San Diego, CA – San Diego County officials have quietly taken a concerning step: hiring political consultants to test voter support for yet another county-wide sales tax increase. The move, revealed in recent reporting, raises questions about fiscal discipline and whether county leaders are prepared to rein in spending before asking residents to pay more.
According to local coverage, the Board of Supervisors has contracted a firm to conduct polling and messaging work around a potential ballot measure that could raise the county’s sales tax. The county’s latest effort comes on the heels of previous tax increases that voters have rejected.
Why this matters: San Diegans are already burdened with high housing costs, skyrocketing energy prices, and climbing living expenses. A newly proposed sales tax hike — even if pitched as “sustainable fiscal planning” — would disproportionately impact working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small business consumers who can least afford another cost push.
Critics, including Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond and Vista Mayor John Franklin, have been blunt. As both noted in social media statements, the county’s decision to spend six-figure sums on consultants — not to cut costs but to find ways to raise taxes — reflects misplaced priorities. Such consulting contracts do nothing to fix structural budget issues; instead, they signal an inclination toward ever-higher taxes over meaningful reforms.
In the 2024 election, San Diego voters rejected separate sales tax increases for both city and county projects, including transportation funding. That’s a clear message: residents don’t want more taxes without accountability and results. Yet county leaders appear ready to ignore that message, first by spending taxpayer dollars on consultants and next by floating another tax measure.
Local conservatives argue that the county should focus on controlling spending, cutting waste, and improving fiscal efficiency before any tax increase is even considered. With inflation and cost pressures already squeezing household budgets, asking voters to dig deeper into their pockets without serious structural reform would be irresponsible.
As one business-owner source recently noted in a separate local poll, San Diego’s economy thrives when government gets smaller, spending is restrained, and families keep more of what they earn. Any plan to raise taxes should start there — not with paid consultants drafting messaging campaigns.
