Backlog of needed repairs to roads
San Diego’s stymied plan to repair decaying infrastructure with $120 million in bond money recently got a boost from a court ruling in Anaheim, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said Tuesday.
City officials have called the money crucial to jump-starting efforts to tackle an estimated $2 billion backlog of needed repairs to roads, sidewalks, fire stations, recreation centers and other facilities.
A judge ruled last month that California law allows Anaheim to sell construction bonds without a public vote, the same argument Goldsmith has made against an April lawsuit that claims San Diego can’t legally make such a move.
Cory Briggs, the man who filed both lawsuits, said Tuesday that Goldsmith’s optimism is unfounded because the city charters in Anaheim and San Diego differ in significant ways.
Goldsmith said he’s confident the judge in the San Diego case will follow the lead of the Anaheim judge and rely on a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that says cities can bypass public votes by setting up special financing agencies.
Such agencies raise revenue by using city buildings as collateral for loans, with city taxpayers giving the agency rent to cover debt payments on the loans.