The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a tax incentive for a local business, to give financial incentives to city employees who bring money-saving ideas to the mayor’s office and to support the city’s bid for the America’s Cup yacht race, while two items slated for a special closed-session meeting remain unresolved.
The council voted 7-0 to approve a 10-year, $1.5-million deal with medical device-maker Illumina to provide tax incentives in exchange for keeping around 300 manufacturing and sales jobs in the city. The agreement unanimously was approved July 21, but required a second vote Thursday.
Thursday’s vote ensures that Illumina, which leases a half-dozen buildings in San Diego totaling about 560,000 square feet, and has more than 1,000 employees, will stay in San Diego at least another 10 years. The company, which makes devices for genetic analysis, was recently named the “Smartest Company in the World” by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Illumina also has manufacturing facilities in Hayward and Singapore and was considering expanding elsewhere, including to nearby Poway and to Memphis, Tennessee, according to the mayor.
The council also voted 7-0 to approve an agreement with the city’s labor unions that will implement a financial incentive initiative for employees who bring money-saving ideas to the mayor’s office.
All seven council members spoke on how important it was to create “managed competition” and give city employees incentive to suggest ideas that would save the city money and resources.
Councilwoman Lorie Zapf said it’s important to “reward their ideas” and Councilwoman Myrtle Cole said “it’s always a positive step to work with our employees.” Councilman David Alvarez said employees are happier when they are given incentive rather than being threatened.
The council also voted 7-0 to approve a resolution in support of hosting the 35th America’s Cup yacht races in San Diego Bay in 2017. San Diego was one of two city’s named as finalists in July, along with Bermuda, to host the America’s Cup, the most prestigious event in yacht racing that has not been held in San Diego since 1995.
“San Diego already has the infrastructure in place for the America’s Cup, and we know what it takes to host this event,” Councilman Ed Harris said. “This breathtaking spectator sport would be a boost to our economy, and we could once again showcase ‘America’s Finest City’ to the world.”
The council began Thursday’s open session by announcing there was no final decision on any of the four items discussed in their special closed-session meeting, including the legal case regarding the future of the San Diego Convention Center and a legal settlement with a victim in the case of San Diego police Officer Anthony Arevalos, who was convicted of soliciting sexual favors from women during traffic stops.
Last week, state appellate justices ruled that the mechanism that was to be used to fund the bulk of the cost of a planned expansion of the convention center — a levy that area hoteliers imposed on themselves — was unconstitutional because it amounted to a special tax that needed to be approved in a public vote.
The council must decide in the near future whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court or come up with another way of paying for the expansion project. Making the facility larger is considered critical to retaining Comic- Con International and bringing other huge trade shows to San Diego.
Also last week, lawyers for the various sides approved a settlement with a woman who testified that former Officer Anthony Arevalos led her into a convenience store restroom after a traffic stop in March 2011 and demanded that she give him her panties and display her breasts. He also placed his finger in her vaginal area, she said.
The woman, identified only as “Jane Doe,” sued both the city and the officer, who was imprisoned on various sex-related charges.
The City Council has approved about a dozen settlements with women connected to the Arevalos case.
— City News Service
