A sales tax measure approved by Oceanside voters in 2018 is set to expire in 2026, now city leaders are considering asking voters to extend it.
The seven-year, half-cent sales tax increase called Measure X raised the city’s sales tax rate to 8.25 percent and has generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the city each year since it took effect in 2019.
The city’s Measure X Citizens Oversight Committee decided last month that the money has so far been spent according to what it was intended for and supported asking the City Council to put an extension of the measure on the November ballot.
The committee is made up of seven residents appointed by the City Council to oversee all Measure X spending.
The new measure would ask voters to approve an extension of the current half-cent rate, it would not propose another tax increase.
When it was first proposed back in 2017, city staff projected the measure would bring in about $11 million annually, but it has exceeded that number each year since. By the end of this fiscal year on June 30, the sales tax will have brought in around $20 million. And city officials expect similar results next year.
By the end of its seven years, Measure X is on track to bring in a total of almost $120 million, according to preliminary budget reports. So, what have city officials been spending that money on?
According to financial documents and city leaders, the money has been used to improve public safety services, enhance the city’s infrastructure and invest in more homeless outreach and services, which are the priorities voters supported in 2018.
In other words, Measure X has so far kept its promise.
Infrastructure
The majority of Measure X dollars has gone toward infrastructure improvements, according to a review of yearly spending reports.
Michael Gossman, Oceanside’s assistant city manager, told Voice of San Diego that this was intentional.
“It creates something tangible that directly benefits residents, and it usually reduces long term maintenance costs,” Gossman said via email.
He added that when city officials surveyed voters back in 2017, they wanted to see improvements to the city’s infrastructure as one of the top priorities.
By the end of this fiscal year on June 30, the city will have spent almost $50 million on infrastructure improvements to streets, roads, beaches and parks, according to spending reports.
City leaders used the funds to build more than a dozen new public restrooms, fix aging picnic tables and play areas, repave public parking lots and sidewalks, and rehabilitate the pier.
The money is also partially funding a new community park with sports fields, restrooms and other facilities at the city’s El Corazon property.
Separately, the city will have spent roughly $23 million on public safety infrastructure including a new Fire Station 1, a new fire department training tower, a new emergency operations center and more.
“Since the term of Measure X is only seven years we tried to focus more of the monies on one-time costs and, as much as possible, not use those funds for programs that would have to be wound down should Measure X not be extended,” Gossman said.
Public Safety
The city’s police and fire departments have also received a large chunk of Measure X funds.
City officials will have spent about $28 million on police, fire and other emergency services by June 30.
The city has used the money to hire more EMTs; restructured the emergency services department to improve emergency response times; put more security technology in the city’s downtown area; and purchased more equipment for police officers, firefighters, lifeguards and paramedics.
Funds were also used to create a second Police Homeless Outreach Team that includes a social worker.
Homelessness
City officials spent the least amount of Measure X dollars on homeless outreach and services totaling about $7.8 million by the end of this fiscal year. That does not include the roughly $450,000 spent annually for the homeless outreach team.
These funds have been put toward a homeless reunification program to help homeless people reunite with family; a homeless prevention program; and a bridge housing program, which is transitional housing for homeless people.
Measure X dollars used to fund a sobering center that was the first of its kind in North County, but city leaders shut down the program after claiming it was underutilized. Voice of San Diego previously reported that the center’s referral structure and strict criteria may have contributed to its failure.
Gossman said city leaders did not want Measure X dollars to replace money that was already funding existing homeless programs.
“For example, we used to have only one homeless outreach team that was funded by the General Fund. Now, we have two teams, but only one is funded by Measure X. The General Fund still funds the original team,” Gossman said. “If there are other sources of funding that can be used on homelessness, like grants, we want to use those funds first.”
He added that the city used grants and other sources to fund the Oceanside Navigation Center, the city’s first and only homeless shelter that opened last year.
Oceanside is also helping fund a permanent supportive housing project for people who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless. The project won’t be using any Measure X funds.
The city has the second highest unsheltered homeless population in North County with 290 unsheltered homeless people at the time of last year’s Point-in-Time count.
The City Council will consider putting the extension on the ballot at its June 26 meeting.
More Potential Sales Tax Measures Around North County
Two North County cities, Encinitas and San Marcos are also considering putting sales tax measures on their November ballots.
Encinitas is considering a one-cent sales tax increase that could generate around $16 million annually. City leaders say they would likely use the money to improve the city’s infrastructure, storm drains and roadways.
The city’s sales tax rate is currently at 7.75 percent, which is on the lower end compared to some other cities in San Diego County.
San Marcos is in a similar boat with a current 7.75 percent sales tax rate that city leaders are considering raising by a half-cent or one cent.
In San Marcos’ case, though, a sales tax measure could be an answer to the city’s shaky financial standing. San Marcos started the 2024 fiscal year with a $3.8 million budget deficit and has since reduced that deficit to about $2.4 million by consolidating some of the city’s expenses.
A half-cent tax is projected to bring in about $11 million annually, while a one-cent rate could bring in upwards of $20 million annually, city staff said at a March council meeting.
I applaud that Measure X spent according to it’s guidelines when enacted. But it was advertised with a ‘lights out’ and revert back to the lower sales tax rate. That is lost in the discussion.
Personally, I will vote against extending Measure X. A sales tax is the most regressive means of generating revenue. Use general funds to do all the wonderful things this article speaks of, not sales tax.