It's a working weekend for the San Diego City Attorney's office, after the City Council voted during a special meeting Friday to create a new sales tax ballot measure.
After casting the deciding vote against putting a temporary half-cent sales tax on the November ballot on July 26, Councilwoman Donna Frye created a proposal that would institute the tax hike alongside other financial reforms for the city.
The council used this plan as a framework Friday in instructing City Attorney Jan Goldsmith what to put in a proposed ballot measure.
Six councilmembers voted in favor of asking the city attorney to write up an ordinance, with Councilmen Kevin Faulconer and Carl DeMaio voting no.
On Monday, the council will again vote on whether or not to put the proposal Goldsmith produces on the November ballot.
The council will need six votes for it to pass, according to state law.
Frye's plan called for seven financial reforms to be reached before a tax can go into effect, including eliminating or neutralizing some of the more controversial aspects of the city's employee benefits, implementing managed competition for city services, and soliciting requests from private companies to take over the lease of the Miramar Landfill.
Within two years of the tax going into effect, the city would also have to execute an additional four reforms, including reducing retiree health care costs and establishing a voluntary 401(k) program for some employees.
Frye's plan calls for a panel of three retired superior court judges to review whether reform measures have been made in a timely manner before the tax can go into effect.
Some of these reforms, such as managed competition, are favorites of the city's Republicans and earned Mayor Jerry Sanders' support.
At Friday's meeting, representatives from the city's unions agreed to the proposal as well, and implied they would be more malleable in managed competition talks.
The councilmembers who voted against asking the City Attorney's Office to draw up a proposal said they would rather fix the city's financial problems with more financial reforms and cuts.
Those who voted in favor said, however, that there are few cuts left to be made.
"We have cut so deep already that, today, we could lay off 700 sworn police officers -- nearly 40 percent of our force –- and still not be close to solving our budget gap," Sanders said at a press conference after the council's vote. "I do not believe the citizens of San Diego want us to go down that road. No right-thinking person does. The other option is the ballot measure approved (Friday) by the City Council. It is the embodiment of the reform-before-revenue approach."
Others praised the balanced approach that the ballot measure will take.
"As someone who has deep reservations about managed competition and a number of the other items listed as reforms, I think what we have here today represents a meeting in the middle that has not been seen previously at City Hall," said Councilman Todd Gloria.
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