Last night, the SLO City Council placed a sales tax increase on the November ballot, joining Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay and Paso Robles in asking voters to increase sales tax to 8.75% — the same rate as Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.

Since March — through task force meetings, board and executive discussions, and countless conversations with more than 80 of our volunteer advisors — the Chamber has continued to engage in this discussion, explore the future we envision for this city, and determine what it will take to get there.

The most promising sign is that 38% of businesses reported being able to open in some fashion, a more than 17 point jump from May. Along similar lines, there was a 9 point increase in ‘fully opened’ businesses a jump from 3% to 12%.

While more than 38% of respondents would describe current conditions for their business as fair, 33% described conditions as good or excellent, more than 15 points up from May’s survey and 4 points from those that described conditions as poor or catastrophic.

In May, the SLO City Council created brand new opportunities for businesses throughout the city to utilize outdoor space in a way we have never been able to before. Like so many others, our community is looking at indoor space in a new way — and this outdoor flexibility will allow businesses to activate their parking lots and City streets to adapt to our COVID-19 realities and keep employees and customers safe.