San Diego Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting - February 8, 2023
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San Diego Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting - February 8, 2023\n\nThe Budget and Government Efficiency Committee convened on February 8, 2023, at 9:00 AM (Pacific) to discuss a mid-year budget report, a contract amendment for electronic plan review, updated council budget priorities for FY2024, and informational items on the living wage ordinance and committee work plan. The meeting included public testimony on various topics, including airport fuel tank management, cannabis tax compliance, police overtime, and budget priorities. All voting items passed unanimously.\n\n### Public Comments & Testimony\n- Non-Agenda Public Comment: Sandra Stahl criticized the city's management of an unleaded fuel tank project at Montgomery Gibbs Airport, alleging waste and delays, and cited health impacts of leaded aviation gas. Blair Beekman urged inclusion of lower-income people and the unhoused on technology advisory boards. Judy Strang, a parent advocate, requested a report on whether marijuana businesses are paying appropriate taxes, noting a previous tax reduction from 8% to 2%. Joyce Nyatta (District 3) called for addressing the structural budget deficit and referenced report 10-101.\n- Item 1 (ePlanSoft Contract): Blair Beekman encouraged community involvement in data collection and IT processes.\n- Item 2 (Mid-Year Budget Report): Joyce Nyatta asked that the phrase "structural budget deficit" be placed at the top of each day's work. Sally Small (District 4) commented on police overtime and homelessness, noting the 24-day response time for Get It Done requests. Blair Beekman discussed challenges finding committee agendas online and suggested limiting police overtime to one-hour blocks.\n- Item 3 (Budget Priorities): Joyce Nyatta supported the youth commission, World Design Capital 2024, and ADA transition plan, and asked about an interagency preservation working group. Blair Beekman referenced a housing authority meeting and cautioned against anti-socialism rhetoric. Jean-Wi, on behalf of the Community Budget Alliance, thanked council members for including priorities such as housing stability, outreach, and youth programs.\n- Item 4 (Living Wage Ordinance): Blair Beekman emphasized the importance of addressing wage theft and subcontractor practices.\n- Item 5 (Committee Work Plan): Blair Beekman spoke about equity and the need for transparent technology deployment. Joyce Nyatta praised the committee's work and expressed excitement for the budget cycle.\n\n### Discussion Items\nItem 1: Second Amendment to Kerasoft/ePlanSoft Contract for Electronic Plan Review\nThe Development Services Department presented a proposed resolution to increase the contract from $3 million to $3,932,825 to cover annual license renewal and align the term with the Accela permitting software. The department is scoping an RFP for FY2024 for a new multi-year contract. Councilmember Lee asked about performance since moving to cloud-based permitting in 2021; staff reported progress but noted no additional capabilities from the amendment. Councilmember LaCava sought clarification on contract synchronization and the transition period for a potential new vendor. The motion by Councilmember Lee, seconded by Councilmember LaCava, passed unanimously (4-0).\n\nItem 2: Fiscal Year 2023 Mid-Year Budget Monitoring Report\nDepartment of Finance staff presented the report based on five months of activity. Key projections: general fund revenues $33.2 million over budget; expenditures $6.1 million under budget; net $27.1 million excess. Reserves at $207.1 million. Major variances included property tax ($9.4M over budget), sales tax ($4.3M over), TOT ($20.6M over, driven by elevated room rates), franchise fees ($2M under due to SDG&E reallocation), and cannabis business tax ($5.8M under due to competition and delivery services). Police overtime projected $9.2M over budget due to violent crime increase and staffing shortages. Neighborhood Policing Division (NPD) overtime under budget, reducing presence in downtown. Three appropriation adjustments were recommended: (1) correcting a council budget implementation error, (2) reallocating funds for public safety labor negotiations, and (3) addressing Proposition B unwinding costs. Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modak noted a more in-depth analysis would be released February 20. Councilmember Lee asked about recession risks; staff said projections do not anticipate a recession but factor a slowdown. Councilmember LaCava moved to approve staff recommendations with a request that the police appropriation ordinance update be a separate docket item. The motion passed unanimously.\n\nItem 3: Fiscal Year 2024 Updated City Council Budget Priorities\nThe IBA presented the consolidated priorities from council member memos. New majority priorities included: $3 million for San Diego-Tijuana World Design Capital 2024 (8 members), additional funding for ADA transition plan (7 members), a middle-income first-time homebuyer pilot program (6 members), youth care and development (5 members supporting $3M), and funding for the youth commission (5 members supporting $100K). Existing priorities: homelessness/housing (unanimous support for rental assistance, day center, shelter beds), environment (unanimous support for bicycle master plan, urban forestry, CAP 2.0), public safety (unanimous support for lifeguard division, weed abatement, security), and infrastructure (unanimous support for Vision Zero, street lighting, sidewalks, stormwater). Councilmember LaCava noted the need to prioritize filling vacancies before creating new positions and expressed support for conservative revenue projections. He moved to forward the priorities in IBA report 2302 plus additions from his February 8 memo. The motion passed unanimously.\n\nItem 4: Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Living Wage Ordinance Annual Report (Information Only)\nThe Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement presented the report. Covered contract values: FY21 over $175 million, FY22 over $26 million. Staff completed reviews but noted vacancies limited proactive audits. Total restitution recovered over the ordinance's lifespan: more than $637,000. Councilmember Lee questioned why the base living wage rate ($15) was below the city's minimum wage; staff acknowledged a discrepancy and said they are reviewing the ordinance. Councilmember LaCava called the living wage rate inadequate and encouraged a comprehensive review. No motion required.\n\nItem 5: 2023 Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Work Plan (Information Only)\nChair Montgomery Steppe presented the draft work plan, highlighting priorities including the budget equity framework, addressing the structural deficit, improving government efficiency, filling vacancies, and driving the local economy. The work plan was drafted with input from committee members. No motion required.\n\n### Key Outcomes\n- Approved consent calendar: Committee actions of January 11, 2023, approved unanimously.\n- Item 1 Approved: Second amendment to ePlanSoft contract, increasing not-to-exceed to $3,932,825, passed 4-0.\n- Item 2 Approved: Mid-year budget monitoring report recommendations, including three appropriation adjustments, passed 4-0, with the added request that the police appropriation ordinance update be a separate docket item.\n- Item 3 Approved: Updated FY2024 budget priorities (IBA report 2302 plus Councilmember LaCava's memo) forwarded to full council, passed 4-0.\n- Items 4 & 5 Received as Information: Living wage annual report and 2023 committee work plan were discussed without votes.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Until further notice, the budget and government efficiency committee meetings will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of California Government Code, Section 54953E, added by Assembly Bill 361, which allows the city to use teleconferencing and to provide the public an opportunity to address the City Council Committee via a call-in option or an internet-based service option during a proclaimed state of emergency. While the public is allowed to attend the meetings in person, we encourage you to maintain six feet of social distance as well as California mask guidelines where masks are strongly recommended. In addition to being able to attend in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and the council committee liaison will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Additionally, members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual queue by raising their hand before the queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking, or five minutes after in-person testimony ends, whichever happens first. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the council is able to manage and conduct city business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Our committees manager, Tyler Birch, will go over the specifics of how the public can participate and give their public testimony. Vice Chair Moreno. Moreno here. Council Member LaCava. Council Member Lee. Here. And our chair, Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step. I am here. Thank you very much. Also in the meeting is Charles Monica, our independent budget analyst, Matthew Vespy, the Chief Financial Officer, Rolando Charvel, Department of Finance Director, and Brett Bartelata from the City Attorney's Office. Tyler, please proceed. Thank you very much, Chair. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it in the top of the box indicated. The speaker's electron at the front of the room, please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins. And members of the public can also join the webinar by computer tablet or smartphone by accessing the link which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage. If you need to participate by telephone, you may dial 1669-254-5252, webinar ID 160-356-9855 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual queue by raising their hand before the queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking or five minutes after in-person testimony ends, whichever occurs first. Please note that you are if you are watching via C TV 24 or online. There may be a delay, so please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it's your turn to speak. If you wish to speak on a particular item, wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're a call and participate, star nine on your cell phone or landline. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Thank you so much, Tyler, for reviewing those instructions for the benefit of the public. A quorum is now present. We will now dispense with the approval of the committee actions of January 11, 2023. Tyler, please proceed. Thank you, Chair. The public comment period for the committee actions of January 11, 2023 is now open. If you've already joined the Zoom webinar online or by phone, please raise your hand if you wish to speak on the committee actions of January 11, 2023. If you're watching on C T V or the live stream online and would like to call into the meeting, please call 1669-254-5252 when prompted. To raise your hand to speak, select the raise your hand button or press star nine. It will announce when it's your turn to speak. You may unmute yourself by selecting the unmute button or inputting star six. Uh Chair, we currently don't have anybody who spent speaker slips for the committee actions in chambers or in the virtual queue, so that will conclude public testimony on the committee actions. Okay, thank you. We will now vote on the approval of the committee actions of January 11, 2023. I will entertain a motion at this time. Thank you, Member Lacava. And um I will go ahead and second that.
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