Race For Mayor Blog: Traffic, Growth And Development
10News has invited all mayoral candidates to participate in the 10News.com Race for Mayor Blog.
The weekly topics were solicited from 10News viewers.
"The next mayor needs to address the cumulative effect of development on traffic and quality of life. As mayor how will you balance the benefits and the disadvantages of continued growth and development?""As with most of the other problems we face right now, the increase in traffic congestion and concomitant degradation of our quality of life are merely symptomatic manifestations of decades of mismanagement. And, like the other problems we face, there is no cheap or quick solution.Whether you believe the problem was caused by under-funding of appropriate infrastructure improvements which should have been required to keep pace with sprawling and disjointed development, or you believe that simple population growth has landed us where we're at, the question remains: How do we reverse the trend?The answer is simple: With an open mind to new ideas and a multi-pronged approach going forward.We need to enhance efficient and effective public transportation programs; we need to push for in-fill development of higher density housing (with commensurate upgrades to supporting infrastructure paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis); we need to change zoning ordinances to allow for more mixed use developments; and we need to reexamine our approach to how we allocate our financial and land resources.It will take a combination of counter measures, implemented aggressively, to recover from decades of irresponsible growth management.For more information about this candidate click on Shawn McMillanEntry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"In the private sector, corporations in financial trouble often shed under-performing activities and business units so they can focus resources on activities they do well. The same should be true for city government.The city's current financial crisis ought to be an opportunity to identify activities that can be better and more cost-effectively performed by other entities, and to focus limited city resources on "core competencies"; activities that can only be performed by city government or that are most efficiently performed by city government.Unfortunately, some candidates for mayor have sought to exploit this common-sense approach with simplistic proposals to solve the city's financial problems through "privatization," ignoring the limited application of this approach. It is not a panacea. It is not appropriate for most activities performed by the city, and existing statutory requirements in the City Charter restrict its application.If elected Mayor, I would support a charter change referendum that would allow competitive bidding of appropriate government activities. Targeted outsourcing must be part of a comprehensive re-assessment of the city's core competencies, and should be one of many tools the next mayor uses to make city government smaller, more efficient and more responsive to residents.In the past, one objection to outsourcing has been that a private contractor may enjoy an unfair advantage over a city department because the contractor may pay substandard wages or not provide health benefits to its employees. Adoption by the City Council of the so-called Living Wage Ordinance earlier this year, which requires city contractors to provide minimum wages and benefits, would appear to weaken this objection.
"Certainly housing costs are rising in the City of San Diego. Many people would like to purchase homes for themselves and their families but find this an unfortunate and difficult challenge. My plan, however, focuses on three main ways to put our families into homes of their own and/or affordable rental units:
"San Diego's housing market is a SELLER's market, and has been for many years now. The issue is not so much what a Mayor can do to make "affordable" housing, which in my opinion is not fair to all people, but what the Mayor can do to encourage businesses to utilize San Diego. The Mayor needs to have dialogue with Sacramento to ensure that things that affect businesses, such as Workmans Comp costs and high utility prices, are being dealt with to bring businesses back to San Diego. If the cost of doing business was lower, then you would have more jobs and possibly higher wages. Anyone that plans a family in San Diego must do so with much care. San Diego is one of the most expensive places to live and that shouldn't be taken lightly. That is not saying that San Diego is going to become a place where only rich people live, but people also need to be realistic on their goals when living in San Diego. If you plan on owning a house in San Diego, you must have a plan from a very young age, the current situation here demands that, not building a set of homes that are only for certain income brackets and then there is a lottery to see who the "winner" is. If the Mayor's office and Sacramento can do something to bring good business back to San Diego, then everyone will win. If I am that Mayor, it will be near the top of my list to get that accomplished."Entry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"Housing will be one of my top priorities should I be elected. The city needs to encourage the free market to produce more supply, reduce fees passed along to buyers and speed up the permitting process so we can reduce the time it takes to build such housing. These steps will significantly help bring down the cost of housing.This is another system that is truly broken in the city. The mayor cannot sit on the sidelines on this key issue. To do so risks damaging our local economy and prevents our children from finding affordable housing when the time comes for them to buy their first homes."
"I hope the current pension program is deemed illegal and thrown out. At that point we can come together and renegotiate a resonable pension plan.I will not be pushed around as past San Diego leadership has been!If the current program does not get thrown out, I would give the union leadership one chance to look at the program and realize it will hurt San Diego.They will be given one chance to step-up and renegotiate. If they insist that we pay the ridiculous pensions, I will be forced to play hardball with them.I will see the union leadership as an adversarial group.I will be forced to push every job I can out to the private sector. All future negotiations with the unions will be held publicly so all of San Diego will know what is being asked for and why I'm probably saying NO to them.I'm not affraid of the truth. The union leadership must make the choice, if they want to help or continue to hurt San Diego.I'm not an enemy of the union worker, I want them to look at their leadership and make sure they agree with the direction they are going. I think the average union worker realizes that the pension program is wrong and would choose San Diego over it."For more information about this candidate click on Jeremy Ledford.Entry Submitted By Jim Bell
"As mayor here’s what I’ll do to provide better city services and get the city out of debt.The long-term solution to solving most of our city’s economic problems is to increase revenue by increasing local economic activity, not by increasing taxes and fees.I’m not saying that some fees and taxes might not have to be increased for a short period, but my primary focus will be on increasing revenue by growing our local economy.I’ll grow our local economy by putting out Requests For Proposals (RFPs) to qualified bidders to invest in making our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient, beginning with energy. Renewable energy self-sufficiency is vital. With out a secure and abundant energy supply our modern world will collapse.Our best hope to avoid such a collapse in our city and region is to make our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient.Additionally, making our region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient locally will generate the revenue we need to put our city in a positive cash flow position.Most importantly, becoming renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient is the best insurance plan we can create to insure that our families and communities always have sufficient and affordable supplies of energy, water and food, no matter what happens to the cost and supply of these essentials on global and national markets.In addition to growing our economy in the ways discussed above, I will do the following to improve our city and region’s economic outlook:1. Stop the on going pension plan’s drain on taxpayer money. This can be accomplished by tying pension plan benefits to the performance of its investment portfolio and by giving plan participants, as a group, the power to change the profile of the pension plan’s investment portfolio to increase its return. If this can’t be accomplished in short order through negotiations, I will push for chapter 9 bankruptcy ala Orange County. This will get San Diego’s economic house in order in two years or less.2. Commission a full independent audit to get a complete picture of our city’s liabilities and assets. This is essential. How can we solve the city’s economic problems without having them fully disclosed? A full independent audit will be one of the results of going chapter 9, but if we don’t take that route, a full independent audit is essential.3. Look for waste and duplication and eliminate it in all city departments. City departments are floundering for lack of leadership. My plan to create a life-support sustaining economy and way of life in our city and region will give city staff the direction they need."Entry Submitted By Shawn McMillan
"In this election the leading candidates are unable to differentiate themselves from one another. At their various coming out events the candidates, in one form or another, favored short sighted half-measures and band-aid fixes ranging from selling off the city jewels to fund current operating expenses, to raising taxes to fund the pension.Rasing taxes on an already overburdened population is not an option. Selling off our revenue generating assets to generate a one time cash infusion is like a farmer eating next year’s seed, its short sighted and irresponsible.The leadership of the City Workers Unions have already proclaimed their hardline "no negotiation" stance, so where does that leave us?Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy. In a municipal bankruptcy the city will be empowered to cut the pension obligation back down to a fair and reasonable level, invalidate the current collective bargaining agreement, and wipe out other non-secured debts like that $100,000,000 judgment we owe to Roque De la Fuente. At the same time, our city assets are protected from forced sale by the Tenth Amendment to The United States Constitution. Clearly Bankruptcy is the way to go.Within the context of a Chapter 9 Bankruptcy, we will have a much better bargaining position. This will allow us to roll wages and benefits back to more reasonable levels."Entry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"My Fiscal Recovery Plan proposes to break the political stalemate at City Hall over the pension fund.I've called for speedy determination by the courts of the legality of benefits granted by the council, and voiding of those actions determined to be illegal.I've proposed specific benefits that should be on the table for roll-back, including retirement age, a cap on pensions as a percent of highest salary, purchase of service credit, the 13th check and DROP.I've also called for increases in employee contributions to repay pension obligation bonds that would be issued as soon as the city has access to the bond market."For more information about this candidate click on Jerry Sanders.
"I don't support the assumption that the only way out of our current financial crisis is to raise taxes and fees.As mayor here's what I'll do provide better city services and get the city out of debt. I'm not saying that some fees and taxes might not have to be raised for a short period, but my primary focus will be on increasing revenue.1. Stop the on going pension plan's drain on taxpayer money. This can be accomplished by tying pension plan benefits to the performance of its investment portfolio and give plan participants, as a group, the power to change the profile of the pension plan's investment portfolio to increase its return.2. Commission a full independent audit to get a complete picture of our city's liabilities and assets. This is essential. How can we solve the city's economic problems without having them fully disclosed?3. Look for waste and duplication and eliminate it in all city departments.4. Increase our city's revenue stream by investing in making our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient.The long-term solution to solving most of our city's economic problems is to increase revenue by increasing local economic activity, not by increasing taxes and fees.My plan to make our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient will generate the revenue we need to put our city in a positive cash flow position. If we were renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient today, there would be 20 billion more dollars circulating in our city and county's economy each year than there is now. Initially this new capital would be invested in new business and employment opportunities aimed at completing the process of making our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient. Since the businesses and employees earning this money would be local, they would spend most of the money they earn locally, increasing everyone's bottom line.Most importantly, becoming renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient is the best insurance plan we can create to insure that our families and communities always have sufficient and affordable supplies of energy, water and food, no matter what happens to the cost and supply of these essentials on global and national markets.In other words, the more renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient our city and region becomes, the better we will be able to take care of our families and communities no matter whatever ill winds of planetary change blow our way.If you want to know more about my economic prosperity plan to make the City of San Diego and the San Diego/Tijuana region energy, water and food self-sufficient, check out www.jimbell.com."Entry Submitted By Thomas Knapp
"The city has been spending beyond its means for many years as you know. What we need to do besides raising small things like traffic citations is cut the waste that goes on around the county. With recent laws passing requiring 2/3 of the vote to raise a tax (which I'm against anyway), we have to look at our city owned land as a cash-flow sort. Lease, not sell, the many different areas that the city owns and get fair market value for it, not a deal cut to a "friend" of City Hall. De Anza Cove is another area, instead of it being a liability, we can submit something to Sacramento to get its status changed, sign a new lease and turn it into an income and not a liability. Just like the State though, San Diego needs to start living within its means."Entry Submitted By Shawn McMillan
"I support no revenue increases. The pension problem is the result of the over reaching of the union leadership coupled together with our current city leadership's willingness to capitulate with union demands. Chapter 9 Bankruptcy is the only way to wipe out the unfair, and largely unlawful debt burden."Entry Submitted By Richard Rider
"City Revenues - the City began raiding its pension fund several year ago because the Council was unwilling to raise sufficient revenues to pay for all of the services it wanted to provide. What revenue increases will you support?" ZERO, NONE, NADA. As I've stated many times before, this city does not have a revenue problem (tax receipts grow nicely each year) -- it has a spending problem. Since money is fungible, any new income will, in effect, be redirected into the Pension Fund abyss.78% of the city's General Fund goes for city worker salaries, pensions and other fringe benefits. And that's not counting the multi-billion dollar pension deficit!For most city jobs, the city employee pay is 20% to 40% higher than the average private sector worker receives for doing the same job. Even worse, the city pensions are two to five times higher than private sector pensions, assuming a private worker has any pension at all! And city health care costs have gone through the roof.We MUST rein in these runaway costs of providing city services. If the city union bosses refuse to adjust city worker contracts to better reflect average San Diego wages and benefits, we need to go to the Yellow Pages and find every possible city service that can be provided by our private San Diego companies. With the current sky-high city labor costs, about three fourths of our city services can be provided at a 40% savings by private companies, saving us taxpayers well over $200 million annually.It's time to get more for our tax dollar, not less. The days of rigged city union contracts are over."Entry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"When a budget is out of balance, there are really only two possible solutions. Either income must increase or expenditures must decrease. My Fiscal Recovery Plan provides a road map for reducing expenditures and increasing income without raising taxes.
The city did not tax its way into this financial mess and it won't be able to tax its way out. Instead, the city needs to first look at how to maximize existing revenue streams.
The recommendations that follow offer millions of dollars in new revenues to begin addressing the city's financial crisis without raising taxes or fees.
BUSINESS LICENSE FEES
Rather than increasing the cost for a business license, the city should adopt a program ensuring that all businesses are licensed. Working in cooperation with the Franchise Tax Board and the Employment Development Department, a list of all addresses with operating businesses could be obtained and checked against existing licenses. Equal treatment of all businesses would generate additional revenue for the city without penalizing taxpayers who voluntarily comply.
TAX REFUND INTERCEPT PROGRAM
The amount of money owed to the city is enormous. Traffic tickets, unpaid water and sewer bills are the most obvious examples. Other jurisdictions throughout the State utilize a tax intercept program whereby the state tax refunds of debtors are seized for payment of these outstanding bills. The city of San Diego should investigate this option.
CDBG REVENUES
The city receives close to $20 million each year from the federal government in Community Development Block Grant funds. While there are many good examples where these funds are being used for their historic purpose of improving infrastructure in lower-income communities, a portion of these important funds are being used as a classic pork barrel from which council members distribute money to enhance their political standing.
It's time to put an end to that wasteful practice and begin using every cent of CDBG funds as was originally intended, to support infrastructure programs within CDBG-eligible communities. By doing this, General Funds that would otherwise be used for these infrastructure projects will be freed-up for other purposes.
TOT REVENUES
The Lodging Industry Association recently made a proposal to establish a hotel business improvement district, enabling area hotels to collect a separate fee to fund visitor promotion and other related activities. This proposal offers the potential to enable the city to apply more of existing Transient Occupancy Tax revenues to support General Fund activities. Although numerous details will have to be resolved, I support this approach."
For more information about this candidate click on Jerry Sanders.
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Topic 4: Traffic, Growth And Development
The fourth and final topic submitted by a viewer, is: "The next mayor needs to address the cumulative effect of development on traffic and quality of life. As mayor how will you balance the benefits and the disadvantages of continued growth and development?"Entry Submitted By Shawn McMillan"The next mayor needs to address the cumulative effect of development on traffic and quality of life. As mayor how will you balance the benefits and the disadvantages of continued growth and development?""As with most of the other problems we face right now, the increase in traffic congestion and concomitant degradation of our quality of life are merely symptomatic manifestations of decades of mismanagement. And, like the other problems we face, there is no cheap or quick solution.Whether you believe the problem was caused by under-funding of appropriate infrastructure improvements which should have been required to keep pace with sprawling and disjointed development, or you believe that simple population growth has landed us where we're at, the question remains: How do we reverse the trend?The answer is simple: With an open mind to new ideas and a multi-pronged approach going forward.We need to enhance efficient and effective public transportation programs; we need to push for in-fill development of higher density housing (with commensurate upgrades to supporting infrastructure paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis); we need to change zoning ordinances to allow for more mixed use developments; and we need to reexamine our approach to how we allocate our financial and land resources.It will take a combination of counter measures, implemented aggressively, to recover from decades of irresponsible growth management.For more information about this candidate click on Shawn McMillanEntry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"In the private sector, corporations in financial trouble often shed under-performing activities and business units so they can focus resources on activities they do well. The same should be true for city government.The city's current financial crisis ought to be an opportunity to identify activities that can be better and more cost-effectively performed by other entities, and to focus limited city resources on "core competencies"; activities that can only be performed by city government or that are most efficiently performed by city government.Unfortunately, some candidates for mayor have sought to exploit this common-sense approach with simplistic proposals to solve the city's financial problems through "privatization," ignoring the limited application of this approach. It is not a panacea. It is not appropriate for most activities performed by the city, and existing statutory requirements in the City Charter restrict its application.If elected Mayor, I would support a charter change referendum that would allow competitive bidding of appropriate government activities. Targeted outsourcing must be part of a comprehensive re-assessment of the city's core competencies, and should be one of many tools the next mayor uses to make city government smaller, more efficient and more responsive to residents.In the past, one objection to outsourcing has been that a private contractor may enjoy an unfair advantage over a city department because the contractor may pay substandard wages or not provide health benefits to its employees. Adoption by the City Council of the so-called Living Wage Ordinance earlier this year, which requires city contractors to provide minimum wages and benefits, would appear to weaken this objection.
Topic 3: Housing Prices
The third topic, submitted by a viewer, is: "I have a concern about housing costs in San Diego. It's constantly on the rise. A lot of hard working middle-income families cannot afford to buy a house here, including myself. I just want to know what will the new mayor do to fix this crisis and help middle-income families to buy a house in San Diego?"Entry Submitted By Donna Frye"Certainly housing costs are rising in the City of San Diego. Many people would like to purchase homes for themselves and their families but find this an unfortunate and difficult challenge. My plan, however, focuses on three main ways to put our families into homes of their own and/or affordable rental units:
- Provide better paying jobs Push to eliminate the in-lieu fee in Inclusionary Housing program and provide developer incentives to build units on-site Pursue another Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) (similar to the $55 million we recently funded)"
"San Diego's housing market is a SELLER's market, and has been for many years now. The issue is not so much what a Mayor can do to make "affordable" housing, which in my opinion is not fair to all people, but what the Mayor can do to encourage businesses to utilize San Diego. The Mayor needs to have dialogue with Sacramento to ensure that things that affect businesses, such as Workmans Comp costs and high utility prices, are being dealt with to bring businesses back to San Diego. If the cost of doing business was lower, then you would have more jobs and possibly higher wages. Anyone that plans a family in San Diego must do so with much care. San Diego is one of the most expensive places to live and that shouldn't be taken lightly. That is not saying that San Diego is going to become a place where only rich people live, but people also need to be realistic on their goals when living in San Diego. If you plan on owning a house in San Diego, you must have a plan from a very young age, the current situation here demands that, not building a set of homes that are only for certain income brackets and then there is a lottery to see who the "winner" is. If the Mayor's office and Sacramento can do something to bring good business back to San Diego, then everyone will win. If I am that Mayor, it will be near the top of my list to get that accomplished."Entry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"Housing will be one of my top priorities should I be elected. The city needs to encourage the free market to produce more supply, reduce fees passed along to buyers and speed up the permitting process so we can reduce the time it takes to build such housing. These steps will significantly help bring down the cost of housing.This is another system that is truly broken in the city. The mayor cannot sit on the sidelines on this key issue. To do so risks damaging our local economy and prevents our children from finding affordable housing when the time comes for them to buy their first homes."
Topic 2: Pension Deficit
Entry Submitted By Jeremy Ledford"I hope the current pension program is deemed illegal and thrown out. At that point we can come together and renegotiate a resonable pension plan.I will not be pushed around as past San Diego leadership has been!If the current program does not get thrown out, I would give the union leadership one chance to look at the program and realize it will hurt San Diego.They will be given one chance to step-up and renegotiate. If they insist that we pay the ridiculous pensions, I will be forced to play hardball with them.I will see the union leadership as an adversarial group.I will be forced to push every job I can out to the private sector. All future negotiations with the unions will be held publicly so all of San Diego will know what is being asked for and why I'm probably saying NO to them.I'm not affraid of the truth. The union leadership must make the choice, if they want to help or continue to hurt San Diego.I'm not an enemy of the union worker, I want them to look at their leadership and make sure they agree with the direction they are going. I think the average union worker realizes that the pension program is wrong and would choose San Diego over it."For more information about this candidate click on Jeremy Ledford.Entry Submitted By Jim Bell
"As mayor here’s what I’ll do to provide better city services and get the city out of debt.The long-term solution to solving most of our city’s economic problems is to increase revenue by increasing local economic activity, not by increasing taxes and fees.I’m not saying that some fees and taxes might not have to be increased for a short period, but my primary focus will be on increasing revenue by growing our local economy.I’ll grow our local economy by putting out Requests For Proposals (RFPs) to qualified bidders to invest in making our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient, beginning with energy. Renewable energy self-sufficiency is vital. With out a secure and abundant energy supply our modern world will collapse.Our best hope to avoid such a collapse in our city and region is to make our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient.Additionally, making our region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient locally will generate the revenue we need to put our city in a positive cash flow position.Most importantly, becoming renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient is the best insurance plan we can create to insure that our families and communities always have sufficient and affordable supplies of energy, water and food, no matter what happens to the cost and supply of these essentials on global and national markets.In addition to growing our economy in the ways discussed above, I will do the following to improve our city and region’s economic outlook:1. Stop the on going pension plan’s drain on taxpayer money. This can be accomplished by tying pension plan benefits to the performance of its investment portfolio and by giving plan participants, as a group, the power to change the profile of the pension plan’s investment portfolio to increase its return. If this can’t be accomplished in short order through negotiations, I will push for chapter 9 bankruptcy ala Orange County. This will get San Diego’s economic house in order in two years or less.2. Commission a full independent audit to get a complete picture of our city’s liabilities and assets. This is essential. How can we solve the city’s economic problems without having them fully disclosed? A full independent audit will be one of the results of going chapter 9, but if we don’t take that route, a full independent audit is essential.3. Look for waste and duplication and eliminate it in all city departments. City departments are floundering for lack of leadership. My plan to create a life-support sustaining economy and way of life in our city and region will give city staff the direction they need."Entry Submitted By Shawn McMillan
"In this election the leading candidates are unable to differentiate themselves from one another. At their various coming out events the candidates, in one form or another, favored short sighted half-measures and band-aid fixes ranging from selling off the city jewels to fund current operating expenses, to raising taxes to fund the pension.Rasing taxes on an already overburdened population is not an option. Selling off our revenue generating assets to generate a one time cash infusion is like a farmer eating next year’s seed, its short sighted and irresponsible.The leadership of the City Workers Unions have already proclaimed their hardline "no negotiation" stance, so where does that leave us?Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy. In a municipal bankruptcy the city will be empowered to cut the pension obligation back down to a fair and reasonable level, invalidate the current collective bargaining agreement, and wipe out other non-secured debts like that $100,000,000 judgment we owe to Roque De la Fuente. At the same time, our city assets are protected from forced sale by the Tenth Amendment to The United States Constitution. Clearly Bankruptcy is the way to go.Within the context of a Chapter 9 Bankruptcy, we will have a much better bargaining position. This will allow us to roll wages and benefits back to more reasonable levels."Entry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"My Fiscal Recovery Plan proposes to break the political stalemate at City Hall over the pension fund.I've called for speedy determination by the courts of the legality of benefits granted by the council, and voiding of those actions determined to be illegal.I've proposed specific benefits that should be on the table for roll-back, including retirement age, a cap on pensions as a percent of highest salary, purchase of service credit, the 13th check and DROP.I've also called for increases in employee contributions to repay pension obligation bonds that would be issued as soon as the city has access to the bond market."For more information about this candidate click on Jerry Sanders.
Topic 1: City Revenues
The first topic, submitted by a viewer, is: "The city began raiding its pension fund several years ago because the City Council was unwilling to raise sufficient revenues to pay for all of the services it wanted to provide. What revenue increases will you support?"Entry Submitted By Jim Bell"I don't support the assumption that the only way out of our current financial crisis is to raise taxes and fees.As mayor here's what I'll do provide better city services and get the city out of debt. I'm not saying that some fees and taxes might not have to be raised for a short period, but my primary focus will be on increasing revenue.1. Stop the on going pension plan's drain on taxpayer money. This can be accomplished by tying pension plan benefits to the performance of its investment portfolio and give plan participants, as a group, the power to change the profile of the pension plan's investment portfolio to increase its return.2. Commission a full independent audit to get a complete picture of our city's liabilities and assets. This is essential. How can we solve the city's economic problems without having them fully disclosed?3. Look for waste and duplication and eliminate it in all city departments.4. Increase our city's revenue stream by investing in making our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient.The long-term solution to solving most of our city's economic problems is to increase revenue by increasing local economic activity, not by increasing taxes and fees.My plan to make our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient will generate the revenue we need to put our city in a positive cash flow position. If we were renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient today, there would be 20 billion more dollars circulating in our city and county's economy each year than there is now. Initially this new capital would be invested in new business and employment opportunities aimed at completing the process of making our city and region renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient. Since the businesses and employees earning this money would be local, they would spend most of the money they earn locally, increasing everyone's bottom line.Most importantly, becoming renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient is the best insurance plan we can create to insure that our families and communities always have sufficient and affordable supplies of energy, water and food, no matter what happens to the cost and supply of these essentials on global and national markets.In other words, the more renewable energy, water and food self-sufficient our city and region becomes, the better we will be able to take care of our families and communities no matter whatever ill winds of planetary change blow our way.If you want to know more about my economic prosperity plan to make the City of San Diego and the San Diego/Tijuana region energy, water and food self-sufficient, check out www.jimbell.com."Entry Submitted By Thomas Knapp
"The city has been spending beyond its means for many years as you know. What we need to do besides raising small things like traffic citations is cut the waste that goes on around the county. With recent laws passing requiring 2/3 of the vote to raise a tax (which I'm against anyway), we have to look at our city owned land as a cash-flow sort. Lease, not sell, the many different areas that the city owns and get fair market value for it, not a deal cut to a "friend" of City Hall. De Anza Cove is another area, instead of it being a liability, we can submit something to Sacramento to get its status changed, sign a new lease and turn it into an income and not a liability. Just like the State though, San Diego needs to start living within its means."Entry Submitted By Shawn McMillan
"I support no revenue increases. The pension problem is the result of the over reaching of the union leadership coupled together with our current city leadership's willingness to capitulate with union demands. Chapter 9 Bankruptcy is the only way to wipe out the unfair, and largely unlawful debt burden."Entry Submitted By Richard Rider
"City Revenues - the City began raiding its pension fund several year ago because the Council was unwilling to raise sufficient revenues to pay for all of the services it wanted to provide. What revenue increases will you support?" ZERO, NONE, NADA. As I've stated many times before, this city does not have a revenue problem (tax receipts grow nicely each year) -- it has a spending problem. Since money is fungible, any new income will, in effect, be redirected into the Pension Fund abyss.78% of the city's General Fund goes for city worker salaries, pensions and other fringe benefits. And that's not counting the multi-billion dollar pension deficit!For most city jobs, the city employee pay is 20% to 40% higher than the average private sector worker receives for doing the same job. Even worse, the city pensions are two to five times higher than private sector pensions, assuming a private worker has any pension at all! And city health care costs have gone through the roof.We MUST rein in these runaway costs of providing city services. If the city union bosses refuse to adjust city worker contracts to better reflect average San Diego wages and benefits, we need to go to the Yellow Pages and find every possible city service that can be provided by our private San Diego companies. With the current sky-high city labor costs, about three fourths of our city services can be provided at a 40% savings by private companies, saving us taxpayers well over $200 million annually.It's time to get more for our tax dollar, not less. The days of rigged city union contracts are over."Entry Submitted By Jerry Sanders
"When a budget is out of balance, there are really only two possible solutions. Either income must increase or expenditures must decrease. My Fiscal Recovery Plan provides a road map for reducing expenditures and increasing income without raising taxes.
The city did not tax its way into this financial mess and it won't be able to tax its way out. Instead, the city needs to first look at how to maximize existing revenue streams.
The recommendations that follow offer millions of dollars in new revenues to begin addressing the city's financial crisis without raising taxes or fees.
BUSINESS LICENSE FEES
Rather than increasing the cost for a business license, the city should adopt a program ensuring that all businesses are licensed. Working in cooperation with the Franchise Tax Board and the Employment Development Department, a list of all addresses with operating businesses could be obtained and checked against existing licenses. Equal treatment of all businesses would generate additional revenue for the city without penalizing taxpayers who voluntarily comply.
TAX REFUND INTERCEPT PROGRAM
The amount of money owed to the city is enormous. Traffic tickets, unpaid water and sewer bills are the most obvious examples. Other jurisdictions throughout the State utilize a tax intercept program whereby the state tax refunds of debtors are seized for payment of these outstanding bills. The city of San Diego should investigate this option.
CDBG REVENUES
The city receives close to $20 million each year from the federal government in Community Development Block Grant funds. While there are many good examples where these funds are being used for their historic purpose of improving infrastructure in lower-income communities, a portion of these important funds are being used as a classic pork barrel from which council members distribute money to enhance their political standing.
It's time to put an end to that wasteful practice and begin using every cent of CDBG funds as was originally intended, to support infrastructure programs within CDBG-eligible communities. By doing this, General Funds that would otherwise be used for these infrastructure projects will be freed-up for other purposes.
TOT REVENUES
The Lodging Industry Association recently made a proposal to establish a hotel business improvement district, enabling area hotels to collect a separate fee to fund visitor promotion and other related activities. This proposal offers the potential to enable the city to apply more of existing Transient Occupancy Tax revenues to support General Fund activities. Although numerous details will have to be resolved, I support this approach."
For more information about this candidate click on Jerry Sanders.
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