On Wednesday, May 22nd, the City Council approved by a vote of 4-1 to add a measure to the November election ballot asking voters in Encinitas to approve an increase in the local sales tax from 7.75% to 8.75%. It is estimated that this increase will generate approximately $15 million in incremental revenue to the city which is needed to fund necessary infrastructure improvements including drainage, paving roads and improving traffic and safety.
The City Council approved the formation of an Infrastructure Task Force (ITF) last summer made up with seven subject matter experts who were tasked identifying infrastructure needs in Encinitas, develop a model or rubric to help prioritize projects and examine funding options. The ITF identified over $200 million in needed improvements and the city only has approximately $4 million in current funding to address such needs. Furthermore, it became very clear that the options to identify meaningful amounts of funding are very limited. A wide array of funding options were examined using the expertise of city staff as well as outside subject matter experts. In the end the ITF agreed that the best approach was to consider a one-cent per dollar increase in the local sales tax. The City Council concurred on the 22nd.
This would, as an aside, place Encinitas more in line with local sales tax rates in other cities in San Diego County. One can argue for hours about decisions made in the past by prior city councils for various projects and whether the funds used for those could have been applied differently but the past is behind us and the city needs to focus on the task at hand.
If the voters decide in favor, then there was near unaminous agreement that the city must enact strong and appropriate guardrails to ensure that these incremental funds are spent only on infrastructure, whether this is through a budget oversight committee or other means.
Various media outlets were present at the council meeting and below are several links to more information.
- Fox 5 News
https://share.newsbreak.com/70injkqu
2. Encinitas Advocate