How a San Diego council member wants to prevent a repeat of fee-hike sticker shock

Councilmember Raul Campillo’s attempt to make it more difficult for San Diego to impose higher-than-expected fees on city residents will get a long-awaited first public hearing Wednesday.

Campillo, who initially proposed the new policy in November, said the three-month delay gave him the opportunity to significantly strengthen his proposal — with some help from former City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.

The effort, which the council’s Rules Committee is scheduled to debate Wednesday, was prompted by San Diego’s new trash pickup fees for single-family homes, which ended up much higher than expected.

Before voters considered the 2022 ballot measure that allowed the new fees, city officials had estimated they would ultimately be in the range of $23 to $29 per month, based on a relatively limited analysis.

A more thorough analysis conducted after voters had already approved levying the fees determined they needed to be much higher for the city to cover its costs. The council eventually approved a monthly fee of $43.60 last spring.

Campillo and other critics call that shift a bait-and-switch, and Campillo’s proposal seeks to prevent a repeat by requiring any ballot measure that could create a new fee — or raise an existing one — to undergo a comprehensive analysis long befo...