SD Taxpayers

The Council will vote on the Fiscal Year 2027 Salary Ordinance (which sets the pay of city employees) at its Monday meeting. Even though the city recently approved pay increases for city employees, (which will contribute to the pension deficit in future years) the staff report only notes that the “approval of the Salary Ordinance is required under the City’s Charter as part of the annual budget process“ and does not quantify the long term cost of the raises. inewsource.org/2026/05/13/san… sandiego.hylandcloud.com/211agendaonlin…

The creation of independent budget analysts or auditors included in the 'reforms' on track for the November ballot may individually promote transparency and accountability. However, on balance the ballot measure is a step backwards for good government. #SanDiego County Supervisor Jim Desmond "obliterated the claim that the ethics commission it would create would be a genuine check on county leaders. He noted that all seven commissioners would either be picked by individual supervisors or by the county counsel, who is appointed by supervisors. “'To me, that does not sound independent at all" sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/05/15/cou…

"The unsheltered population, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, did not decrease across (#SanDiego) since the implementation of the (Unsafe Camping) Ordinance." sandiego.gov/sites/default/…

The mayor took a small step towards meeting the recommendations in the May 2026 'Brush Management on Private Property' audit by restoring a Biologist position to "assist in enabling compliance with audit recommendations" in the May Revision to the 2027 draft budget, but more progress needs to be made. Wildfire mitigation is one of the most cost effective line items in the #SanDiego budget. sandiego.gov/sites/default/… sandiego.gov/sites/default/…

"Remember the city’s 2016 acquisition of an uninhabitable Ash Street office tower? Or elected leaders’ disastrous moves beginning in 1996 to underfund city pensions? Measure A, which goes before San Diego voters in the June 2 election, continues City Hall’s appalling tradition of rushing into decisions without anything resembling due diligence." The #SanDiego Union Tribune editorial board neglected to include 'paid parking at Balboa Park that's causing museum attendance to plummet' and a 'trash collection fee more than twice as high as initial estimates' to its list of appalling decisions made by elected leaders without due diligence. sdcta.org/policy-reports… sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/05/15/no-…

“Employees in two (#SanDiego) county labor unions will get a chance to seek pay increases if a proposed sales tax hike championed by the county’s largest union prevails in November.“ voiceofsandiego.org/2026/05/14/two…

#Oakland’s experience with an empty homes tax does not support #SanDiego’s Measure A (the Non-Primary Homes Tax). “When passed, (the empty homes tax) was projected to raise $6.6 million to $10.6 million per year. From 2019 to 2023, it raised around $30 million, or $6 million a year on average. Around 33% of those bills were not paid, making those homes subject to tax liens.” The story fails to state the net revenue from the tax after collection costs are backed out. Nor does it mention the costs (and social impact) of enforcing the liens against the homeowners unable to pay the tax. The empty homes tax doesn’t work in Oakland, and it won’t work in San Diego Vote NO on Measure A. sdcta.org/policy-reports… @StopMeasureA_SD #NoOnA sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/05/14/tay…

Note that this measure will only appear on ballots in Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Vista.

Not every Measure on your 2026 ballot is an ill-considered tax increase. Measure H / Sharp Healthcare Affiliation will resolve long-running operation strain in North County at no taxpayer cost. SD Taxpayers supports Measure H. sdcta.org/policy-reports… fox5sandiego.com/election/measu…

Opponents of Measure A (the Non-Primary Homes tax) claim that #SanDiego "can't effectively manage the money it currently has and question why it should receive more. "They argue the measure could generate additional problems for the city, may not hold up in court, and could result in expensive lawsuits." cbs8.com/article/news/l… instagram.com/p/DYVm2wlj2fC/ Vote NO on Measure A. sdcta.org/policy-reports… @StopMeasureA_SD #NoOnA

Although, for the record, Measure A is an ill-considered tax increase. Vote NO on that one.

Despite the #SanDiego city leadership’s endless professions in support of equity, public restroom cuts will have a disparate impact on the most vulnerable: children, the elderly, and people unable to afford a pricy cup of coffee for the privilege of using a restaurant’s facilities. It's not too late for the mayor and council to scale back the size of the bureaucracy to free up funds and keep public restrooms operational. axios.com/local/san-dieg…

There is no guarantee that new revenue from Measure A (the Non-Primary Homes Tax) will be used to restore community services, maintain critical infrastructure, or improve public safety. @StopMeasureA_SD #NoOnA sdcta.org/policy-reports… instagram.com/p/DYNTVDogkVI/

The budget deal may be 'net zero' for city finances in the current year, but overtime will only add to a crushing pension deficit. "The weight of the contract falls in the final year’s increase of 4%. The total cumulative pay increase over the three years comes to  9.8%, with the compounding effect – in which annual increases are applied to the higher base salary from the previous year. That also impacts the city’s pension payment obligations, as higher base employee pay increases pension costs. Here again assumptions come into play." inewsource.org/2026/05/13/san…

The May Revise is a slight improvement over the draft #SanDiego Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The city was able to identify additional revenue allowing it to restore 44 positions. The additional expenditure alleviates some of the most painful cuts in the draft budget, including: - Adding one Biologist to support the brush management program to “assist in enabling compliance with audit recommendations, potentially expanding maintenance acreage, and improving wildfire prevention and operational efficiency.” This represents a some progress in efforts to mitigate wildfire risk, but the city is still not in full compliance with the recommendations of the brush management performance audit. - Restorating 33 Recreation Center positions to preserve current service hours at 39 recreation centers, although reduced hours at 24 other recreation centers remain. - Restoring seven Library positions to preserve hours at eight branch libraries. Reduced service hours at nine other libraries are unchanged. - Funding to reduce the number of closed restrooms at city parks. - A slight increase in homelessness services and support. The additional positions and other new expenditures were made possible by stretching out existing expenditures and revising upwards some revenue projections, not implementing any major budget reforms. Overall staffing is still up over 1,000 positions since 2021 and increasing personnel expenses continue to constrict spending. While many of the restorations to community services are welcome, the revised draft budget still fails to address the city’s long-term structural deficits or lay groundwork to reduce the pension and infrastructure funding gaps. Despite record levels of revenue, overall spending is still up and community services have seen net reductions. Full details of the budget adjustments are online: sandiego.gov/sites/default/… sandiego.gov/sites/default/…

#SanDiego plans to add 32 positions to change recycling collection from biweekly to weekly collection and 52 positions to implement a Bulky Item Collection Program in in Fiscal Year 2028. The new services are justifiable, but given the city's challenging financial situation, their timing can be called into question. Due to restrictions on how funds from the trash collection fee can be spent, it is not possible to cut these positions and use the savings to restore Parks and Recreation or Library positions eliminated in the FY 2027 budget. It would be possible to defer their implementation to later years, allowing smaller increases in the trash collection fee and providing residents with a small measure of financial relief. sandiego.gov/sites/default/…