SAN DIEGOSAN DIEGO — San Diego officials plan to spend the next five months analyzing what size tax increase city voters would likely in November 2022 to pay for projects that boost flood prevention and water quality.
The ballot measure would be the first opportunity for San Diegans to vote to raise taxes on themselves to tackle an estimated $6 billion infrastructure backlog that city officials began calling San Diego’s No. 1 challenge eight years ago.
Some local leaders previously expressed for a so-called mega-bond that would have raised property taxes to tackle the entire backlog of infrastructure projects, including antiquated buildings, crumbling streets and missing sidewalks.
But the focus recently shifted to a tax increase only for the city’s backlog of stormwater projects, partly because they make up $4.5 billion of the overall backlog and partly because many stormwater upgrades are required by the state.
Stormwater projects include flood prevention efforts, like clearing clogged flood channels and fixing old pipes, and water-quality efforts, like reducing how much bacteria, metals, trash and sediment flow into local waterways.
The City Council voted 8-1 on Feb. 9 to have city officials study a possible ballot measure, including how large the proposed tax increase should be and what projects it would pay for.
Kris McFadden, head of the city’s Stormwater Department, said he and his staff will have those answers in July, after they meet with community leaders and resident groups across San Diego.
Choosing the size of the tax increase will be particularly important because the ballot measure would need approval from two-thirds of voters, which has been a challenging threshold in San Diego.
“The next few months is going to get us to that number,” McFadden told the council. “We will focus on figuring out exactly what is the willingness to pay — how palatable is this to people — and getting that information and bringing it back to the council.”
The type of tax increase also is uncertain. City officials said they plan to explore new parcel taxes, property-related fees, special assessment taxes or other options.
San Diego single-family homes now pay a monthly stormwater fee of 95 cents per month, which is much lower than what most other cities charge.
But the city’s independent budget analyst stresses that simply raising that fee won’t solve the problem. To close its $4.5 billion stormwater gap, San Diego would have to increase its fee to $37.50 per month, much higher than comparable cities.
The timing of the ballot measure also is uncertain. There was some discussion at the Feb. 9 council meeting of delaying it until 2024, a presidential election year with higher turnout expected.
But McFadden said he’s focused on a November 2022 measure. “As it’s currently laid out now, we do have a pathway to a calendar year 2022 ballot in November,” he told the council.
City officials also must decide how to characterize the measure to voters. While flood prevention efforts are popular, they make up less than a quarter of the stormwater backlog. Water-quality projects make up the other three quarters.
City officials say water-quality projects could also be popular with voters, particularly if they boost quality of life. Examples could include building a park on top of a new detention basin. Such projects also include restoration of lagoons and marshland.
Water-quality projects also boost the tourism economy by reducing the number of days that bays and beaches are closed. And they could increase social equity, because city officials say such projects could be concentrated in low-income areas where water infrastructure has been the most neglected.
Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert said it would be shortsighted not to address the problem because the city faces costly lawsuits when its aging pipes burst, in addition to emergency repair work.
“Why not be smart, put the money out front and fix the services we need for our residents, and not have to pay on the back end with all the litigation and emergency repairs?” she said.
Councilman Raul Campillo agreed.
“The proposal is aimed at fixing the pipes under the city, which increase property values and decrease insurance rates, protect businesses, spur local jobs and prevent costly emergencies because we can’t see when, out of nowhere, a pipe is going to break,” he said.
Many of the city’s water and sewer pipes date back to the 1960s and 1970s when much of San Diego’s infrastructure and housing developments were constructed.
Councilman Chris Cate, the council’s lone Republican, cast the only “no” vote. Cate didn’t dispute that the city faces large stormwater challenges, but he said city residents already face high water and sewer rates that are expected to rise.
McFadden said city officials plan to study how officials handled a similar ballot measure in Los Angeles County, Measure W, which was approved by more than the required two-thirds of voters in November 2018.
Called the “Safe, Clean Water Program,” it imposed a 2.5 cent per square feet parcel tax that is raising $300 million annually to infrastructure projects focused on flood prevention and water quality.
