August 12, 2009 at 11:51 PM

Special election, poll are most expensive

June 10, 2009

CHULA VISTA — Proposition A, the proposed sales tax rate increase that Chula Vista voters rejected in May, left taxpayers footing the bill for several expenses. It also cost an employee union $330, after officials discovered workers were campaigning for the ballot measure from a city building.

The city paid $19,800 to a consulting firm for a phone survey – which was never publicized – that showed voters would support a tax increase. It also paid $255,000 to the county's registrar of voters to conduct the special May 5 mail ballot election.

“This will go down as the biggest boondoggle and waste of taxpayer money in Chula Vista history,” said Councilman John McCann, who opposed the measure. “The cost of the election would have been hundreds of thousands cheaper if they would have had it during a normal election. But they were in such a hurry to raise taxes they had a special election.”

The Chula Vista Employees Association, the city's largest employee union, also is paying election expenses. In March, residents complained they received calls from city workers using a City Hall phone line soliciting support for the measure, which would have increased the city's sales tax rate 1 percentage point.

The state's government code prohibits the use of public resources, such as office equipment or staff time, for campaigning. The city attorney investigated the complaints, interviewing union leaders about the phone bank. The union wrote a check to the city for $138 in April to reimburse the cost of using the city's office trailer and phones.

The city attorney finished the investigation but wouldn't make public the findings, citing attorney-client privilege. On Friday, however, City Attorney Bart Miesfeld sent a letter to union steward John Hale, asking for additional reimbursement.

“Staff determined that fair market rental value for the subject trailer to be $330.09,” Miesfeld wrote. “CVEA, please remit the balance of $192.09 to Mr. Scott Tulloch, Assistant City Manager. Upon payment, the investigation by the City Attorney's office will be concluded."...

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