Grand Jury Report Finds City of Santa Barbara’s Service Request System Lacks Transparency and Accountability

The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury has released a report critical of SB Connect, the City of Santa Barbara’s primary platform for residents to report non-emergency issues and service requests, citing concerns about usability, transparency, and accountability.

The report, titled “From Complaint to Closure: Gaps in the City of Santa Barbara’s Service Request Process,” examined whether the platform is meeting the City’s stated goals of simplifying issue reporting, providing accurate status tracking, and improving visibility into City responses.

According to the Grand Jury’s findings, residents often face unnecessary complexity when attempting to submit requests, with some common requests requiring approximately 15 separate steps from start to submission.

The report also found that residents are not consistently provided meaningful information about whether reported issues were actually resolved before requests are marked as closed.

“SB Connect has the potential to improve how residents interact with City government, but meaningful improvements are needed to ensure the system delivers the transparency, responsiveness, and accountability residents would reasonably expect from a modern public service platform,” the Grand Jury concluded.

Additional Findings

The investigation revealed several other concerns, including:

• Limited transparency regarding which City department is responsible for handling requests
• Inconsistent routing for Spanish-speaking residents on City web pages
• The absence of a single clearly accountable City staff member with authority to improve workflows and policies across departments

The Grand Jury reviewed City documentation, conducted hands-on testing of SB Connect, analyzed 2025 service request data, and interviewed staff from multiple City departments as part of its investigation.

Recommendations

The report offers several recommendations intended to improve resident experience and public confidence in the service request process:

• Simplifying the process for submitting requests
• Improving status updates and closure practices
• Providing a clearly visible phone support option
• Aligning Spanish-language navigation with English-language service request pathways
• Assigning a single City official responsible for SB Connect governance and improvements
• Establishing recurring public meetings and resident feedback surveys regarding future SB Connect improvements

The City of Santa Barbara is required to respond to the Grand Jury’s findings and recommendations.

The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury consists of 19 volunteers from across the County who serve one-year terms. The Grand Jury is a division of the Superior Court that provides oversight of government agencies, cities, and districts throughout Santa Barbara County. The full report can be read at sbcgj.org.