Will a half-cent sales tax hike in San Diego County resolve some of the community\u2019s most pressing issues? Or is it a short-sighted \u201cforever tax\u201d with inconsistent priorities?<\/p>\n
These opposing stances marked a spirited debate during Voice of San Diego\u2019s Politifest on Saturday, with a lead advocate for the ballot measure and one of its critics spelling out what\u2019s at stake in the race, just as ballots for November\u2019s election go out over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The ballot measure, sponsored by a coalition of labor unions and nonprofit leaders, would bring in up to $450 million a year for county government by raising the countywide sales tax rate from 7.75% to 8.25%.<\/p>\n
If passed, the tax hike, known as Measure B, would fund a mix of programs and projects, namely social services, public safety and programs to alleviate the sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Valley.<\/p>\n
The ballot measure needs only a simple majority to pass.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sut-l-politifest-005.jpg\")
Courtney Baltiyskyy, Director of Children First SD, speaks during a forum on Measure B during Politifest, hosted by nonprofit news organization Voice of San Diego, at University of San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Courtney Baltiyskyy, an executive at the YMCA of San Diego County who supports the ballot measure, said the county is in a \u201cfull-blown budget crisis\u201d and needs more tax money to not only keep up with its responsibilities, but respond to the impact of the Trump administration on the region.<\/p>\n
She also leaned heavily on what the measure can do for wildfire prevention and the sewage crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why firefighters, ER doctors, nurses, environmental advocates and community leaders have come together to offer Measure B as a solution to this multi-faceted crisis,\u201d Baltiyskyy said.<\/p>\n
But Mark Kersey, president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, countered that neither wildfire prevention nor the sewage crisis account for a majority of what the money raised from the measure will go toward.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sut-l-politifest-004.jpg\")
Mark Kersey, CEO of San Diego County Taxpayers Association, speaks at a forum on Measure B during Politifest, hosted by nonprofit news organization Voice of San Diego, at University of San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
In reality, 60% of the money is earmarked to go to county social services, while 22.5% will go toward the sewage crisis and the remaining 17.5% is allocated for public safety.<\/p>\n
But Kersey\u2019s leading criticism of the ballot measure is that it goes on in perpetuity.<\/p>\n
Many sales tax surcharges passed by voters expire after a set number of years and have to be reauthorized by voters.<\/p>\n
The countywide sales tax surcharge has no sunset clause.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, how the money gets spent has no flexibility, as the law requires the dollars be spent following the expenditure plan adopted by voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is just bad policy,\u201d Kersey said.<\/p>\n
The campaign for a countywide sales tax hike emerged in the aftermath of Republican-led changes last year to social programs like Medicaid, administered as Medi-Cal in California, and food stamps, administered here as CalFresh.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sut-l-politifest-001.jpg\")
Mark Kersey, CEO of San Diego County Taxpayers Association, and Courtney Baltiyskyy, Director of Children First SD, right, speak at a forum on Measure B during Politifest. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Healthcare and anti-poverty advocates worry that stricter rules and work requirements for those programs will result in people getting kicked off of the programs. Reforms to the programs also ban certain immigrant groups from accessing them.<\/p>\n
But for Kersey, the motivations behind the ballot measure make little sense if a future Congress and White House controlled by Democrats undo those recent changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we are passing a local measure that is imposing this burden of additional sales tax \u2014 on an already expensive place to live \u2014 on something that may not even be needed two years from now,\u201d Kersey said.<\/p>\n
Baltiyskyy responded that whatever a hypothetical Congress might do is years down the line, and even if reforms are made, it would take time to implement them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not going to happen overnight,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t control what Washington does, and we know that Washington may not move on these things in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baltiyskyy and Kersey also clashed about how the measure would deal with the sewage crisis, which has throttled South County for decades.<\/p>\n