San Diego Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting - July 12, 2023
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San Diego Budget and Government Efficiency Committee Meeting - July 12, 2023
The Budget and Government Efficiency Committee met on July 12, 2023, chaired by Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step. The committee approved past committee actions, heard public testimony on non-agenda items and four agenda items, and unanimously passed all items: the FY2024 Statement of Budgetary Principles, a Microsoft software contract amendment, authorization to retain outside counsel, and an updated street damage fee schedule.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of committee actions from June 21, 2023, passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
Non-Agenda Public Comment
- Lori Saldania requested the committee inquire about seven trailers from the state that remain unaccounted for and about menstrual products sitting in storage, asking for improved procurement efficiency.
- Katrina Pries (middle school teacher) urged prohibiting marijuana advertising visible to youth to reduce fentanyl risks.
- Peggy Walker opposed adding 36 new marijuana businesses, citing market oversaturation and lack of data.
- Becky Rapp (parent and public health educator) expressed concern that the Cannabis Business Division is not enforcing current regulations before expanding.
- Dan Smikowski called for a ban on scooters in San Diego.
- Blair Beekman spoke about the war in Ukraine and urged dialogue.
- Joyce Sanyata praised the budget process and equitable lens.
Item 1: FY2024 Statement of Budgetary Principles
- Joyce Sanyata thanked the IBA and supported the principles.
- Lori Saldania argued that the mayor circumvents principles by privatizing major projects (e.g., city hall, Midway development) and urged the committee to enforce principle eight.
- Blair Beekman criticized the strong-mayor system and suggested learning from San Jose's council-representational model.
Item 2: Microsoft Software Contract Amendment
- Blair Beekman commented on cybersecurity challenges.
- Lori Saldania raised the digital divide and encouraged city partnerships with community colleges for IT training.
Item 3: Outside Counsel Retention
- Lori Saldania questioned how the city could avoid litigation by complying with state law, citing the failed Measure C and Brown Act violations.
- Blair Beekman expressed concern about litigation over the city's encampment ordinance.
- Danny Avite (Downtown Democratic Club) opposed the item, stating that constituent satisfaction would reduce the need for outside counsel.
Item 4: Street Damage Fee Schedule Update
- Joyce Sanyata supported the update and stressed accountability and coordination.
- Blair Beekman commented on privacy and repair fees.
- Lori Saldania asked how many claims have been filed against the city for street-related injuries and whether litigation costs are factored into contracts.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Proposed FY2024 Statement of Budgetary Principles Lisa Byrne (IBA) presented the principles, which largely mirror FY2023 with technical updates and one addition to align with the 2012 fundamental principles. Charles Modica (IBA) suggested adding language to prevent the addition of supplemental positions immediately after budget adoption, noting that this occurred two weeks after the FY2024 budget passed. Committee members discussed the need for clear communication on service reductions, with Councilmember Lacava asking for proactive notification. Councilmember Lee raised concerns about defining "significant" reductions. Vice Chair Moreno made a motion to forward the principles to council with direction for the IBA to work with the Department of Finance on language addressing supplemental positions. The motion passed unanimously.
Item 2: Microsoft Software Contract Amendment CIO Jonathan Banke and Deputy Director Maureen Medvedev requested a three-year contract extension with Dell Marketing LP, increasing the not-to-exceed amount by $18.63 million to a cumulative $32.66 million over six years. The increase covers licensing growth, price increases, and potential modernizations (e.g., cybersecurity, cloud services). Annual expenditures require council budget approval. Councilmember Lacava praised the remote work transition during the pandemic and phishing tests. Councilmember Lee asked about the shift to cloud services, which CIO Banke confirmed is substantial. The item passed unanimously.
Item 3: Retention of Outside Counsel Assistant City Attorney Jim McNeil presented a proposal to retain 11 law firms across seven legal areas via a competitive RFP, replacing expiring contracts. Key changes: increased not-to-exceed amount from $250,000 to $500,000 per contract, a new selection process (sending engagements to all qualified firms instead of a strict rotation), and rate-setting by attorney type. The prior rotation system had led to challenges (e.g., a firm offering an out-of-state attorney). Councilmember Moreno expressed concern about work concentration on a few firms; Assistant City Attorney noted that council would be notified of each engagement. Councilmember Lacava emphasized that firms must notify the city when reaching 80% of contract limits. The item passed unanimously.
Item 4: Street Damage Fee Schedule Update Bethany Bizek (Transportation Department) presented a 35% fee increase to achieve full cost recovery for trench cuts, effective January 1, 2024, phasing in the 50% increase approved but never implemented since 2013. The fee is based on a study tying costs to milling, overlay, and subgrade prep. Jordan Moore (IBA) noted that FY2022 revenues of $3.8 million would have increased by $5.1 million under the new fees, but that FY2022 was a high watermark; average revenue is $2.8 million. He also highlighted that city public utilities and SDG&E would face increased costs, with SDG&E receiving a credit against franchise fees. Councilmember Lee and Lacava discussed the importance of coordination, the alternative compliance model (paving impacted travel lanes), and that fees go into a trench cut fund not directly tied to the trench location. The item passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- All four agenda items were approved unanimously.
- Item 1: Motion by Vice Chair Moreno (with second by Councilmember Lee) to forward the Statement of Budgetary Principles to full council with direction for IBA and DOF to develop language preventing supplemental positions from being added immediately after budget adoption.
- Item 2: Motion by Vice Chair Moreno, second by Councilmember Lacava, to approve the Microsoft contract amendment.
- Item 3: Motion by Councilmember Lee, second by Councilmember Lacava, to approve outside counsel contracts.
- Item 4: Motion by Councilmember Lee, second by Councilmember Lacava, to adopt the updated street damage fee schedule.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to the budget and government efficiency committee meeting of July 12th, 2023. Our committee's manager Ty Birch will go over instructions for today's meeting. Thank you very much, Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step. While members of the public are able to attend the meeting in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual speaking queue by raising their hand before the virtual queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking, or five minutes after in-person testimony concludes, whichever occurs first. This will allow for bearing management between the two flat platforms and ensure the committee is able to manage and conduct city business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Chair Montgomery Step. Thank you. I will now call the budget and government efficiency committee meeting of Wednesday, July 12th, 2023 to order. Tyler, please call the roll. Vice Chair Moreno. Councilmember Lacava. Present. Councilmember Lee here. And our chair, Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step. Here. Also attending the meeting today, Charles Monica and Lisa Byrne from the Independent Budget Analysts Office. Brett Bartelata from the City Attorney's Office, and Matt Vesby, our chief financial officer. Tyler, please continue with public comment instructions. Thank you very much, Chair. If you were in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it on top of the box indicated. 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 phone, you may dial 1669-2545252 and input webinar ID 160356-9855 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 speaking 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 concludes, whichever occurs first. Please note that if you're watching via CTV 24 online, there may be a delay. So please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it is your turn to speak. If you wish to speak on a particular item, please 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 calling participant, star nine on your cell phone or landline. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Oh, I'm sorry, apologies. If you would like to speak on the past okay, he did drop off, so I think that was it. Uh really quick again. This is public comment for the past committee action still. If you would like to speak on the past committee actions. Okay, so we do have two speakers that have indicated that they wish to speak. So we'll begin with Ms. Saldania. Yes, this is regarding the um state infrastructure bank uh revolving fund program. Um and you approved that yesterday in council. And one of the things I haven't seen on either your the agenda from last month or heard during discussion yesterday, is will this committee have any uh report come back in terms of follow-up on uh how the operations of this uh program will be evaluated? And is that something that is normally scheduled on a routine basis, or uh is that something that this committee has to ask for? I I know in my neighborhood there's been a lot of confusion about the uh waste program. And it seems like it's um I've seen photos of communities where people are not using the um the entire uh equipment that's provided to them. They just leave the uh items uh for the kitchen waste attached to the bin, and it doesn't seem to be being used. So I'm really curious how and if the state requires any oversight and accountability to report back to them on how these funds are being utilized, how effective they are, and if you're going to routinely have um a report to this committee for this project and others that are receiving state revolving revolving funds. Thank you.
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