Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting – March 3, 2021
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Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting – March 3, 2021
The Budget and Government Efficiency Committee met virtually on March 3, 2021, under Executive Order 29-20. The committee approved the consent calendar, voted unanimously on two action items, and received informational presentations on personnel expenditure savings, business diversity, and the living wage ordinance. Key speakers included Chair Kate, Vice Chair Whitburn, Councilmembers Montgomery Stepp and Campillo, and staff from the Department of Finance, Independent Budget Analyst (IBA), Human Resources, Purchasing & Contracting, and Fleet Operations.
Consent Calendar
- The committee unanimously approved the actions from the February 3, 2021 meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non‑agenda public comment: Two speakers addressed the committee. Cynthia Polette requested that the committee add agenda items on the San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS) and service‑level dashboards for budget deliberations. Joy Senata (District 3) echoed similar requests and expressed well‑wishes to IBA staff.
- Item 4 (Business Diversity Report): Christine Custodio Suero, Chair of the Citizens Equal Opportunity Commission (CEOC), commended the city for the disparity study and the Office of Race and Equity, but expressed serious concern about persistent staffing deficits in the Equal Opportunity Contracting Program (EOCP), noting it often operates at 50% staffing in key positions.
- Item 5 (Living Wage Report): Anna Laura Martinez, representing the Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI), highlighted a worker’s wage‑theft case from 2017 that remains unresolved, and urged stronger enforcement of the living wage ordinance.
Discussion Items
Item 1 – Authority to Purchase Ford OEM Parts & Accessories
Casey Smith (Director of Fleet Operations) presented a five‑year “not to exceed” contract with Sunroad Auto (doing business as Kearny Mesa Ford KIA) for $9.671 million. The contract covers new and refurbished Ford parts for over 2,700 city vehicles (about 59% of the fleet), serving police, fire, transportation, and other departments. The contract includes technician training and specialty tools at no extra cost to support the city’s Climate Action Plan. No public comments were received. The committee voted unanimously to recommend approval to the full City Council.
Item 2 – Agreement with Highland Software Inc. for OnBase Software‑as‑a‑Service
Libby Borg (Dockett Liaison) requested authorization for a five‑year sole‑source agreement with Highland Software, not to exceed $1,064,664, to move the city’s docketing software from on‑premises hosting to a cloud‑based SaaS solution. OnBase is used by more than 1,400 staff to route and manage committee and council agendas. The migration will improve operational stability, security, and remote access. Councilmember Montgomery Stepp raised concerns about workforce diversity under the EEO program; Highland representatives outlined ongoing DEI initiatives. The committee voted unanimously to recommend approval to the full Council.
Item 3 – Budget Personnel Expenditure Savings (Informational)
Department of Finance (DOF) staff (Sarah Mayen, Chris Purcell) and the IBA (Lisa Byrne) presented a detailed analysis of the city’s practice of budgeting for personnel expenditure savings (formerly “vacancy factor”). DOF explained that the methodology uses historical trends and current‑year projections to estimate savings from normal turnover, leaves, and underfilling, and that the bottom‑line variance has remained under 0.9% for the past five fiscal years. The IBA noted that while the net variance is small, some departments’ savings subsidize overages elsewhere, and that a more granular vacancy analysis is needed to understand service‑level impacts. Julie Roscoe (HR Director) described new dashboards that track vacancy rates, time‑to‑fill, turnover, and leaves of absence, which will inform a total compensation strategy expected by the end of the calendar year. Councilmembers emphasized the need to align staffing levels with service delivery and to address recruitment and retention challenges.
Item 4 – Fiscal Year 2020 Business Diversity Annual Report (Informational)
Claudia Barca (Interim Director of Purchasing & Contracting) and Christian Silva (EOCP Program Manager) presented the report. In FY20, the city exceeded its 20% aspirational SLBE goal for CIP construction contracts, achieving 26% participation. Total awards to SLBE‑/ELBE‑certified firms reached $87.2 million. The disparity study is expected by the end of March 2021. Councilmember Montgomery Stepp noted that the race‑ and gender‑neutral SLBE program has not significantly increased diversity among contractors and called for programmatic enhancements, including a technical assistance program and bringing the report to the full Council. The committee directed staff to communicate that interest to the Council President’s office.
Item 5 – Fiscal Year 2020 Living Wage Ordinance Annual Report (Informational)
Cheryl Smoot (Supervising Management Analyst) presented the report covering 601 active contracts. The living wage rate for FY20 was $16.30/hour. Due to proactive electronic monitoring (PRISM), remedies assessed dropped to $13,000 (from higher figures in prior years). The program is understaffed: a senior management analyst position has been vacant for about a year. The city has initiated permanent debarment proceedings against a repeat violator. Angela Colton (IBA) noted that the Council’s FY22 budget priorities include establishing an Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, which would consolidate living wage enforcement. Councilmembers expressed strong support for aggressive enforcement and for adequately resourcing the program.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Ford parts): Motion to approve passed unanimously (Vice Chair Whitburn, Councilmember Montgomery Stepp, Councilmember Campillo – all yes). Recommendation will go to the full City Council.
- Item 2 (Highland Software/OnBase): Motion to approve passed unanimously. Recommendation will go to the full City Council.
- Item 3 (Personnel expenditure savings): Informational only; no vote. Committee members urged continued focus on staffing levels and service‑level analysis.
- Item 4 (Business diversity): Informational only. Committee directed staff to explore sending the report to the full Council and to bring forward programmatic enhancements and the disparity study results in April 2021.
- Item 5 (Living wage): Informational only. Committee expressed support for filling the vacant analyst position and for establishing an Office of Labor Standards Enforcement.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:00 AM. The next regular committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
Meeting Transcript
Come on, man. All right, Chris, only taking over from Kirsey. Rubbed off rubbed off on me. Okay, we're ready to proceed. Please proceed, Chair. Okay. Good morning. 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. I will now call the budget and government efficiency committee meeting of March 3rd, 2021 to order. And I will call the role. Each committee member is attending virtually, and uh I'm here, so we have a quorum. Also on the virtual meeting is Andrea Tevlin, our independent budget analyst, Angela Colton from the IBA, Matt Vespe, our chief financial officer, Brittany Gailey from the mayor's office, and Brett Bartalotta from the City Attorney's Office. The public may view the meetings on public television on City TV Channel 24 for Cox Communication and Time Warner Cable or Channel 99 for ATT or via the meeting online by going to the City Council Committee's homepage at Sandiego.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 meeting webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone is listed on the agenda on how to join by iPhone one tap. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, you may dial 1669-254-5252. When prompted, input webinar ID 161 771 9874 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each item. 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'll be taken in the order in which you raise your hand. 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. That is how you'll know it is your turn to speak. If you have joined the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone, you will receive a pop-up notice to select to unmute your device. If you've called into the meeting by cell phone or landline, press star six on your phone to unmute yourself. We 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 mute the volume on your TV or computer before you begin to speak. As I mentioned, a quorum is now present. We will now dispense with the approval of the committee actions of February 3rd, 2021. You have a motion to approve these actions. So moved. We have a motion by Vice Chair Whitburn. Second. Second by Councilmember Montgomery Steph. Thank you. We will now have uh an opportunity to vote, beginning with Vice Chair Whitburn. Yes. Councilmember Montgomery Step. Yes. And Councilmember Campio. Yes.
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