San Diego Leaders Consider New Parcel Tax

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published July 11, 2008 at 12:22 PM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and County Supervisor Ron Roberts are pushing for a parcel tax to pay for more fire protection in the region. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders and Supervisor Ron Roberts are pushing for a parcel tax to pay for more fire protection in the County. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The tax would charge every property owner in the County 52 dollars a year, and raise 50 million dollars annually for fire trucks, air tankers and training.

Mayor Jerry Sanders supports it.

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Sanders : "I think it’s time to move forward. I think if you start at 50 million and it’s a dollar a week, people can relate to a dollar a week. I think it’s just a good start"

But Supervisor Dianne Jacob says it’s too soon to put the parcel tax on the ballot. She points out the money wont even cover basic needs identified by the Fire Protection Committee.

San Diego Fire District Chiefs say they won’t support the tax because they’re not represented on the Joint Powers Authority that decides how it’s spent.

Supervisors must vote soon to get the tax on this year’s ballot. Otherwise a special election would cost 6 million - or it’ll have to wait till 2010.

Alison St John, KPBS news.

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.