With a tax bump to consider on the Nov. 3 ballot, Santa Maria’s registered voters will determine the fate of some local playgrounds, pickleball courts, and public pools, according to City Manager David Rowlands.
“These are all quality-of-life items, … services that are at risk due to the ongoing budget pressures,” Rowlands told attendees of Santa Maria’s State of the City conference on Oct. 13. “Measure C is asking voters to approve a half-cent local sales tax, … projected to generate approximately $13 million per year.”
The city council voted 5-0 in late June to add Measure C to the ballot. Earlier that month, the city received more than a 100 letters from residents opposing a proposal to close the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center for six months out of the year—as a way to reduce city spending in fiscal years 2026-28 amid a projected $18 million budget deficit.
As part of his State of the City address, Rowlands said that “major rehabilitation” and repair work at the aquatic center were among the city projects where Measure C funding is most needed, along with improvements to the Minami Community Center and other city-run recreational facilities.
“We’re talking new roofs, HVAC units, exterior and interior lighting, new flooring,” Rowlands listed, “replacing pool heaters, modernizing the electrical systems, resurfacing asphalt parking lots.”
If approved, the ballot measure would amount to an extra 5 cents on top of $10 taxable purchases, or 50 cents per $100 taxable purchase within city limits. Rowlands emphasized that the extra revenue would stay local, something more than 300 surveyed residents said could sway them to vote yes, according to a Measure C survey conducted in May.
“There’ll be local control. The revenue will remain in Santa Maria, and funds cannot be taken away by the state,” Rowlands said. “And non-residents who shop in Santa Maria would also pay.
“Measure C is not a substitute for sound fiscal management,” he added. “It does not mean giving the city a blank check. It cannot replace careful budgeting, accountability, or long-term planning. If approved, it will be accompanied by transparency. We’ll have to have an annual spending plan, public reporting of our expenditures, oversight, … independent audits.”
If enacted by city voters, consumer products that won’t be impacted by the tax include prescription medications, feminine hygiene products, and groceries.
Mayor Alice Patino and her four peers on the council endorsed the measure, along with the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, Central Coast Labor Council, Santa Maria Police Officers Association, and Vernon Construction Inc.—the contractor behind some of the downtown area’s largest incoming housing and mixed-use projects.
“Ultimately, success is not measured by simply how much we build, but the quality of life we create,” Patino said at the Oct. 13 conference. “We have a community of people capable of meeting the moment.”
This article appears in October 22 – October 29, 2026.
