The Agenda: Today’s AM Political Roundup

Good morning from Point Loma.

Let’s start off the day with taxes.

• An appeals court ruling yesterday may force the city of San Diego to refund millions in fees charged to businesses for processing their taxes, the U-T reports. The court said San Diego’s business tax processing fees violated California’s constitution, which requires voter approval to raise certain taxes. The city instituted the fees in 2004 and collected $2.7 million last year. The city did not say if it would appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. The U-T also linked to the court’s decision.

Our own Adrian Florido writes an easy-to-understand explainer on maintenance assessment districts, using a lawsuit in Golden Hill to show complications about taxation and representation. A recommended read.

• CityBeat follows our story and a U-T piece about the impact of state budget cuts to local development agencies with a new wrinkle. Redevelopment law caps the amount an agency can earn from tax increment financing and the $48 million the state is taking from Centre City Development Corp.’s budget will count against its cap, CityBeat reports, limiting the projects it can complete in the future.
• The North County times has an interesting read on the San Diego Police Department’s weapons and alcohol policies. Or lack thereof. Last week’s citation of a city police officer, who allegedly waived her service weapon while drunk at a Carlsbad bar, prompted the story.
• In other city news in San Diego County, the leader of a recall petition against an Oceanside city councilman will not debate a citizen’s group that opposes the recall. He will debate the recall’s subject, Councilman Jerry Kern, but Kern’s not interested. Escondido officials might bail out a stalled downtown construction project that’s becoming an eyesore. And an assistant to National City Mayor Ron Morrison quit her second job with a towing company amid conflict of interest concerns. Morrison promoted her to a new position.
• In opinion today, a North County Times editorial calls pay increases given by California legislators to their staffs this year “arrogant.”

— LIAM DILLON