El Cajon council unanimously votes to place Measure J continuation on November ballot

The El Cajon City Council voted unanimously to place a continuation of Measure J — the city’s half-cent local sales tax — on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot after staff recommended an ordinance that would carry forward the same tax rate and include taxpayer safeguards.

City Manager told the council that Proposition J, first adopted in 2008, currently generates a little over $13,000,000 in revenue annually and that roughly 75% of those funds support public safety. He said the measure will sunset at the end of 2029 and that without a continuation the city would face “significant cuts” to police and fire services. City Manager also summarized outreach the city used to inform the proposal, including polling by Competitive Edge, four town halls in June and a targeted town hall for recent immigrant communities in July, and follow-up surveys.

Staff’s draft ordinance would continue the half-cent tax with a new 20-year expiration and create an independent oversight committee. The oversight panel would include a nominee from the San Diego Taxpayers Association, a business-community nominee (to be coordinated with the Chamber of Commerce or the East County EDC), and three residents, at least one of whom must have accounting or public finance experience. Staff proposed an effective date of April 1, 2029 to follow the expiration of the existing Measure J revenue.

Council members pressed staff on lessons learned since 2008, long-term alternatives to reliance on a local sales tax, and ways to partner with similarly situated East County cities to address property-tax disparities. One council member noted the city receives a smaller share of property taxes compared with some neighboring cities and suggested exploring regional approaches to revenue. Another member said that, while they dislike extending taxes in principle, practical realities — including rising service demands and public-safety workloads — make the ballot measure necessary to avoid cuts.

During the meeting the council adopted two resolutions: one calling for a general municipal election on Nov. 5, 2024 to submit the ordinance that would continue the half-cent sales tax (to be consolidated with the statewide election, with the county conducting the election and the city attorney preparing an impartial analysis), and a second expressing the council’s intent to introduce the draft ordinance and place Measure J on the ballot. A council member moved to adopt the election resolution and the City Manager seconded; the clerk announced the motion carried by unanimous vote. The council then moved and unanimously approved the intent resolution, and later voted to have the clerk read the ordinance title, which the clerk said would impose a transactions-and-use tax to be administered by the State Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

The council’s actions now direct staff to submit the approved ballot language and to have the city attorney prepare the impartial analysis required for the ballot. The meeting record shows the council approved the procedural steps to place the continuation on the November ballot; the transcript does not specify individual recorded roll-call tallies beyond the clerk’s announcement that motions carried unanimously.

The joint special meeting of the El Cajon City Council and the El Cajon Housing Authority was adjourned later in the session; the transcript indicates the meeting occurred in August 2024 but does not list a specific calendar day.