Budget Review Committee Meeting - May 8, 2017
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Budget Review Committee Meeting - May 8, 2017
This meeting of the San Diego Budget Review Committee, chaired by Councilmember Barbara Bree, took place on May 8, 2017, from approximately 9:00 AM to noon. The committee reviewed the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budgets for Neighborhood Services, the Commission for Arts and Culture, Special Promotional Programs, the Library Department, and the Park and Recreation Department. Public testimony was heavily weighted toward opposition to a proposed 31% cut to arts and culture funding, with over 100 speaker slips submitted. Council members expressed strong support for restoring arts funding, maintaining library services, and addressing park maintenance needs.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comment: Martha Welsh spoke about inadequate facilities at fire stations, including lack of showers, bathrooms, and kitchens for firefighters.
- Arts and Culture (in opposition to proposed cuts): Over 36 speakers, including organized presentations from the Commission for Arts and Culture, the San Diego Arts and Culture Coalition, and representatives from La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, the San Diego Museum of Art, and other organizations. They argued that the proposed 31% cut ($4.7 million reduction from FY17) would devastate arts programming, reduce jobs, and harm educational outreach. Key points: The arts contribute $210.9 million in expenditures and support 6,962 jobs annually. Speakers urged the council to restore funding and adhere to the Penny for the Arts goal of 9.5% of TOT.
- Library (in favor of increased funding): Representatives from the Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, and Library Commission requested the council increase the library budget to 4% of general fund spending (an additional $2.2 million) to restore programming, add youth services librarians, and increase materials. They noted the library serves over 7 million visitors annually.
- Parks and Recreation (in opposition to cuts): Speakers expressed concerns about reductions in tree trimming, pool maintenance, and staffing. Martha Welsh questioned the use of Mission Bay funds. Virginia Wilson urged preserving tree canopy. Kathy Bosley and others highlighted the need for repairs at the Carmel Valley pool, which serves seniors and children.
Discussion Items
- Neighborhood Services Overview: Deputy COO David Graham presented the branch's mission and accomplishments, including annual work plans for boards. The budget includes a $44,000 increase for the Community Review Board and independent legal counsel.
- Commission for Arts and Culture (Dana Springs, Executive Director): The proposed total budget is $10.3 million (down from $15 million in FY17). The commission recommends allocating $831,000 to Creative Community San Diego, $6.8 million to Organizational Support Program (OSP), and $460,000 to the Public Art Fund. The IBA noted that the 4.5% of TOT funding level is the lowest since 2013 and below the Penny for the Arts goal of 9.52%.
- Special Promotional Programs (Matt Vesby, Deputy Director): The TOT fund budget includes a $4.7 million decrease for arts and culture, and a $1.4 million increase for the one-cent discretionary transfer to the general fund. The IBA stated that the bulk of the increase in TOT transfer supports lifeguard and park and recreation expenses.
- Council Comments on Arts: Councilmembers Ward, Zaf, Cole, Gomez, Alvarez, Sherman, and Bree all voiced strong support for the arts. They committed to finding additional funding, noting that the proposed cuts were disproportionate and that the Penny for the Arts policy remains in effect. Councilmember Zaf shared personal stories about the impact of arts on youth. Councilmember Sherman warned that next year's budget would be even more difficult due to expiring one-time funds.
- Library Department (Misty Jones, Director): The proposed budget is $54.1 million, a $2.4 million increase, but includes reductions of 20.26 FTEs (all currently vacant) and $500,000 in programming funds. The IBA noted that the library's share of general fund spending is 3.84%, well below the 6% goal set by ordinance. Councilmembers questioned how programming could be maintained without cuts; Jones stated that the department had developed sustainable programs that would continue for 2-3 years.
- Park and Recreation Department (Herman Parker, Director): The general fund budget is $109.3 million, a $1 million increase, with reductions of 6 FTEs (vacant), $447,000 in water conservation savings, and reduced contractual services for tree trimming and pool maintenance. The IBA noted that the six FTE reduction reverses the FY17 addition of seven maintenance positions. Councilmembers expressed concerns about tree trimming, park maintenance, and the condition of the Carmel Valley pool.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the committee heard presentations and public testimony for informational purposes.
- Council members unanimously indicated they would work to restore arts and culture funding in the final budget, with several noting the need to find at least $5 million to avoid the 31% cut.
- The committee requested additional information on the Carmel Valley pool repairs, the status of park condition assessments, and the impact of reduced tree trimming.
- The Library and Park departments were asked to provide more details on how reduced staffing and programming cuts would affect services.
- The meeting adjourned at approximately 12:00 PM, with further budget hearings scheduled.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the May 8th meeting of the budget review committee. We have a quorum with Councilmember Zaf, Councilmember Ward, Council President Cole, Councilmember Kate Sherman, Alvarez, and myself, Barbara Bree, the chair of the committee. First of all, I'd like to thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to come today. And we very much value hearing from members of the community. Because we expect to have a large number of speakers today. We are going to limit public testimony to one minute per speaker. You are allowed to have someone cede time to you. And there may be organized presentations. So if you haven't yet, the speaker slips are at the back, so if you haven't yet filled out one and you want to speak, please do so. We also are going to be using the overflow room today because of the uh large crowd. Uh they will be able to hear everything that takes place in this room. Also, because it's a long meeting, some of us up here may get up to get a glass of water or go to the restroom. And uh there are microphones everywhere, so wherever we are, uh we hear what what's going on. And I know there also may be a lot of enthusiasm today for some of the speakers, and we ask that you show your enthusiasm by doing this so that we can move on as expeditiously as possible in order to respect your time. Um having said this, um clerk, please introduce the first item. Uh we'll begin with non-agenda public comment. We do have one speaker, Martha Welsh. Uh I'll put two minutes on the clock for you, Miss Ms. Welsh. Good morning, Martha. Last week, Georgiack taught one uh uh um temporary um files um fire station. Why don't you look at Cole's online? Is it door uh says a dormant? What happened? Have you looked it? It says no showers or bathrooms or kitchens or eating place or phones and bathroom and all that and not no TV and all that. Martha um Emma was here, she told me some fires have something in their cars only. So I and if you look on on on the line, um uh station two, it looks like an old house. It's a whole house. That's what that's for on the online, that's what look like that. Now, this is wrong when you're doing the fi with the fire. Would you look would you like to do uh do that to fire play um um the fire? Would you like to have it outside? No building to s out in the rain or sleep or have a shower and all that stuff. Would you like to do that? I don't think so. If you're a Democrat, I would never do that people, I would never do that people through that. I like people too much. I I wouldn't do that to people. If I found out about that, I I'm complaining with my comment, or I'd go to the mayor or something. Because I don't think it's right to fire fi uh fires. That's why I wouldn't have women. They don't want to change outside and stuff like this. So it's not right. This her was 2015 for her temporary, and she also won and meeting she had a broken truck truck one time. She said, I don't know if that's got a new truck or not. I don't know. But this is wrong. If fire uh firefighters don't have places to sleep and and change and shower and go to the bathroom and all this stuff, it's wrong.
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