SAN DIEGO COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Virtue of Prudence at the Polls

If your child handled money the way the San Diego City Council is treating its fiscal 1991 budget, your first inclination would be to cut off his allowance. But San Diego voters, demonstrating the wisdom of patient parents, decided Tuesday not to let this year’s budget snafu wreck the city’s financial health for the next five years.

Instead of retaliating for council’s bungling at the polls, voters prudently approved Proposition D, the Gann spending limit waiver for fiscal years 1992 to 1995. In so doing, they averted the fiscal chaos that would have begun a year from now, when the city would have been taking in $30 million more than it could legally spend.

In traditionally thrifty San Diego, the surprising result--and the remarkable 20% margin of victory--shows that those San Diegans concerned about civic health clearly realized the importance of the measure. They understood that it had to pass for them to avoid even more sweeping cuts in services than are currently being considered to balance next year’s budget. And they understood that the Gann waiver was not a property tax increase.

Some are saying that the vote means more. After 12 years of living under the strict “no-more-spending” climate ushered in by Proposition 13, city residents are now growing tired of deteriorating streets, parks, libraries and other services, they say. People now may be willing to see more money spent on a very specific set of services that they deem essential.

That argument is bolstered by the big victory for Proposition E, the $25.5-million bond measure to replace the city’s outdated police and fire communications system. The measure received 68.28% of the vote--just more than the two-thirds approval it needed for passage--even though it will raise property taxes slightly. San Diego city voters hadn’t approved a general obligation bond since 1966.

Voters in Carlsbad also easily approved two needed school bonds.

We are hesitant to forecast any long-term change in San Diegans’ attitudes toward public spending based solely on Tuesday’s gratifying election results. The lack of a spirited campaign on all the local measures may have had as much to do with the outcome as any other factor.

But as they begin to discuss raising taxes today, San Diego City Council members can more confidently assume that if they make a responsible case about the city’s needs, residents will listen--and may surprise them with the response.