Leaders of East County’s largest city moved quickly this week to hire an outside firm to audit local finances, in a bid to reassure voters that increasing taxes was the only way to dramatically improve city services and force tent camps off the street.

The El Cajon City Council narrowly voted Tuesday to bring in an outside firm to scour the budget for money that can be spent on new cops and firefighters.

Proponents said the additional scrutiny would reassure business owners that raising the city’s current half-cent tax to 1 cent was necessary.

An audit could “confirm” that “we do a good job here in El Cajon managing the public funds,” said Councilmember Phil Ortiz, who voted for the measure with Mayor Bill Wells and Deputy Mayor Michelle Metschel.

However, November’s election is less than 60 days away and it’s unclear whether a firm would have time to effectively comb through more than $92 million in annual spending.

“I question whether this is akin to a paid five-star review,” said Councilmember Steve Goble. He and his colleague Gary Kendrick opposed the move.

All five council members voted last month to put the sales tax measure before voters.

While each appears to be in favor of the increase, the rules bar them from explicitly campaigning for the proposal, and El Cajon’s attorney twice interrupted Tuesday’s meeting to tell officials they were skirting the line.

If approved, the tax is estimated to bring in an additional $13 million each year, and city leaders have signaled support for a rough plan outlining how they’d spend the money.

Four million would go to hiring at least 20 cops who, in addition to cracking down on illegal encampments, could expand the department’s cold case team.

Another $4 million would go to the fire department to increase shifts and potentially reduce reliance on neighboring agencies.

Two million would be spent on “cleanliness,” which is also a reference to homeless issues. Currently, the city says it can respond to a report of a tent camp within 72 hours. More money would cut that time to 24 hours, officials said.

The city would use $1.5 million to help small businesses and improve crumbling apartment buildings and $1.1 million on new streetlights and other neighborhood improvements.

The spending plan is non-binding and no formal vote was taken Tuesday.

During a special meeting Thursday, Ortiz and Metschel were appointed to a new subcommittee to choose a firm.

If the short timeframe ultimately blocks a review, there are other ways to evaluate city finances.

The city is already regularly audited, and the most recent was completed last year by the San Bernardino-based accounting firm Rogers, Anderson, Malody and Scott, LLP.

The audit found local officials had “fairly” represented their finances, according to a copy of the report included in the city’s financial records.

Standard and Poor’s rating agency also gave city pension bonds a AA rating, meaning El Cajon has “very strong capacity to meet financial commitments,” according to a 2020 letter.

The grade is the second-highest possible, behind AAA.

Furthermore, the council voted unanimously Tuesday to hire a company to create videos and mailers to “inform” voters about how the tax would work.

Probolsky Research will receive $55,000 for “public education and community outreach.”

The Newport Beach-based firm previously conducted a poll for the city, which found nearly 70 percent of respondents open to a 1-cent sales tax if it improved public safety.

The new revenue would be monitored by a seven-member Citizens Oversight Committee, akin to the group that oversaw money from 2004’s Proposition O tax.

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