National University System Institute for Policy Research

Past Years

Most Recent City of San Diego Report on the Costs of the Living Wage Ordinance: August 7, 2007 - The San Diego Institute recently obtained the following City of San Diego report that measures SOME of the additional costs imposed upon taxpayers by the City's "Living Wage Ordinance". This report examines the costs incurred between July and December 2006. Since the cost of the ordinance on City taxpayers is only apparent when contracts are renewed, re-bid or subject to readjustment, a final tally could be as several millions of dollars. By law, the City is required to hold hearings on the impact of the ordinance on July 1st or as soon thereafter as practicable (SDMC 22,4235(c)). Continue reading »

SDI Releases Comparative Research Indicating Telephone Taxes Largely Ineffective: June 18, 2007 - In light of a report in March 2007 by the San Diego City Council's Independent Budget Analyst that recommended the strong consideration of the "implementation of a 9-1-1 fee to ensure operability of the City's emergency response and dispatch system SDI examined the track record of such charges in other California jurisdictions. Continue reading »

SDI Releases Policy Document on Budget Making Powers and the City of San Diego: February 19, 2007 - For the past several months San Diego's elected officials have been embroiled in a dispute over which branch of government has the power to budget, appropriate, and spend funds. In examining other large cities operating under the Mayor-Council form of government, we found that 12 out of 15 Mayors have, for the most part, the unilateral power to make mid-year adjustments to departmental budgets without seeking legislative approval. Continue reading »

Appendix II to Mayor Council Policy Brief: February 18, 2007 - This appendix contains specific information on the 15 cities SDI examined. Continue reading »