Morning Report: Vacation Home Tax Moves Forward
EM - News Moderator 
The vacation home tax is moving ahead — for now.
On Wednesday, the Rules Committee advanced Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s proposal to tax vacation homes and empty second homes.
“Ninety-nine percent of San Diegans would not pay this tax, that is a fact,” he said.
Our Scott Lewis broke down the battle lines earlier this week. Elo-Rivera believes the city should generate revenue by forcing those with more to pay their “fair share,” as he puts it. Opponents see it as a threat to the business community and San Diegans who run short-term rentals as a small business.
“We should not curtail any conversation on any new revenue opportunity,” said Councilmember Joe LaCava, the committee chair. “This is not the only conversation we will have on this proposal.”
Councilmember Raul Campillo opposed the tax, and said 81 percent of vacation rentals are owned by San Diegans. He said if the tax passes, it will hurt hosts and guests.
Councilmember Kent Lee asked for further analysis on the tax from the Independent Budget Analyst Office (IBA). “I presume the revenues presented on the slide are overly optimistic,” Lee said. Initial estimates from Councilmember Elo-Rivera’s office said the measure could generate $135 million annually.
The proposal passed 3-1. Elo-Rivera’s office will work with the IBA, City Treasurer, and City Attorney’s Office to prepare more on the measure before returning it to the committee.
About that Palomar and UCSD Health Partnership
Palomar Health and UCSD Health are partnering to create a new quasi-public health care agency in North County.
As our Tigist Layne reports: Palomar’s board of directors agreed Tuesday to the partnership to “stabilize and expand health care services.”
As Layne has reported, Palomar has been in bad financial trouble in recent years. UCSD Health has also had its share of trouble. It announced it would lay off 200 employees over the summer.
It’s unclear if the partnership will help stabilize the organizations’ financial positions.
The two agencies are creating what’s called a joint powers authority. Two public agencies can form such a partnership when they want to share common powers, implement programs together and build facilities or deliver services.
“Did you ever partner with a classmate on an assignment?” Layne writes. “This is sort of like that but for public agencies.”
Layne has much more on the deal and her questions about it.
Read the full North County Report here.
Experimental Water Treatment Company Spills Diesel, Equipment in Tijuana River
A company the cash-strapped International Boundary and Water Commission paid to test experimental water treatment on the Tijuana River ended up spilling fuel and technology into the body of water after a recent storm.
Greenwater Services won a $2.5 million contract from the IBWC to do its “nanobubble” experiment back in August, as first reported by inewsource. But a storm last week swept much of their equipment into the river it was trying to clean.
One group responsible for setting up a trash boom paid for by the state of California said they warned the company its experiment was set up in a bad location.
It’s unclear whether the IBWC will spend more money to continue funding the project.
In Other News
- You know the plane that landed on Mission Beach due to engine failure Tuesday? Check out this instant-classic-of-an-interview with a skater who watched the plane land. “It was like, as if an angel just caressed the plane and just sat it down,” he said. (Reddit)
- A $50-million beachfront home in Del Mar has set the record for the most expensive home sale in San Diego County. The previous record was $47 million for a home in La Jolla. The article — like so many others! — erroneously calls La Jolla a city. (Mansion Global)
- Literally thousands of San Diegans have flooded the county with questions about their increased property tax bill. In many cases the explanation is simple: Residents are seeing a first-time charge for trash collection from the city of San Diego, which recently began billing for the service. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba, Will Huntsberry and MacKenzie Elmer. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: Vacation Home Tax Moves Forward appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
