Perpetual sunshine gets you tourism, conventions and new businesses. But San Diego is in dire straits nonetheless. Struggling to recover from government ethics scandals, and with municipal finances under severe strain, the municipal corporation of San Diego is either going down a rathole fast, or will very slowly edge back to viability. A new mayor, moderate Republican and former police chief Jerry Sanders, is in charge. I wonder if he and those that voted for him will come to regret his "No New Taxes" pledge. I'm not very big on new taxes either, but some of the service cuts don't sound too sexy. Today's Christian Science Monitor has more.

In a hoopla-free inaugural address, perhaps the grimmest in the city's 155-year history, San Diego's fourth mayor since July declared that the city "is mired in a financial and ethical crisis of historic proportions," and warned residents of the need for "sacrifice." Yet he did not mention the city's most pressing threat: bankruptcy. As Sanders takes office, San Diego is on the edge of a financial black hole. Years of mismanagement left it with an employee pension-fund deficit estimated at $1.4 billion. The bills are coming due, and the city can barely borrow money to stay afloat. Government malfeasance has also led to a rash of indictments, a humiliating mayoral resignation, and corruption trials.

On his first day on the job, Sanders alerted city workers to possible layoffs. The city has already cut library hours and reduced park maintenance. Residents have complained about overgrown trees and unfilled potholes, and there's talk that the city might unload valuable property. Sanders, who comes into office as new mayoral powers take effect, could slash the budget and demand concessions from municipal unions whose employees are slated for gold-plated pensions....Despite Sanders's efforts, the city's problems may last for decades. It is postponing preventive maintenance on roads and water and sewer systems because it can't borrow money to pay for it, meaning that the systems will eventually fail more dramatically than they would have otherwise, says Glen Sparrow, a professor emeritus of public administration at San Diego State and adviser to the new mayor.

There's your Red Badge of Courage, Mr. Mayor: "slash the budget" fat, not the bone; and by all means, "demand concessions from municipal unions whose employees are slated for gold-plated pensions." THEN, you can credibly push for a tax hike of some sort, which will almost certainly still be needed to keep infrastructure up to date. I'll lay even odds this is already the undisclosed plan.

Related Rosenblog post: "Convicted San Diego Politician Gets Labor Council Job."

TECHNORATI TAGS: SAN DIEGO, BANKRUPTCY, EMPLOYEE PENSION FUNDS, JERRY SANDERS

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at December 14, 2005 10:49 AM