The Coast News
Check out our Spring Home & Gard e inside this n issue!
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 11, N0. 7
COUGARS MAKE WAY TO
FINAL FOUR
March 29, 2024
Vista mulls new street policies By Laura Place
CAL STATE SAN MARCOS star senior Jordan Vasquez drives to the basket in the Cougars’ 85-80 overtime victory over top-seeded Gannon on Monday in the NCAA Division II West Regional final, sending CSUSM to the program’s first-ever Final Four. Vasquez, named regional MVP, scored 26 points but fouled out in regulation. The Cougars played Minnesota State in a national semifinal on Wednesday. Story on 21. Photo by Arianne Boma
San Marcos eyes sales tax for city services By Laura Place
SAN MARCOS — Voters in San Marcos could see a half-cent or one-cent sales tax measure on the ballot this November as the city considers new revenue sources to maintain necessary service levels across departments. City officials introduced the idea of a sales tax earlier this month amid an ongoing budget deficit projected to continue into next year. The city began the 2023-24 fiscal year with $3.8 million in the red and has since
reduced that deficit to around $2.4 million after adjusting expenditures in recent months. City Manager Michelle Bender now says operations have been consolidated as much as possible while maintaining the city’s current standard of service, including in public works and public safety. “We’ve slimmed down even more in the past few years, and we’re at the point where there is no more room to cut if we want San Marcos to be a clean, safe place to live,”
Bender said at the council’s March 12 meeting. The City Council has until August to decide whether to put the sales tax on the ballot. Council members said while they were not eager to increase taxes from the current 7.75% rate, a local measure would generate revenue entirely for the city, as opposed to other taxes imposed by the state and regional governments like SAN MARCOS firefighters say the call volume has douSANDAG. bled since the last fire station was built in 2008. Accord“As a leader, it’s clear ing to fire representatives, the department relies on first TURN TO SALES TAX ON 17
responders from surrounding cities to help respond to local emergencies. Courtesy photo/City of San Marcos
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VISTA — Policies around temporary and permanent street closures and one-way streets in downtown Vista could come before the City Council in the next year, as the city seeks ways to increase multimodal access and invigorate the downtown. At a March 26 meeting, Councilmember Corinna Contreras led an open discussion with her council colleagues about the possi- San Marcos bility of closing seeks comcertain streets in munity’s help downtown to make to name new them more accessipark. ble to pedestrians Story on 4 and allow more events in the city. “What I really wanted to do was open a discussion with my colleagues to gauge the temperature, so we could provide some direction to staff if there was consensus on reimagining our downtown,” Contreras said. “There’s a possibility that some segments can be permanently closed, there's also that possibility we might want to have a temporary closure and have some more events downtown.” The council conversation followed a separate discussion by the Central Vista Business Improvement District (CVBID) board earlier this month, where members discussed the pros and cons of downtown street closures with a small group of business owners. CVBID noted that street closures could draw more foot traffic to businesses and create additional space for people to walk, bike, and sit and dine outside; however, they said this change would also likely increase traffic congestion and decrease parking availability. Business owner Carly Dede, TURN TO VISTA ON 17