Councilmember Frye Pushes for Fiscal Scrutiny of Ballot Propositions
Councilmember Frye is leading a push for a tougher new municipal ordinance to ensure fiscal accuracy and transparency as a result of a lawsuit she won in March over what the court agreed was deceptive language that hid the potential costs on an upcoming City ballot proposition.
Frye successfully protected the public right to know by challenging the Mayor’s Office’s fiscal analysis of Proposition D, the “strong mayor” measure that will be on the June 8 ballot. Frye filed suit in San Diego Superior Court, forcing a settlement that resulted in a change in the proposed ballot analysis that removed the misleading and deceptive language.
Proposition D, which would make permanent the “strong mayor” form of government enacted in 2005 for a trial period, includes a provision to expand the City Council to nine seats from eight. The original ballot language had stated the cost of adding a ninth Council office might be as little as little as $0, when in fact it would cost at least $1 million annually. Frye filed suit to make sure the public would be told the real cost of Proposition D.
To ensure that voters will be provided accurate and impartial information in the future, Frye has proposed a Municipal Code revision that would govern how fiscal impact analyses are prepared.
“The public has a right to know what proposed ballot measures will cost when they are considering how to cast their votes. They deserve honest, clear and easy-to-understand language,” she said. “These changes will ensure that ballot information is impartial and not written in a deceptive way.”
Councilmember Frye’s proposal would amend the Municipal Code to require the City’s Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) to prepare a fiscal impact analysis of any proposed ballot measure. Specifically, the Code would require the IBA analysis to “reasonably inform the voters of the proposed measure’s fiscal impact and be true, impartial and not argumentative so as to avoid misleading the public with inaccurate information.”
The proposal was passed unanimously by the City Council’s Rules Committee on April 28 and will be voted on by the full Council within 45 days.
Republished from Council District 6 newsletter.
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