The Santa Barbara City Council has approved the interim city administrator’s appointment of Justin Cure as the city’s inaugural information technology director.

Cure comes to Santa Barbara from Longview, Texas, where he has served as the director of information services the past two years, managing a team of 18 and providing services to a neighboring community. Cure worked his way up through the ranks, starting as a Geographic Information System technician.

He has been instrumental in leading the department in modernization and streamlining functions, including creating the first Information Technology (IT) strategic plan, and implementing several enterprise-wide technology platforms. Cure has a bachelor of science degree in geography from Stephen F. Austin State University, and has a number of technical certifications in his field.

Although the city has long had an Information Technology Division within its administrative services group, the council approved the creation of an Information Technology Department in 2020. The position was not filled during the past year because of the economic impacts of the pandemic.

Having the IT function become a department recognizes the integral role information technology plays in the city’s workplace, and allows the city to continue to improve its systems to more effectively and efficiently provide services and increase communication and transparency to the public.

“It is a great honor and a privilege to be named Santa Barbara’s first IT director. I look forward to serving the citizens of such a beautiful community,” Cure said.

“I am very excited to welcome Justin to the city’s team and looking forward to continuing to improve our IT platforms for our residents, visitors, and employees,” said Interim City Administrator Rebecca Bjork.