San Diego City Council Budget Review Committee Meeting - May 9, 2014
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San Diego City Council Budget Review Committee Meeting - May 9, 2014
The Budget Review Committee of the San Diego City Council met on May 9, 2014, at 10:00 AM to conclude departmental budget reviews for Fiscal Year 2015. The meeting covered presentations from the Internal Operations Branch, Analytics and Performance Management, Real Estate Assets, Qualcomm Stadium, Petco Park, Airports, Purchasing and Contracting, and Information Technology. Council members discussed staffing, technology investments, and policy priorities, with no formal votes taken. The next major step is the Mayor's May Revision on May 20, 2014.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Michelle Krug (Southeast San Diego resident) advocated for installing bus benches and weather covers at MTS stops, noting that many stops require capital improvements to cement areas for bench installation. She also promoted a local theater production.
- Two speakers (one from a worker advocacy group, and Rob Nerdolf from the Center on Policy Initiatives) urged the council to fund two additional positions for the Living Wage Ordinance enforcement office, stating that current staffing (1.5 FTEs) is insufficient to ensure contractor compliance and that the amendments passed in January 2014 require robust enforcement.
- Ben Katz (Open San Diego / Code for America) urged continued investment in technology, emphasizing the potential savings from open data and the need to avoid overpaying for outdated software. He encouraged the city to leverage the local tech community.
Discussion Items
- Committee Member Comments: Council President Todd Gloria noted the completion of the Capital Improvements Program review and outlined key budget dates: May 20 (May Revision), May 21 (BRC reconvenes), May 23 (budget memos due to IBA), June 4 (IBA final report), and June 9 (final council vote). Councilwoman Sherri Leitner thanked colleagues for supporting the Northern Alignment for the Mid Coast Trolley and acknowledged staff birthdays.
- Internal Operations Branch & Analytics Department: Deputy COO Jeff Sterak presented the new Analytics and Performance Management Department, created to improve efficiency, transparency, and customer service. The IBA noted that the department director position is not in the proposed budget (may be added in the May Revision) and that funds for an open data public portal (~$60,000/year) are missing. Council members discussed the open data policy timeline, managed competition savings ($11.5 million), and the city strategic plan update.
- Real Estate Assets, Qualcomm Stadium, Petco Park, Airports: Directors presented budgets with minor changes. Council members questioned the lack of automation at the parking garage (concourse), the high cost of operating Qualcomm Stadium (deferred maintenance, janitorial contract issues), and the need for a clearer financial breakdown. Councilman David Alvarez requested a detailed operating cost report for Qualcomm. Councilman Mark Kersey noted the sports arena area businesses are on month-to-month leases, hindering investment.
- Purchasing and Contracting: Director Dennis Kakunga presented a budget of $6.1 million, adding 12.6 FTEs, including seven for prevailing wage enforcement and four for procurement. The IBA highlighted the need for SAP training, a catalog management system ($150,000 budgeted), and performance measures. Council members expressed support for funding two additional living wage enforcement positions (not yet in budget) and urged expediting the PlanetBids electronic procurement system (target completion December 2014).
- Information Technology: Interim Director Mario Sierra presented a $40.9 million budget (down $3.6 million from FY14). Major changes include the Windows 7 upgrade, GIS enhancements, and wireless radio system maintenance. The IBA recommended a report on SAP training needs and an update on the dissolution of San Diego Data Processing (DPC). Council members discussed the $500,000 email archiving cost (Council President Gloria expressed concern), the $450,000 website update, and the need to integrate open data. Councilman Kersey asked about an online reservation system for Torrey Pines golf courses, which could be included in the website upgrade.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the meeting concluded the departmental review phase of the budget process.
- Council priorities: Multiple council members signaled support for adding two living wage enforcement positions, funding the open data portal, and ensuring the IT website update accommodates open data and online services.
- Referrals for future reports: The IBA was directed to work with the Purchasing and Contracting department on performance measures (due October 2014). A report on SAP training needs and an update on the DPC transition will be requested. The Real Estate Assets department will provide a detailed breakdown of Qualcomm Stadium operating costs and investigate the sports arena area zoning and lease strategy.
- Next steps: The Mayor's May Revision will be released on May 20, 2014, followed by further committee review and a final council vote expected by June 9, 2014.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the budget review committee, the San Diego City Council. I will call this meeting to order. Note for the record that uh all council members are present with the exceptions of districts eight and nine. Uh we will start this afternoon uh with non-agenda public comment. We do have one speaker who wishes to speak under non-agenda public comment. Michelle Krug, if you'll come forward, it is uh we'll give you three minutes. Hi, good afternoon. Um, I am Michelle Krug, I live in Southeast San Diego, Myrtles district. And I um was not available on Tuesday. I know this when you were taking comments about MTS, so that's why I wanted to just um ask for you to consider when you're looking at the uh money allocated for MTS. I'm specifically advocating for benches, bus benches, and um in particular, um, weather covers would be wonderful, but I I'm good with the benches for the first step. Um, because it's really really difficult, especially in Southeast where some of the buses, like on Sundays or every two hours, you miss you'd miss a connection. I'm there for an hour and thirty minutes. So I just would really um appreciate that. And in my particular situation, which I I am dealing with in my personal situation at my house, but I want to advocate in general. Um, the situation is that there's uh dirt for about one and a half, two feet and um cement for four feet, but they need five feet to put a bench in. So it it it is part of the capital improvements, and I thought I could sneak it in today, but I figured let me just say it and unagenda public comment, because what is gonna be required in uh in numerous areas is that that dirt area has to be cemented in for at least thirty feet for them to be able to put a bench in. So this is I know it's getting into the weeds, but that's what I have to deal with. So I just wanted to please ask if you would um uh please help facilitate getting these benches, whatever it is that it's gonna take, because some of it is gonna take capital improvement money. Um the other thing since I haven't uh thirty seconds left is a really wonderful fun play, nine to five. Those of you who are old enough to remember the movie with uh Dolly Partner, it was very fun. It's um being shown actually at the small, wonderful intimate theater in Chula Vista on stage productions starting tonight until June 7th. So if you get a chance, check it out. It's 17 dollars for tickets. Thanks. Thank you, Miss Krug. Uh that's all the non-agenda public comment requests that I have. Ask if uh there's any committee member comment at this time. Ms. Leitner I wanted to thank the council president and council member Cole for supporting my community this morning at the Sandag hearing on um accepting uh uh return to the Northern Alignment for the Mid Coast trolley. Um and additionally, I would like to acknowledge that um I'm sorry to see that Mr. Starak is leaving us. Um happy birthday, Jeff. Thank you. And also Todd, happy birthday tomorrow. Um I know you share it with one of uh my staff, and so I I don't know if you all will be partying together, but have a a great um look out if we did. Just smile a lot. It's good. I think although I don't understand people are celebrating for weeks now on it's not birthdays anymore, it's birth weeks. So go for it. Thank you, Miss Lightner. And if I could just say it was uh it is a plev privilege to support you at Sandag this morning. I'm sure I speak for Ms. Cole when I say that it's uh was uh uh certainly my privilege to be able to vote in support of you and your community and let it be known that uh when Sherry Leitner mobilizes, things get done. And in this particular case, there was a uh uh change that was made uh to an alignment that was gonna be detrimental to her constituents and in a very short amount of time uh we were able to turn that around uh thanks to Ms. Leitner's advocacy and I think that was just incredibly well handled. So um shows you that uh people at District 1 are well represented. Uh Mr. Harrison I didn't know about Jeff uh but happy birthday and uh also wanted to wish you a happy birthday as well.
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