Local Decisions for Goleta on the 2022 Ballot

Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.

Voters in the City of Goleta will have a number of local decisions to make on the upcoming November 8, 2022, Ballot. Last night, June 21, 2022, the Goleta City Council approved putting before voters the election of two City Council seats, a flavored tobacco ban ordinance and a 1% Sales and Transaction Use tax measure. 

The upcoming election is a historic one for the City as it is the first by-district election in the City’s 20-year history. The City is divided into four districts and on November 8, 2022, voters in Districts 1 and 2 will elect a Council representative. The Councilmembers will serve four-year terms expiring November 2026. The candidate filing period for the two City Council seats will be July 18, 2022, to August 12, 2022. 

Voters will also consider an ordinance banning the sales of flavored tobacco. While the City Council adopted an ordinance banning the sales of flavored tobacco in October 2021, a referendum petition against the ordinance was later submitted to the City Clerk’s Office. As a result, the issue will now go to the voters for consideration.

Also on the ballot, voters will consider an 1% (or 1¢ per dollar) Sales and Transaction Use Tax measure. After significant research, resident polling, and community engagement, the City Council voted in favor of letting voters decide on whether to increase Goleta’s Transaction and Use Tax by 1% to provide approximately $10.6 million annually in additional revenues to complete important unfunded projects, make repairs to aging streets and infrastructure, and fund the community’s priority programs. The increase would go into effect in January 2024. 

For more information, please reference the staff report at https://tinyurl.com/rr28zsk7 or watch a recording of the meeting here: https://tinyurl.com/2y28bvsz.