SAN DIEGO — A stormwater tax is one step closer to making its way on the November ballot after a San Diego City Council committee voted unanimously Wednesday to direct staff to take a closer look at what this measure would look like.
Several people from environmental groups, as well as some San Diegans, spoke out in favor of this tax during the Rules Committee meeting.
If the measure is approved by voters, it would provide a source of funding specifically for stormwater. According to the city, it would be a special parcel tax, which is a form of property tax.
Council President Sean Elo-Rivera's staff laid out to the committee why it believes this measure is needed, citing a $1.6 billion infrastructure deficit. Staff also pointed out that 1,000 people were displaced from homes and businesses after significant flooding on January 22.
"It will also allow us to alleviate some of the burden on our general fund. We are not doing this in a responsible way now," said Elo-Rivera. "The measure we're talking about is a responsible step forward to protect from flooding, to clean our water, and to have healthier neighborhoods overall."
CBS 8 spoke to Haney Hong, President and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayer's Association about this proposal. He said clearly stormwater infrastructure needs investment.
"I think the real question we ought to be asking is 'Why hasn’t it had the investment that we would expect as taxpayers?' We know that city councils of the past have chronically underfunded stormwater," said Hong.
He said the city spends a lot of money on a lot of things including road repair and the homelessness crisis.
"It’s hard to tell where these dollars are going and how we’re getting performance. We, as taxpayers, want a return on our investment, we expect good things out of those dollars we put into the public treasury. I think it’s clear the city is struggling. The city’s got to work on its basics."
In December, Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan requested all city departments cut 2% of their budgets to address the structural deficit.
CBS 8 asked Council President Elo-Rivera if he would support a 2% cut to the Stormwater Department.
"I need to see what the entire proposed budget looks like. Saying what I would support or not support before I've seen the entire proposed budget seems kind of irresponsible," he said.
Mayor Todd Gloria's 2025 budget proposal is due in April.
In response to CBS 8's request for comment, the mayor's office said:
"The request was for cuts that would not have service-level impacts – so operating efficiencies like trimming contracts, etc. We don’t anticipate cutting service levels (i.e. maintenance) for the Stormwater Dept.
Also, for your awareness, there is the general fund, which is the day-to-day operating budget (the budget we asked for the 2% cuts for), and Capital Improvements budget, which funds infrastructure projects like road repaving, new bridges, and storm channel widening. We anticipate increasing the CIP budget for stormwater improvements in the coming fiscal year."
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