​          Last week the Board of Supervisors considered putting a sales tax increase of 1% on the June 2 statewide primary ballot, but the proposal died when Fourth and Fifth District Supervisors Bob Nelson and Steve Lavaginino did not support the ordinance.  To be implemented the proposal needed the support of four of the five supervisors.  
         Under the County staff recommended proposal, the one-percent increase would add $16 million annually to the County general fund budget and to offset a deficit over five years of $66 million.  If it had been approved, the current sales tax rate of 7.75% would increase to 8.75%.  The tax would apply only to unincorporated areas of the County, including Orcutt, Los Alamos, Santa Ynez, Isla Vista and Montecito.   The money would be applied to county needs allocated countywide, “but paid for by the unincorporated communities, particularly Orcutt residents,” said Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson. “Orcutt residents are already underserved,” he said.    
          Most of the cities in Santa Barbara County, including Santa Maria, already have at least an 8.75% sales tax.      
Steve Southwick reporting