Op-Ed: Support Goleta’s Measure B

By Cheryl Rogers of Goleta

I write in support of Goleta’s Measure B which if approved would increase our sales tax by 1% or a penny on the dollar to renovate the 100 year old Community Center and to improve roads and other infrastructure.  I realize that due to a 100-year Pandemic economic slowdown we are facing increased prices which has put pressure on everyone’s budget, but this minor request to increase the sales tax would help with the Goleta budget.

Goleta is a very young city but is catching up with larger cities in the 20 years that they have been in existence; and this is in spite of having to enter an agreement to send one-third of our sales tax and 50 percent of our property tax each year to send to the County.

Goleta has made great progress in setting aside recreational land such as Los Carneros Park and the monarch butterfly preserve.  In spite of these successes the city has additional needs such as making road improvements, addressing  local crime and supporting the firefighting budget.

I moved to Goleta in 2015 to a senior complex to live out my remaining years where I have rarely had trouble finding a place to park and where I could walk to the grocery store, the bank, the hardware store, and the library. Although I am happy here in Goleta I can see that the city needs to improve its infrastructure in order to serve the many people who vacation and shop here at our Marketplace and beyond.

Please vote for Measure B!


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    • Uh, did you know or just fail to mention that if Measure B passes, it won’t go into effect for over a year? Yes, that’s right. The council recognized that we’re recovering from an economic downturn and inflation is up. So that is why Measure B won’t affect our lowest in the county sales tax of 7.75% until January of 2024. By then it’s expected that inflation will be down.
      I hope that addresses your concerns.

  1. If the the city is going to continue to fund projects like reconfiguring Old Town Goleta so that it will not longer be the third route to get out of town in the case of an emergency, will cut into Old Town businesses and screw up delivery trucks, and all the auxiliary problems associated it, they need less money and fewer employees that justify their existence by coming up with boondoogles and destructive projects, small issues to “solve” badly.

  2. Are people choosing to ignore what runaway inflation can do? Denying the cost shifts taking place? Has anyone listened to the Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell and heard him speak literally that his mandate is to cause unemployment to contain price drift? To reduce demand which means jobs and businesses? Did Covid lockdown consequences just fade from people’s minds? It was 2 years of “non essential” businesses getting kicked in the teeth but, okay, all is good? Are we really going to pretend that online shopping hasn’t mostly gutted local business opportunities? But we now want to raise expenses? What about non local private equity investment firms who’ve turned local commercial real estate into passive income siphons draining replenishment dollars from our community. Do we really, collectively, not get this burdens the health of the community? Once upon a time you could open a stationery store, a vacuum repair store, a liquor store and put your kids through college locally and thus recirculate dollars back into the community. Heck, you might even sponsor a local girls soccer team. But now? Who cares! Just create an ever expanding and bloated city government that by design wants to over think everything and continuously charge more. And lets not forget the lack of affordability for kids to even rent a house let alone buy one. Please. Somehow, someway, find at least a modicum of conservative fiscal behavior and vote no on any new taxes.

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