I wanted to update you on a few things. First, we had two Board meetings this week, and while we were able to bring in much-needed resources for North County, much of the time was spent on the definition of a woman. Check out the video below, or click here to see what I had to say about the item.
We were able to allocate resources for two projects in North County. We accumulated another $5 million for North County parks and dollars for “One Safe Place” which is a place for victims of domestic violence, which is due to open in June.
Unfortunately, we have been spending a lot of time at our Board meetings on national issues. Instead, we should be more focused on issues that affect San Diegans every day, such as homelessness, affordable housing, road improvements, crime or drug related overdoses, and the rising cost of electricity. My focus has always been back-to-basics, and I think as a County Supervisor, we should be focusing on everyday life. Coming up in June, the County of San Diego will approve its budget for the fiscal year and my focus will be on improving the lives of San Diegans – making sure we have enough law enforcement officers to protect our community, bringing fire safety resources to North County, lowering the cost of living, and making our streets safer. I will keep you updated on the budget and I want to hear from you on what you think the budget should address. I’ll be sending out another email soon on how you can give input to our County budget.
More Taxes Coming?
Yesterday a group called, Let’s Go San Diego submitted signatures with hopes of getting a half-cent sales tax on the November 2022 ballot. This would help fund SANDAG’s $160 billion transit plan.
With inflation at record highs, this is not the time for more taxes. Most San Diegans are looking at three half-cent sales taxes. Here are all the ways SANDAG plans to pay for their plan, with your money.
- ½ cent sales tax – 2022 ballot, no expiration
- ½ cent sales tax – 2028 ballot, no expiration
- An MTS ½ cent sales tax (70% of the County)
- Fee per mile driven 4.3 cents –
- 2 cents regional
- 2.3 cents State
- Creating a new fee for ride-hailing (UBER or LYFT) $1.25 solo ride; $.65 carpool
- 819 miles of new managed lanes (toll lanes)
I will keep you updated if the first tax qualifies for the November 2022 ballot. As I said earlier, this is not the time to hurt San Diegans by taxing them out of their car.
San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond
http://www.supervisorjimdesmond.com/
