Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
• 2025-2026
Gaps in the City of Santa Barbara’s Service Request Process
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 5 findings
F1
It is too difficult to find SB Connect on the City of Santa Barbara (City) website to create and complete a request.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1a
The Grand Jury recommends that the City add a direct link to the “Create a Request” page on SB Connect on the City website home page.
R1b
The Grand Jury recommends that the City reduce the number of required fields in SB Connect service request submissions.
R1c
The Grand Jury recommends that the City provide a clearly visible phone number for residents who need assistance submitting a request, obtaining status, or resolving problems that cannot be handled through SB Connect alone.
F2
Although the City promised to provide accurate, real-time tracking of service requests from submission through closure, the City has not done so.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2a
The Grand Jury recommends that the City provide accurate status from submission through closure of all service requests, with an update by City staff within two business days of being opened.
R2b
The Grand Jury recommends that the City not close service requests before they are actually resolved.
F3
Although SB Connect has a Spanish language version, the City website does not consistently send Spanish-speaking residents to SB Connect for service requests.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Grand Jury recommends that the City add links to SB Connect (Spanish version) from the Spanish-language Contacto page and from Spanish-language Reporte/Queja navigation paths so that Spanish-language navigation matches English- language navigation.
F4
There is no single, clearly accountable person within City staff with authority to drive workflow and policy changes for SB Connect across departments.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Council assign a single person who is responsible for SB Connect and empowered to drive process and protocol changes across departments for a better and consistent user experience.
F5
There is no recurring, public process for the community to help understand and prioritize planned SB Connect improvements.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5a
The Grand Jury recommends that the City host a public meeting, at least annually, at which the City presents a roadmap of planned updates and receives public input. These meetings are to continue for at least two years.
R5b
The Grand Jury recommends that the City send a follow-up user experience survey to each resident that submits a service request.
No Responses Found 1
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Santa Barbara
City
In the News 1
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