The City of Santa Barbara recently unveiled a new app called S.B. Connect, a bilingual phone application aimed at connecting the Santa Barbara community to the services and departments they need.
S.B. Connect is available for download for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and is described in the city’s announcement as “an innovative mobile application designed to revolutionize the way residents engage with their local government.”
The app interface is neat and well organized, and upon opening the app, easily accessible and functional links provide information on a number of categories, including upcoming and past City Council meetings, the Santa Barbara Public Library, events, and area news.
“I am really excited that the city has finally launched the long-awaited app that will make it easier than ever for our residents to get in contact with their city officials,” said Santa Barbara City Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez, who has been pushing for the app since 2018.
The city intends for S.B. Connect to serve as a one-stop shop for paying water bills and applying for permits for special events, waterfront business activities, and even sidewalk vending. It also provides extensive information about city government employment opportunities and lays out steps to apply for careers, hourly and temporary jobs, and volunteer opportunities.
Additionally, S.B. Connect allows users to create accounts or remain anonymous to post requests publicly for city officials to receive and direct to specific departments to address the necessary community services. These services include mitigating fire prevention, raising concern about neighborhood nuisances or homeless issues, seeking water and sewer services, or posting comments about City Council meetings. Users can track the progress of their report in English or Spanish from the “comfort of their smartphones or tablets,” the statement reads.
While most of the community requests in the app’s inaugural week have reported illegal dumping on sidewalks and streets or raised issues of homeless encampments in public areas and near schools, the city intends for reports to cover a wide variety of categories.
However, S.B. Connect does not replace existing emergency services such as the Santa Barbara Fire or Police Departments, and the city maintains that 9-1-1 should always be dialed in case of an emergency.
“This is an exciting step as we continue to modernize our processes into the future,” said Justin Cure, the city’s information technology director, who added that the the app’s conception is a step toward government modernization as the City of Santa Barbara plans for S.B. Connect to make crucial services more readily available to address the community’s needs.
