Oceanside spending more on crime suppression, e-bike enforcement, homelessness

Oceanside plans to boost spending on crime suppression, e-bike enforcement and homelessness prevention this year using higher-than-expected revenue from the Measure X half-cent sales tax hike approved by voters.

“Revenue has exceeded what had been projected and staff has been able to secure other sources of funding, which has further enabled the city to stretch Measure X dollars,” states a Jan. 22 report from the city manager’s office to the Measure X Citizens Oversight Committee.

A preliminary spending plan approved June 4 by the Oceanside City Council detailed the allocation of $17,970,536 for the seventh year of the tax, which city voters approved in November 2018 for specific uses including law enforcement, homelessness prevention and some infrastructure projects. A revised spending plan presented to the oversight committee on Jan. 22 totals $18,400,536 in spending.

The committee unanimously recommended the City Council’s approval of the revisions when it reviews the proposal at a council meeting in a few weeks.

The Police Department’s crime suppression team will see a $200,000 increase for a total of $700,000 of Measure X money this year.

“Historically, the crime suppression team has been staffed solely by officers with other regular assignments working overtime,” the report states. “This change will allow the Police Department to now place two full-time officers in crime suppression as their primary assignments.”

Also, the ci...