Haney Hong looks at the potential November ballot in San Diego County with a sense of awe and considerable concern.
The president and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association said 12 municipal tax measures and 19 school bonds may go before voters across various local jurisdictions, so far. Only one of the proposals will be on the countywide ballot — a half-cent sales tax proposal for transit-oriented transportation projects.
So, while the overall scope may seem daunting, that probably won’t be the case for most individual voters, who may face the transit tax and maybe a city and/or school board proposal.
The exact number of ballot measures won’t be determined for several weeks, after boards and councils finalize their plans and the county Registrar of Voters determines whether initiatives qualify for the ballot.
But it will be a lot, and Hong sees a disconcerting trend.
“In my nine years here, we’ve never had this many propositions in one election,” he said in an interview, referring to his time as head of the association. “Something that concerns me is there are a lot of organizations struggling to do what their mission is.
“. . . The costs of doing business goes up and up and up and the tax base can’t keep up. This is not sustainable.”
The association is nonpartisan and may be the only local organization that analyzes all such local tax measures. (Reminder: Most school bond issues typically are paid off with property taxes.)
The organization for some time has had a right-leaning image, but Hong noted the association has ed more tax increases or extensions and bonds than not during his time at the helm.
“The association is not anti-tax or pro-tax,” he said. “We’re about performance and getting return on taxpayer dollars.”
So far, the association has taken positions on nine of the current ballot measures, with the rest to come at the end of this month or in August. The organization is ing six (two with conditions) and opposing three.
One of the key functions of government is to determine what level of services to provide — for public safety, libraries, parks, etc. — and how to pay for them. Elected officials, often at the behest of their constituents and interest groups, tend to want to expand or at least maintain the former and keep a lid on the latter.
A factor of this push-pull is the pressure to increase salaries, Hong said, particularly for teachers and police officers.
All of this often results in what universally is called a “structural deficit” — spending more than the revenue coming in. Officials vow to correct this, but as the plethora of ballot issues suggest, that’s easier said than done.
The taxpayers association uses numerous criteria to determine whether it will a tax measure. Addressing structural deficits is one of them, along with considering “past performance and management’s future intentions.”
Take the Chula Vista proposal to extend its Measure P half-cent sales tax approved in 2016. With no further action, the tax sunsets in 2027. The association ed the extension in part because it expires in 2037, giving voters a chance to determine whether the city has lived up to its goal of getting on sound fiscal footing. The association believes the city is on the right road.
“Chula Vista is one of the better run cities in our region,” Hong said in an earlier statement.
“Chula Vista also promised that this is it,” Mike McLaughlin, board chairman of the taxpayer group said in a statement. “This extension is the last ask of taxpayers, a bridge to Chula Vista’s fiscal stability and long-term structural soundness.”
Then, in an unmistakable dig, McLaughlin added, “We wish we heard this promise from other cities, especially San Diego.”
Whether that foreshadows a thumbs-down for two prospective city of San Diego measures remains to be seen. One is a proposed 1-cent tax increase for general city operations. Because that’s not a specifically targeted tax increase, it would require a simple majority of city voters. The other is a parcel tax to fund flood-control projects, which would require a two-thirds vote, or 55 percent if a state measure lowering the threshold es in November.
In addition to the Chula Vista measure, the association is a ing sales tax measure in Escondido and bonds in the Cajon Valley Union, Santee, Ramona Unified and Valley Center-Pauma Unified school districts.
The group opposed a National City parcel tax and a Santee city sales tax spearheaded by the municipal firefighters union to bolster firefighting services.
The association said the National City proposal aimed at street and park improvements “is highly arbitrary in what parcel taxes are charged to what types of property owners” and lacks an analytical basis. The group said it appreciates the Santee firefighters’ work, but that tax and facilities decisions should be shaped by city management and elected officials.
That was similar to part of the reason the association opposed the half-cent transit tax, an initiative largely championed by labor and environmental groups. The taxpayers association expressed concern about a lack of input from the San Diego Association of Governments, the regional planning group that focuses on transportation.
However, SANDAG’s direct involvement would have meant the tax would need approval from a supermajority of voters, rather than the simple majority because it’s a citizen’s initiative. Regardless, some of SANDAG’s plans are incorporated into the initiative.
But Hong also expressed concern that the initiative represents “ballot-box budgeting” by listing specific projects for funding.
How much influence the taxpayers association has on voters is debatable, but its positions often are highlighted in campaigns.
As part of a long-term solution, Hong suggested “reducing the number of local governments or consolidating functions regionally might reduce the strain on taxpayers and keep money in peoples’ pockets.”
That’s also easier said than done.
