San Diego's oldest and most respected government watchdog and taxpayer advocacy group
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The Empty Homes Tax / Measure A has failed at the ballot box.
The tax was opposed by SD Taxpayers due to concerns about the proposal’s legality, lack of taxpayer protection, and failure of the City to provide sufficient evidence taxpayer benefits.
sdcta.org/policy-reports-mai…
Information on the upcoming November #SanDiego ballot measures is available online.
sdcta.org/tracker
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Another #SanDiego agency is facing ongoing structural budget deficits and papering over the problem by increasing fees and underfunding capital improvements.
"MTS is facing a $94 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. That deficit will increase to more than $122 million by 2030, according to MTS projections."
Possible solutions include "creative ideas like a tax on rental cars for tourists."
Longer term solutions include a sales tax increase, possibly as early as 2028.
kpbs.org/news/kpbs/2026/06/1…
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It isn't easy keeping up with all the local governments, districts, and agencies in #SanDiego.
The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District annual 2027 Budget has been posted.
Spending is $135 million, down from $155 million in 2026, but from $87 million in 2025.
Staffing is unchanged at 178 positions.
sdapcd.org/content/dam/sdapc…
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Jun 12
The #SanDiego city council will hear an "Amendment to the Salary Ordinance for Fiscal Year 2027" on June 16.
The amendment includes a 2% salary increase for most city employees, including unrepresented employees (i.e. 'middle managers').
The cost of the amendment (such as its effect on the pension deficit) is not specified in the staff report.
The 'fiscal considerations' section only notes that "approval of the Salary Ordinance is required under the City’s Charter as part of the annual budget process."
sandiego.hylandcloud.com/211…
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SD Taxpayers retweeted
On Thursday, June 25, the Board of Supervisors takes its final vote on extending their own term limits from two to three. If it passes, it goes on the ballot. If we stop it now, it doesn't.
In 2010, 68% of San Diego County voters set the limit at two terms. That wasn't close. That was a landslide.
If these Supervisors believed in this, they would have exempted themselves and applied the new rule to future Boards only. Not one of them was willing to do that.
That tells you everything.
Show up Thursday, June 25 at 9 a.m. at the County Administration Center. Public comment is your right. Use it.
Contact the Board. Tell your friends, your family, your neighbors.
This isn't reform. It's self-dealing. And we have one more chance to stop it.
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Jun 12
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that neither the #SanDiego city council nor the mayor have learned the lessons of the FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget processes.
"Middle Managers Chopped"
There have been some reductions to 'middle management' positions, but the city has yet to produce a comprehensive list of remaining unclassified positions and their responsibilities.
"It is hard to overstate the scope of San Diego’s infrastructure problem."
It's also hard to understand why the city leadership continues to spend months defunding/refunding the arts when the infrastructure funding gap continues to grow.
"Measure A: The Revenue Stream That Almost Was"
There is no reason to believe the Empty Homes Tax, after the cost of creating the enforcement bureaucracy and legal expenses, would have made any significant contribution to city coffers. There is a difference between a new revenue measure that will generate income to replace critical infrastructure and one that will do nothing but generate lawsuits and popular discontent.
"As it stands, we have no reason to believe next year’s budget cycle will be any less scarring."
So, it looks like FY 2028 will be a replay of FY 2027.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/06/…
Jun 11
It’s déjà vu in San Diego.
The city Fiscal Year 2027 budget process was a rerun of 2026.
The city starts the year with record high levels of revenue supercharged with an influx of cash from new fees or taxes (trash collection, TOT, parking).
The mayor presents a budget characterized as ‘austere’ because a few departments that were created when the city was flush with COVID-era federal funding is scaled back.
The city underfunds reserves to support ongoing spending.
Personnel costs continue to ratchet up due to salary increases and ballooning pension payments.
Infrastructure funding is at best unchanged even as the storm drain, streets and city facilities continue to deteriorate.
The mayor and council move forward with another round of ill-considered tax or fee increases, generating legal fees and popular discontent.
None of the new funding is dedicated to infrastructure improvements.
Cuts are made to library and rec center hours.
The mayor and council spend two months accusing each other of fiscal irresponsibility while taking no steps to structurally reform the budget.
Minor budget adjustments are made, the city scrapes together enough funding to restore some library hours, and city staffers are shuffled between departments.
When the budget is finalized, the city still has 1,000 more employees than in 2021, vanity projects soaking up funds, and special interest- friendly legislation driving up the costs of construction.
The pension and infrastructure deficits continue to grow.
Elected officials take a summer break and San Diegans contend with fewer services and higher taxes and fees.
Unless something changes it will be déjà vu all over again next year.
inewsource.org/2026/06/09/sa…
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Jun 11
#101Ash is an example of the city engaging in an overly ambitious project that invariably costs more than expected and ties up valuable #SanDiego real estate that could otherwise be used for more productive purposes.
Jun 11
Did @MayorToddGloria write this lame and misleading headline? From the start, critics warned that this proposal was overly optimistic. It has now missed a significant financing deadline, and is clearly in jeopardy. That’s not an “adjustment.”
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Jun 11
It’s déjà vu in San Diego.
The city Fiscal Year 2027 budget process was a rerun of 2026.
The city starts the year with record high levels of revenue supercharged with an influx of cash from new fees or taxes (trash collection, TOT, parking).
The mayor presents a budget characterized as ‘austere’ because a few departments that were created when the city was flush with COVID-era federal funding is scaled back.
The city underfunds reserves to support ongoing spending.
Personnel costs continue to ratchet up due to salary increases and ballooning pension payments.
Infrastructure funding is at best unchanged even as the storm drain, streets and city facilities continue to deteriorate.
The mayor and council move forward with another round of ill-considered tax or fee increases, generating legal fees and popular discontent.
None of the new funding is dedicated to infrastructure improvements.
Cuts are made to library and rec center hours.
The mayor and council spend two months accusing each other of fiscal irresponsibility while taking no steps to structurally reform the budget.
Minor budget adjustments are made, the city scrapes together enough funding to restore some library hours, and city staffers are shuffled between departments.
When the budget is finalized, the city still has 1,000 more employees than in 2021, vanity projects soaking up funds, and special interest- friendly legislation driving up the costs of construction.
The pension and infrastructure deficits continue to grow.
Elected officials take a summer break and San Diegans contend with fewer services and higher taxes and fees.
Unless something changes it will be déjà vu all over again next year.
inewsource.org/2026/06/09/sa…
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Jun 11
The #SanDiego budget may be balanced in a narrow technical sense, but the “FY 2027 Budget is still structurally imbalanced” and the city is facing a $32.9 million deficit in 2028 that will be harder to close as one-time revenue opportunities (such as using Prop C funds to prop up ‘the arts’) are exhausted.
10news.com/news/local-news/s…
sandiegouniontribune.com/202…
sandiego.hylandcloud.com/211…
nbcsandiego.com/news/local/m…
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Jun 11
Another example of the gimmicks being used to close the FY 27 #SanDiego budget gap.
“Decisions like diverting Measure C funds from the Convention Center may avoid difficult cuts this year, but they set us up for the same budget challenges next year,” (Mayor Gloria) said.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/06/…
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