Opinion: Vote ‘Yes’ on Measure E to Fund the Kind of City San Diegans Want

“You are not a good credit risk.” That was the message San Diego’s pension board sent to the city back in March.

They were asked to bet on the city’s future budget and approve significantly lower pension payments now, with the promise they would make it up with escalating payments in the years to come. Instead, the board adopted a steadier approach in the face of concerns about the city’s future revenue, putting a fine point over concerns many residents feel about how the city is governed.

That pension board decision was followed by San Diego’s most challenging budget negotiations in years. Faced with taming a budget deficit while recovering from historic flooding, and needing to protect threadbare interventions into the homeless crisis, the burden of our city’s limited resources was laid bare for everyone to see. Hope, like dollars, is in short supply.

But the opportunity to raise both is on the ballot this election. San Diegans should vote “Yes” on Measure E. This a sales tax increase of just one cent for every dollar spent in San Diego, which would generate $400 million new dollars a year for the city’s general fund.

San Diego hasn’t raised its sales tax rate to cover the escalating costs of city services in decades. And it shows.

Residents want the roads fixed. We want our neighborhoods safe. And we want our parks clean.

We need our stormwater system to be reliable in the face of more frequent flooding. We need our firefighters equipped to protect our homes as our region grows hotter and dryer.

And we have to tackle the main driver of our sky-high cost-of-living by building a lot more affordable homes.

These are just the basics.

Residents of the city of San Diego say they are frustrated by the direction our city is headed. Half of respondents to a recent, joint San Diego Union-Tribune and 10 News poll said as much, while half of respondents also said their top issue of concern is the cost of living. It’s a smart bet that the only people more frustrated by these circumstances are the Mayor and City Council members themselves, as they try to meet our city’s demands through the level of government which provokes the highest scrutiny despite having the least resources.

None of our City Council members, young in their political careers, are responsible for the budget challenges facing our city. They, along with the mayor, have made the budget process more public, more inclusive, and more transparent.

But they can’t perform miracles and deliver real solutions without more revenue. Voters should not be fooled into thinking there are tens of millions, let alone hundreds of millions of dollars, that are hostage to incompetence or corruption.

San Diegans know how high our cost of living is. 30% of San Diego’s residents spend more than 50% of their gross household income on rent. More than half of all renters in San Diego are eligible for federal rental assistance vouchers, but will languish on a waitlist, sometimes as long as 15 years before receiving one.

It is easy to say that these renters can’t take an increase to our sales tax while housing prices are so high. But that impulse should be rejected for two reasons.

First, when it comes to our housing crisis, the only way out requires investment. We have to build a lot more homes, including thousands more deed-restricted homes, that guarantee affordability and relieve pressure on market-rate demand. Passing Measure E would provide the city an opportunity to commit unprecedented general fund investments in the affordable housing our workforce needs.

Second, families suffering from the high cost of living need our city’s services restored and expanded as much as anyone. The investments San Diego makes need to benefit the entire public for our city to thrive. The city that San Diegans say we want simply costs more than what our local government can currently shoulder. The penny-pinchers are wrong to say otherwise.

Better roads. Safer neighborhoods. Cleaner parks. Open libraries. Fewer homeless. Affordable homes.

One penny to build real progress for the city. Vote “Yes” on Measure E.

Andy Kopp is a Navy veteran and advocate for housing policies that advance the public good, and is the former director of strategic initiatives for the San Diego Housing Federation. He lives in Mission Valley.