County of San Diego Creating Jobs, Pumping Up Local Economy by Reinvesting in Facilities

By Supervisor Greg Cox

Creating jobs and boosting the local economy has been one of my top priorities during this recent economic downturn.

One way the County of San Diego is doing that is by putting its money where its mouth is – replacing our old, inadequate facilities and, as a result, spending money that will impact local jobs and businesses.

In recent months, the County has created thousands of jobs and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on replacing our aging infrastructure. Here is a partial list, along with their economic impact.

County Operations Center: The County is replacing an outdated, inefficient campus of buildings that is more than 40 years old. This campus will be more energy efficient and provide better access for the public. Cost: $188.5 million for the first phase and $120 million for the second phase of the project anticipated to begin at the end of this year. Jobs created: The project currently employs 300-350 per day on site, and 25-30 architects, engineers and specialty technicians.

Medical Examiner/Forensic Center: The County last year opened a new, state-of-the-art 84,000-square foot facility that can accommodate our needs in a large disaster. We are also putting the County Veterinarian in the same building so that the lab will be able to respond quicker to human and animal threats like avian flu and West Nile virus. Cost: $85 million. Jobs created: 120-140 on site per day.

Las Colinas Women’s Jail: We are moving forward on plans to replace the aging Las Colinas Women’s Jail with a 1,216-bed facility. Cost: $308 million. Jobs will be created but the numbers are to be determined.

County Libraries: This summer, we hope to break ground on a new library in the community of Lincoln Acres. Cost: $1.8 million. Jobs will be created but the numbers are to be determined. We recently also spent $9 million for new libraries in Ramona and Fallbrook.

As you can see, the County of San Diego is putting people to work. What’s more, we are doing it wisely and saving money.

For example, we paid cash for the Medical Examiner/Forensic Center and by doing so, saved $142 million in financing costs. By cash financing instead of debt financing, we also expect to save taxpayers $125 million on the first phase of the County Operations Center project and hundreds of millions of dollars on other projects.

All this would not have been possible without the fiscal discipline that has earned the County some of the highest credit ratings of any urban county in the nation. We will continue to be wise and careful in how we spend the taxpayer’s dollars so that we can deliver superior services to the public.