Both cities are struggling with multimillion-dollar budget deficits that threaten the quality and quantity of services offered to their residents. At a time when consumers are trying to spend less, both cities are asking them to pay more, in the form of higher sales taxes, to help alleviate the cities' money problems.

El Cajon is asking voters to approve a half-cent sales-tax increase, while La Mesa is asking for a three-quarter-cent increase. Both measures will be on the Nov. 4 ballot and need a majority vote to take effect. If approved, the sales-tax rate would increase to 8.75 percent in El Cajon and 8.5 percent in La Mesa.

El Cajon's sales-tax rate is already higher because voters approved a half-cent increase in 2004. The revenue is helping to pay for a new police station as well as improvements to other public safety buildings.

If voters approve the new measures, a $100 purchase would cost 50 cents more in El Cajon and 75 cents more in La Mesa. Groceries and prescription medications are exempt. Anyone buying a car, motorcycle or boat will pay the sales-tax rate for the city in which they live. For example, a La Mesa resident would pay the La Mesa sales-tax rate regardless of where they purchased a truck or boat.

El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis said a sales-tax increase seems more fair than a property tax increase because people who visit the city will also contribute.

“It's all based on consumption,” Lewis said. Without the tax, “services will be cut and we'll be in dire straits. We'll survive as a city, but it'll be a different kind of city.”

Proposition J El Cajon officials are asking voters to approve Proposition J, a half-cent sales-tax measure, to help reduce El Cajon's $6 million budget deficit. What: The tax needs a majority vote to pass. If approved, the sales-tax rate in El Cajon would increase to 8.75 percent. Online: For: ci.el-cajon.ca.us Against: NoElCajonSalesTax.org Proposition L La Mesa officials are asking voters to approve Proposition L, a three-quarter-cent sales-tax measure, to help reduce La Mesa's $4 million budget deficit. What: The tax needs a majority vote to pass. If approved, the sales-tax rate in La Mesa would increase to 8.5 percent. Online: For: ProtectLaMesaServices.org Opposed: NoLaMesaSalesTax.org

Much is at stake, city officials in El Cajon and La Mesa said. If the sales tax measures fail, they said, both cities will have to lay off employees, a move that will result in longer response times from police and firefighters. Residents can also expect less maintenance at city parks and to city roads, and fewer recreation opportunities for residents.

“This is not about salary increases,” said La Mesa Councilman Ernie Ewin. “This is about making sure the quality of life in La Mesa can be maintained for years to come.”

City officials in El Cajon and La Mesa said they are prepared to make deep cuts if the measures fail. The tax measures are expected to generate about $7.2 million in additional revenue annually for La Mesa and about $8.5 million for El Cajon.

Because the cities' deficits are so large – $4 million in La Mesa and $6 million in El Cajon – officials said there is no way to reduce costs without eliminating jobs. Salaries and benefits, on average, account for 70 percent to 80 percent of the general fund in most California cities.

“It's a difficult time, but the information that we are providing to people gives them a choice,” El Cajon City Manager Kathi Henry said.

But taxpayer advocates and others are actively campaigning against the taxes. They accuse the cities of using scare tactics to influence voters. Richard Rider, chairman of San Diego Tax Fighters, and members of the board of directors for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association are among those who oppose the measures – called Proposition J in El Cajon and Proposition L in La Mesa.

Rider contends that the cities are trying to fool the public into thinking that most of the money will benefit city police and fire departments when there are no guarantees as to what the taxes will pay for. City officials say that it's inevitable that police and fire departments will get much of the revenue because they claim a large share of the budget.

“One of the things they can do, which they refuse to do, is take a serious look at contracting out” city services, Rider said, with the exception of police and firefighters. El Cajon has considered contracting out for park maintenance, but Rider thinks the cities should put the contracts out to bid and let the employee unions take a stab at reducing their own costs.

Tax opponents say El Cajon and La Mesa should work harder to trim expenses, and they suggest both cities should scale back their pension plans, even though they acknowledge that any changes would apply only to future employees, meaning that savings wouldn't be seen for at least a decade or more. And both cities already have some form of a hiring freeze in place.

La Mesa resident Peter Cutherbert said his city should have been working to raise revenue years before this fiscal crisis set in.

“I just feel that the City Council is very complacent,” Cutherbert said.

But La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid said opponents are bending the facts to fit an anti-tax agenda, no matter what's at stake.

“They deal in hyperbole and they deal in emotionalism and they deal in gross misrepresentation,” Madrid said of the taxpayer groups and others who have signed ballot arguments against Proposition L.

The sales taxes have built-in safeguards, city officials in both El Cajon and La Mesa said. Both propositions will expire in 20 years, and both require independent oversight committees to monitor spending if the taxes are approved.

Liz Neely: (619) 593-4961; liz.neely@uniontrib.com