Politics

Chula Vista Looks To Prop. H And Union Concessions To Avoid Deeper Cuts

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published October 15, 2010 at 8:29 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Chula Vista, San Diego’s second largest city, is looking at more major cuts to public services in the next budget. Much depends on the result of labor negotiations and a utility tax increase on next month’s ballot.

Chula Vista’s City Manager Jim Sandoval says unless city employee unions agree to pay their full share of pension contributions, accept a two tier pension system for new hires and forgo pay raises, the city will have to cut services and lay off an additional 70 people.

More than 100 employees have already lost their jobs as a result of the budget cuts, and city staff now number under 1,000.

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Chula Vista failed to get voter support for a sales tax increase last year that would have raised $20 million a year. This year, voters are being asked to approve a telecommunications tax worth up to $6 million annually.

The city argues Proposition H simply updates a utility tax that’s been collected for 40 years. Opponents say the measure extends the scope of the tax, and wireless customers will see increases of up to 5 percent on their bills.

In the worst case scenario -- if Prop. H fails and labor groups don’t make concessions -- Sandoval says Chula Vista may have to lay off 150 more staff, and close the Eastlake Library, Parkway Pool, Memorial Bowl and two recreation centers.

Politics

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.