Lompoc City Council members took the next step toward placing a half percent special sales tax measure dedicated to road and sidewalk maintenance on the ballot. The decision was informed by the city’s first FlashVote survey that asked respondents about city improvements and the tax measure.
On Jan. 6, the council voted 3-2 to move forward with a special tax measure, rather than a general one, which will be drafted and reviewed at the Jan. 20 meeting. If passed by the council and approved by enough voters, Lompoc could see an annual revenue of $3.75 million. The half percent would push Lompoc up to 9.25 percent sales tax.
“I’m going to support putting a special tax, key emphasis on special,” Councilmember Dirk Starbuck said at the meeting. “The competence of a government to spend tax money is very questionable with many. But with a special tax, it takes any questions out of what we can do with it.”
Councilmember Jeremy Ball countered with the idea for a general tax in hopes of increasing the measure’s success on the ballot. A special tax requires approval from 66 percent of voters, whereas a general tax only requires 50 percent plus one. Ball said the council could still spend general tax money on road maintenance.
“It’s hard to pass a tax in general. It’s definitely hard to pass a special tax [that] requires such a high threshold,” Ball said. “From my perspective, I’d be open to a discussion about a general tax because I believe that gives council—the current council and future council—flexibility to address the issues that arise at that time.”
If Lompoc doesn’t pass a tax measure, Santa Barbara County could put one on the ballot, and in that case, the county would decide how to spend the funds instead of the city.
Joining Ball in dissent, Councilmember Victor Vega pointed out the cost to put a measure before voters. It would cost $60,000 from the general fund to put a measure on the June ballot and $39,000 to put it on the November ballot, according to the staff report.
The tax would help repair Lompoc’s streets and sidewalks, one of the issues that constituents reported as most important in FlashVote survey responses. A total of 206 respondents completed the survey, which was open from Dec. 17 to 19, according to the staff report.
In the survey, 78 percent of respondents said they would rather see the city, instead of the county, decide how to spend the half percent sales tax.
Locals can sign up for FlashVote by visiting flashvote.com/lompoc and choose whether they want to respond via email, text message, or phone call. Responses are anonymous.
The special tax ballot initiative will require four out of five votes from City Council members at the Jan. 20 meeting.
This article appears in January 15 – January 22, 2026.