As a longtime Encinitas resident, wealth manager, philanthropist, and lead proponent of YES on Measure K, I’ve spent my career evaluating good investments. Measure K is one of the best we can make for our city’s future.
This one-cent sales tax increase will fund crucial infrastructure upgrades and public safety enhancements, ensuring Encinitas remains safe and vibrant for generations. It’s a small cost to protect our legacy, and much of it will be paid by visitors, not locals.
This is why a broad coalition of leaders — from the Encinitas Firefighters Association to the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and many others — supports YES on K.
Measure K addresses urgent infrastructure needs like aging storm drains, bridges, and public facilities. These may seem minor now but can lead to massive future costs if ignored. Failing storm drains have caused sinkholes and flooding, threatening safety and leading to expensive repairs. Measure K provides resources to tackle these issues, saving residents from larger financial burdens later.
YES on Measure K is also an investment in our environment and public spaces. Our parks, beaches, and lagoons require maintenance to stay clean and accessible. Measure K funds efforts to keep pollutants out of our waterways and off our beaches, keep sand on our beaches, and protect the health of our community for future generations.
YES on Measure K ensures local control over our finances. Currently, much of our sales tax goes to the state or regional agencies. Measure K keeps more tax dollars in Encinitas. Funds will be subject to citizen oversight, audits, and public reporting, ensuring transparency and effectiveness.
The best investments provide lasting returns. Measure K is a perfect example. By investing a little now — a one-cent sales tax increase — we’re safeguarding Encinitas for the long term. The benefits will be felt for years, from maintaining public spaces to improving infrastructure and emergency services. Importantly, the tax is shared by everyone who enjoys Encinitas, including tourists, so the cost doesn’t fall solely on residents.
As a wealth manager, I know smart planning balances short-term costs with long-term gains. Measure K’s small tax increase will prevent higher future costs in infrastructure repairs, environmental cleanup, or public safety. Encinitas voters understand this; a recent survey shows 61% support Measure K, with high priorities on pollution reduction and maintaining parks and public spaces. The community is ready to invest in our future.
I urge fellow residents to join me and the Encinitas Firefighters Association in voting YES on Measure K this November. It’s not just a tax measure — it’s an investment in Encinitas’s future. By voting YES, we’re protecting what makes our city special for future generations. Let’s make the smart investment now to keep Encinitas thriving.
Please join me, the Encinitas Firefighters Association, and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association in voting YES on Measure K.
William “Bill” Sparks
Encinitas
3 comments
100% in support of Measure K tax. Fixing our roads and updating our sewage system will save residents from the financial, physical and emotional costs related to auto repair, traffic accidents and flood damage recovery. There will always be complainers about how our city manages its budget. I am proud to have and had Council members who listen to and well understand the core spirit of the majority of our residents. Progressive council members have worked hard to preserve precious open space like Surfer’s Point. For those that criticize this investment, I guess what they are saying is they do not want to preserve the greatest jewels of open space in our city. Voting yes on Measure K will serve to protect our natural wonders and save money for residents by preventing future disasters. VOTE YES on K
Why keep paying more and more taxes to corrupted incompetent politicians?
Kranz and his appointees have wasted so much of our money, putting us into debt for StreetScape, spending $10 million on an arts center, spending money on reduced speed limit signs to speeds lower than anyone is going to drive, etc.
In the meantime Kranz and Blakespear, Hinze, and Blackwell have ignored our sewage issues and streets have gone unpaved for years.
I used to marvel at how good the streets were in Encinitas when I came here from PB.
Then Blakespear and Kranz happened.
No to Measure K and no to all tax increases. Enough is enough.
Bill – so sorry, but this sales tax increase can and will be spent any way this and future councils wish. If Tony was serious about infrastructure upgrades (which he hasn’t been in his 12 years on council), then this Measure should have specified what it was for. It would have taken a greater majority to pass it, but more of us would have voted for it.
This is a dishonest measure and shame on you, as a financial professional, for not doing your homework and stumping for the Firefighters Union, who by the way are the highest paid civil servants in the city. Much of this tax benefit could very well go to funding their pensions. Vote NO on K. Mayor Kranz should live within his means, just like we do.
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