Road resurfacing and street repairs are part of the $17.8 million budget for the City of San Diego’s infrastructure improvements in the first year of Proposition H.

Also known as Rebuild San Diego, Prop H is a charter amendment authored by Council President Pro Tem Mark Kersey that was approved by 65 percent of San Diego voters in June 2016. And it’s expected to create a dedicated stream of funding for infrastructure and secure up to $4 billion over the next 25 years.

Its passage commits a percentage of three of the City’s existing revenue streams – sales tax, general fund growth and pension payment savings – to a dedicated infrastructure fund.

The 2018 fiscal year started on July 1, which marked the first year of implementation for Prop H.

“I authored this amendment because in all of our communities here in San Diego, the infrastructure has been neglected for too long. One of the main issues we found is that in the regular budget process, the infrastructure has been neglected, and Rebuild San Diego created a fund that dedicates money specifically for the city’s infrastructure projects” said Kersey, who is also chair of the City Council’s Infrastructure Committee to La Prensa San Diego. “The good news is that infrastructure is getting so much better. When I got into office 5 years ago, the City’s infrastructure was in really bad shape, and we really set up to correct that by doing a better job of understanding the current condition of our infrastructure and then deciding how the money should be spent. Now, there is a lot of money to be spent on streets and roads, and we are making good progress but obviously there is still a lot of work to be done.”

In fiscal year 2018, Prop H funds will be used for slurry seal road maintenance, storm drain projects, reconstruction of Fire Station 22, safety improvements to the State Route 94 interchange at Euclid Avenue, upgrades to a recreational field in San Carlos, construction of a Compressed Natural Gas fueling station, and improvements to libraries, police stations and other city buildings.

“Rebuild San Diego provides sustained investment in our neighborhoods,” added the council member who represents the City of San Diego’s Fifth District. “Our infrastructure crisis was not created overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. But implementation of Prop H is a huge step toward ensuring communities get the long-needed repairs and upgrades they deserve, even in lean budget years like this one.”

The overall capital budget for infrastructure in the 2018 fiscal year is $445 million.