Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting – January 20, 2021
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Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting – January 20, 2021
The Budget and Government Efficiency Committee of the San Diego City Council met virtually on January 20, 2021, at 9:00 AM local time (18:00 UTC) via Zoom, in compliance with executive order 29-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was televised and live‑streamed. Committee members present were Vice Chair Whitburn, Councilmember Montgomery Stepp, and Councilmember Campillo. Also attending were IBA Director Andrea Tevlin, Angela Colton (IBA), Chief Financial Officer Matthew Vespy, Brittany Bailey (Mayor’s office), and Brett Bartelata (City Attorney’s office). The committee considered three agenda items: a new sales tax audit agreement, the FY2022 Council Budget Priorities resolution, and the committee’s own 2021 work plan priorities.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were discussed. The committee approved routine committee actions (motion by Councilmember Montgomery Stepp, seconded by Chair Kate) unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
Non‑Agenda Public Comment (two speakers):
- Sal Espinoza (San Diego Communications Workers of America) expressed support for the San Diego Access for All Initiative but recommended it be extended through FY2022, creation of an Office of Digital Equality, stronger broadband provider partnerships, culturally sensitive outreach, and a public evaluation of the Verizon deal for impacts on city departments and digital inclusion goals.
- Laura Barry (Claremont neighborhood) requested street repairs, noting that her neighborhood’s streets had not been repaved in 30 years and that previous budget allocations had been rescinded. She asked for a meeting with city staff to inspect the streets.
Item 2 – FY2022 Council Budget Priorities (five speakers):
- Peter Kaminsky (Arts & Culture San Diego, representing over 100 organizations) thanked the six council members who prioritized arts and culture funding and urged continued support for the Penny for the Arts commitment.
- Christopher Olson (Jewish Family Service of San Diego) thanked council members for prioritizing the Office of Child and Youth Success and the Community Action Plan on Homelessness, and urged support for the IBA’s recommendations.
- Aaron Hogaboom (San Diego for Every Child, representing 40+ organizations) expressed strong support for the Office of Child and Youth Success, highlighting its potential to coordinate services, facilitate intergovernmental relations, and incorporate youth and family input.
- Joy Sunyata (District 3 resident) thanked the council and IBA for the budget memo and report, and listed her macro priorities: core services, homelessness/housing, and equity/relief.
- Angeli Kallanog (Circulate San Diego, Vision Zero Coalition member) thanked the council for prioritizing transportation, safe streets, and sidewalks, and urged continued Vision Zero funding.
- Courtney Baltiski (YMCA Community Support Services, representing 40+ human service agencies) thanked council members for including the Office of Child and Youth Success and affordable child care, and urged approval of the IBA’s recommendations.
Item 3 – Committee Priorities for 2021 (one speaker):
- Joy Sunyata (District 3) praised the committee members’ memos, supported a review of city‑owned properties for affordable housing, requested more user‑friendly FDS calculations, and advocated for policy revisions, citing the library pool fund policy as an example.
Discussion Items
1. Agreement with Muni Services LLC for Sales Tax Audit and Recovery Services
- Staff (Adrian Del Rio, Assistant Director of Finance; Nicole Chalfant, Financial Operations Manager) presented the proposed five‑year agreement. Key points: The contingency fee would drop from 14% to 8% of recovered revenue, saving an estimated $2.5 million over five years (assuming past recovery levels). The number of compensated quarters for each misallocation would decrease from 10 to 9. Quarterly reporting services, previously $3,000 per report, would now be complementary. The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2020, to avoid gaps. Over 30 years, Muni Services has recovered over $190 million for the city; in the most recent contract, $7 million was recovered with $3.5 million pending. The RFP evaluation scored Muni Services at 88.67 vs. HDL Companies at 76.92. The committee unanimously approved the agreement.
2. Fiscal Year 2022 Council Budget Priorities
- IBA Director Andrea Tevlin and Angela Colton presented the IBA Report 21‑01, summarizing 16 budget priority topics that received majority support from the nine council members. Topics included maintaining core services (library, parks, code enforcement, brush management, lead abatement), homelessness/housing, equity/COVID relief (police practices commission, rental relief, small business relief, police reform, youth services, digital equity, Office of Race and Equity, public bank feasibility, labor standards office), climate action plan (including a climate equity fund and urban forestry), employee compensation, arts and culture, transportation safety, sidewalks/streets, stormwater, libraries, fire stations, and transit infrastructure. Budget mitigation measures mentioned by six council members included using general fund reserves and the pension payment stabilization reserve. Committee members discussed and added an amendment (moved by Chair Kate, seconded by Vice Chair Whitburn) to allocate $15,000 in one‑time funding per council office for a constituent relations management platform to replace the IQ system. The amended priorities were forwarded to the full city council for adoption on February 2, 2021.
3. Committee Priorities for Calendar Year 2021
- Committee members discussed their individual memos outlining priorities for the committee’s work plan. Common themes included vacancy savings review, city real estate contract oversight, small business insurance requirements, disparity study implementation, climate grant writer funding, public safety overtime reduction, performance measures/analytics, local hire ordinance, and stormwater financing. The committee directed the Chair to draft a work plan based on these priorities.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Muni Services Agreement): Approved unanimously (3‑0). The mayor or designee authorized to execute the five‑year contract; CFO authorized to pay the 8% contingency fee.
- Item 2 (FY2022 Budget Priorities): Approved with amendment (unanimous 3‑0). The resolution, including the $15,000 per office for constituent management platform, will be forwarded to the full city council for adoption on February 2, 2021.
- Item 3 (Committee 2021 Work Plan): Motion passed unanimously (3‑0) directing the Chair to draft a work plan incorporating the members’ priorities. The committee will meet next on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, at 9:00 AM.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and happy inauguration day, everybody. Per executive order 29-20, which suspends certain requirements of the Brown Act. The committee members will be participating via Zoom, and no members of the public will be in attendance at the meeting in the interest of public health and safety. In addition, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and the committee liaison has made arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. We appreciate the public's cooperation. I will go over the specifics of how to join the webinar and will give details on how the public can offer their public testimony. With us on the line is Vice Chair Whitburn, Councilmember Montgomery Step, and Councilmember Campillo. Each committee member is attending virtually. Also on the virtual meeting is Andrea Tevlin, our IBA, Angela Colton from the Office of the IBA, Matthew Vespy, our chief financial officer, and Brittany Bailey from the mayor's office. And Brett Bartelata from the City Attorney's Office.gov and selecting the City TV Live Webcast Blue button on the right hand side of the page. The committee meetings will be held virtually using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public can offer public comment on items by accessing the Zoom webinar online using a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, or by calling into the meeting using a smartphone, cellular phone or landline. The link to join the committee meetings webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone is listed on the agenda on how to join by phone one tab. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, you may dial either one six six nine two five four five two five two or one six four six eight two eight seven six six six. When prompted, input webinar ID 16171 9874 pound. When I introduce the item you would like to comment on, you will raise your hand by either tapping the raise your hand button on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, or by pressing star nine on your phone. You will be taken in or in the order in which you raise your hand. You may only speak once on a particular item. When our committee consultant Alan Young indicates it is your turn to speak, he will call you by your name as it appears on the Zoom webinar attendee list, or he will read out the last four digits of your phone number if you have called into the meeting. You should then unmute your phone by tapping the unmute button on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, or by pressing star six on your phone. I will review these instructions briefly again when the public comment period on an item is open. Please wait until the item you wish to speak to has been called before raising your hand to speak. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. When you're announced as the next speaker, please unmute yourself and offer your comments. Also please meet the volume on your TV or computer before you begin to speak. Do I have a motion to approve those committee actions? I'll uh make the motion. We have a motion by councilmember Montgomery Stepp, which I will second. We'll now take any councilmember questions or comments and have each council member register their votes, starting with Vice Chair Whitford. I vote aye. Councilmember Montgomery Step. Aye. And Councilmember Campio. Aye. And I am a yes. That motion passes unanimously. We will now take up non-agenda public comment per temporary rule 2.6. Non-agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda, but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the committee. Each speaker will have two minutes, two minutes. Please note per the rules of council, a maximum of eight callers is permitted per single issue. The public comment period for non-agenda public comment is now open. If you've already joined the Zoom webinar online or by phone, please raise your hand if you wish to speak. If you're watching on City TV or the live stream online and would like to call into the meeting to speak, please call 1669 254 5252 or 1646 828 7666 when prompted input webinar ID 16171874 hound to raise your hand to speak. Select the raise your hand button or press star nine. When our consultant lets you know it is your turn to speak, unmute yourself by either selecting the unmute button or by inputting star six. We will take any callers currently on the Zoom webinar attendee list. We will keep the line open for a minimum of two minutes to allow members of the public time to phone in. And for our committee consultant, how many callers do we have in the queue? We currently have two callers in the queue. Uh we currently have two callers in the queue.
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