Measure S is a well-intentioned effort to fund Santa Barbara City College for undoubtedly needed improvements. I attended SBCC, along with my wife and children.
I won’t list the benefits of the measure, as I most likely agree with them. What I object to is that the funding falls on the shoulders of property owners.
Property tax increases will be passed along to tenants; no doubt about that. The tenant may be a student. Tenants, rich or poor, will be the ones paying for this measure if passed. Has a study been done on the impact this will have on all renters? If the measure is passed, it may have unintended consequences.
Let’s just guess that the mean assessed value of properties in Santa Barbara is $300,000; that translates to about $50 per property. Someone has to pay for it, and this someone will be the tenant who, in this town, is being bled as a result of our local pecuniary metrics.
Perhaps a Santa Barbara city sales tax for SBCC might be a more democratic manner to fund this measure. That way everyone pays, not just the property owner and ultimately the tenant.