San Diego Council rejects sale tax measure

Council members Donna Frye, Carl DeMaio and Kevin Faulconer were
opposed.
Frye said she would not support putting a half-cent sales tax
increase
before San Diego voters unless it were attached to a comprehensive plan
to
address the city’s fiscal crisis.

The City Council voted 5-3 to direct the City Attorney’s Office to
draft ballot language for consideration Tuesday. While that motion
technically passed, it was clear that the six votes needed to put the sales tax
increase on the Nov. 2 ballot were not there, and the entire effort was abandoned.

The ballot proposal was advanced by City Council President Ben Hueso,
who maintained that new revenues are needed to prevent the further
deterioration of city services, especially public safety, due to ongoing
budget
shortfalls.

Opponents argued that the city should continue to pursue fiscal and pension reforms rather than raise taxes amid a recession.

A half-cent sales tax increase would have generated $103 million annually, according to Independent Budget Analyst Andrea Tevlin.

Nearly two weeks ago, Mayor Jerry Sanders, under pressure from fellow Republicans and business groups, abandoned his proposal to ask voters to
approve a half-cent sales tax hike as one of several options to help
solve San
Diego’s budget woes.

The idea of a sales tax increase gained momentum last week after San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Chief Javier Mainar said emergency services
cuts
may have played a role in the death of a toddler who choked on a
gumball.
Due to the city’s “brownout’ program, which idles fire engines on a rotating basis, it took firefighters 9 1/2 minutes to respond to a 911
call
Tuesday that a child was choking at a Mira Mesa home he was visiting.
Despite
efforts to save him, 2-year-old Bentley Do was later pronounced dead at a
hospital.