Throw out fax machines and desk phones: Supervisors sacrifice old tech ahead of looming sales-tax hike

Decades into the era of email and smart phones, San Diego County is discontinuing the use of antiquated desk phones and fax machines.

Democratic supervisors want to phase out the dated office tech as they seek to cut costs for an increasingly cash-strapped county government, a situation which has supervisors and organized labor trying to put a sales-tax hike on the ballot.

Estimated savings from throwing out desk phones and fax machines ranges from $1.5 million to $7 million, according to supervisors.

Those savings don’t come anywhere close to erasing the kind of budget gap the county might face in the years ahead.

By 2028, the county will need anywhere between $200 million and $300 million a year in order to maintain current staffing and programs as a result of changes and cuts to Medicaid and food aid programs passed by Congress last year.

That’s on top of the county’s existing annual budget gaps, which totaled $139 million last year.

But Democrats still see any move to cut costs as a good will campaign aimed at constituents ahead of a potential ballot measure. Voters have become increasingly skepti...