Wise Delay on Transit Vote

The directors of Sandag made a wise decision last week when they decided not to go to the voters in November with a request for a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for various transportation projects. The action by the Sandag (San Diego Assn. of Governments) board means a county-sponsored tax proposal aimed at raising money for jail and courthouse construction can be debated without competition from another tax referendum.

The Sandag proposal, which probably will be placed on the November, 1987, ballot, is an effort to raise $2.4 billion over the next 20 years to finance expansion of trolley service, highways and local roads. One reason it was a good idea to delay the vote on the transit package is that neither Sandag nor its member cities have yet done the spade work necessary to build a consensus for it.

Excellent arguments can be made that it is high time this area began planning major expansions in its transportation system. But Sandag should offer more public debate over how the revenue should be allocated before it asks the voters to approve a tax increase.

The county, on the other hand, has clearly demonstrated the need for approval of the jail-courts proposal. This half-cent measure would raise as much as $420 million over five years, then expire.

With the county already under a court order to limit overcrowding at the downtown jail, and with the El Cajon and Chula Vista jails straining from too many prisoners, it is becoming harder for judges to keep criminals incarcerated for appropriate lengths of time. And anyone who has been involved with either criminal or civil litigation can attest to the logjam of cases waiting to be tried.

The county measure requires two-thirds approval for passage, and that will be difficult. But it’s a straightforward way of asking the public to pay for facilities it needs, and it should be approved.