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San Diego voters will rebel against new fees and tax increases

The city and the county of San Diego have large budget deficits, brought on by years of spending beyond their means — and now officials at both entities are looking for ways to raise taxes.

Residents have had enough.

We understand that tax dollars fund streets and highways; schools and libraries; and police and firefighters.

Nonetheless, it is quite reasonable for us to expect that our tax dollars are spent wisely, and that government will cut unnecessary spending before asking us for more money.

Sadly, here in San Diego the city has hired more than 1,000 new employees over the last five years, many of them middle managers who do not perform core services. 

The city also doled out 23 percent raises to city workers during the pandemic, using one-time federal relief money, despite not having the money to pay for those raises after those federal funds were gone.

The city’s plan to pay for those raises was to pass a sales tax increase in 2024, but voters had a different idea. San Diego’s Measure E sales tax increase failed, despite several other similar tax measures in cities throughout the county winning voter approval. 

The reason? I believe voters trusted the leaders of those other cities to be responsible stewards of the new tax dollars, and that the issues those voters cared about most — primarily infrastructure and public safety — were worth the additional investment. 

San Diego voters didn’t trust City Hall to spend the new sales tax money wisely, because they didn’t believe city officials were wisely spending the money they already had.

Fast-forward to the present day. City leaders are reportedly planning to put another sales tax increase on the ballot this year. The question is whether voters will trust them this time more than they did two years ago. Early indications are that we will not.

So far, city officials have tried to plug budget holes with fee increases, including two that have proven extremely unpopular with San Diegans. 

The first is a trash collection fee authorized in 2022. Voters were told it would be roughly $23 to $29 per month. However, it will soon be nearly double that amount.

The second fee increase is a pay-to-park system in Balboa Park, the city’s century-old crown jewel. 

Parking has been free in Balboa Park since the day it opened in 1915. Residents and tourists alike flock to the park to enjoy the dozens of museums and cultural institutions, and it has been a relatively low-cost hub of recreation and learning for over a century. 

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This year, city officials decided to implement a convoluted pay-for-parking system at the park that charges residents and nonresidents different rates. 

Even worse, many residents (including this one) have found that the online resident permit processing portal does a great job of charging your credit card for the permit fee, but a lousy job of actually issuing the permit.

Under intense pressure from residents, city officials finally rolled out a new plan where some of the less desirable parking lots will be free to residents, while lots closer to the attractions will still require payment. 

That is, if San Diegans can actually get a resident permit from the city. If not, they’ll pay the same rate as out-of-towners.

When new fees are implemented while hundreds of new middle management positions are left untouched, voters have every right to be skeptical of city officials asking for more money. 

For its part, the county of San Diego is also reportedly eyeing its own tax measures this year, including a potential sales tax increase, a property transfer tax hike, and a brand-new payroll tax.

To be clear, all these measures certainly won’t be on the same ballot, and some may never qualify.

However, when officials at any level of government ask for tax increases before demonstrating that they are wisely spending the money with which they have already been entrusted, they should not be surprised when voters decline the invitation.

We voters are reasonable people who will support tax measures that go toward specific purposes we value — if the need, and fiscal discipline, can be demonstrated.

Our leaders have not met that basic responsibility.

Mark Kersey is a former two-term San Diego city councilman and is the current president & CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.

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