trashed R.V.’s in a neighborhood near you.
Time for vagrants to move on to Goleta, because things have dried up for them in downtown Santa Barbara.
This comment exemplifies the Millennial Gen. They think everything is about them. I wonder where they learned that? Could it be their helicopter parents the Me Me MEEEE generation that carefully wrapped them all in bubblewrap, made sure they were always protected while awarding them trophy’s just for showing up. Nah, that cant be…
Dont try and talk figures with the city’s own Factotum. They are not capable of seeing the forest from the floor and simply parrot their bosses. And why not? They’re all guaranteed jobs and pensions for life… as long as they dont rock the boat or do some basic math…
@SBOBSERVER I am defending the facts. Have you ever actually taken the time to read the audited finacial statements for the City? I am guessing no. Here is a highlight from the one for the fiscal year ending June 30th 2018. “The City of Santa Barbara’s net position (assests and deferred outflows minus liabilities and deferred inflows) totaled $787million a net increase of about $12 million.” Here is a link to years of audited financial reports:
https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/finance/budget/cafr.asp
Is that too much reality for you?
@ Factotum City revenues are not declining they are rising. Take a look at the financial statements.
Until the city starts cutting expenditures, staff and stops using unrealistic (best case possible) revenue projections, we’re going to remain on a sliding path to bankruptcy and tax increases. Even the best projections are showing a minor slow down in the economy next year. Add the flat and in many cases dropping property tax revenue and we’re staring a major financial problem right in the face. But dont worry, Mayor Murillo is the most successful, experienced, capable and intelligent mayor we’ve ever had so she’ll grow us right out of this mess with her magic beans… Or more likely, she’ll accelerate the entire thing with her total lack of know-how or fiscal stewardship by spending more and more of our funds on useless consultants and pet-projects. Aren’t we lucky to live in such a well run city?
Sorry no sale Mr. Little. The city is in very sound fiscal health. The numbers do not lie.
@Santabarbaraobserver. You are not very good at observations. The vast majority of Santa Barbara City workers are part time (by design) and they get very few benefits. But hey do not let the facts get in the way of your feelings.
No idea what you’re defending Mas, but it seems that you are not very good with math. But hey, as long as you “feel” that the city is in good shape financially, it must be… Never mind the fact that the words “vast (and) majority” have actual, literal meanings… Is this like the POTUS who feels that global warming is a hoax regardless of the actual data? What a time to be alive! Up is down, down is up and to heck with facts and figures, I go with my feelings!