City leaders went too far in pushing for higher revenue

At this point, one must seriously question the strategy of the city of San Diego. First, our elected leaders attempted to raise the sales tax by 1 percentage point. They failed. Recently, they decided to place parking meters in Balboa Park and other locations. People are protesting and the city may have to back off.

I realize that the city needs revenue. It is hurting even with significant increases in home prices which result in more income from property taxes. A better strategy, in my opinion, would have been to request a 0.5 percentage point increase in sales tax and to set park parking daily fees at $4 for residents and $8 for nonresidents instead of $8 and $16, respectively.

Officials also needed to do a better job of communicating deficits to explain the need for increased revenue. Instead, they went for home runs and may end up with nothing.

— Ronald Harris, Scripps Ranch