San Diego Budget Review Committee Meeting – May 7, 2020

The San Diego Budget Review Committee met on May 7, 2020 (the Chair referenced May 6) via teleconference under Executive Order 2920 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee reviewed the FY2021 proposed budgets for the Public Utilities, Transportation, Stormwater, and Environmental Services departments. All items were informational; no votes were taken.

Public Comments & Testimony

Public Utilities Department (Items 1 & 2) – 14 callers testified, virtually all opposing proposed closures and recreation cuts at city reservoirs.

• Mark Henley (California Waterfowl Association) urged keeping waterfowl hunting at Barrett Reservoir open, citing economic benefits and hunter support for the local economy; suggested fee increases and an iron ranger check-in.
• Gary Brennan (San Diego County Wildlife Federation) opposed closure of hunts at Sutherland and Barrett, noting these are self-sustaining and volunteer-run; questioned motives for cutting the only two hunting programs.
• Mark Griffin (National Wild Turkey Federation) opposed closures of Lake Sutherland and Lake Barrett, sharing personal family experiences and arguing cuts won't meaningfully help the budget.
• Chip Gilbert (California Bass Federation) urged the city to keep lakes open, suggested transferring lakes to county districts to free city funds, and called the $400,000 cut counterproductive.
• Adam Perez, Anthony Santiago, Samuel Marvison, and others echoed support for open lakes, with Marvison noting the closure savings of $108,000 is only 0.2% of the total budget and compared cutting lakes to cutting electricity while losing a big asset.
• Several speakers (including Bruce Summers, Wayne Cotto, Salim Sawaya, and others) highlighted the cultural, recreational, and public health value of lake access and offered volunteer support to maintain operations.
• One caller (Mark Bowers) spoke about fishing access and being unable to use lakes during the pandemic.

Transportation Department (Item 3) – 15 callers testified.

• Vanessa Dangerfield, Alicia Arlo, Frank McDermott, Aaron Galvin, Paul Joulson, Margot Curry, Tracy Buchanan, Claire Lamandry, Thomas Curry, and others from El Cerrito strongly urged repaving of Collier Avenue, Redland Drive, and Redland Place, citing decades-old streets, potholes, safety hazards, and lack of local parks.
• Joey Lee Dunn, Kelly Earle, Ann Fage (Community Forest Advisory Board), Bruce Rico, Mike Pallett (Tree San Diego/West Coast Arborist), and Calvin Barrios (Laborers Local 89) opposed tree trimming and weed abatement cuts, emphasizing public safety, liability risks, climate action benefits, and maintenance backlogs.
• Samantha Jenkins (District 4 homeowner) opposed cuts to weed abatement, traffic installation, graffiti abatement, and right-of-way maintenance, citing safety concerns.

Stormwater Department (Item 4) – 2 public speakers.

• One speaker (name not stated) supported the creation of a separate stormwater department, acknowledging the long-term funding strategy but expressing disappointment over cuts.
• Calvin Barrios (District 9 resident) expressed concern about the $700,000 water quality monitoring reduction and potential non-compliance with TMDL deadlines.

Environmental Services Department (Item 5) – No public comments were taken during the meeting; they were deferred to 2 p.m.

Discussion Items

Public Utilities Department (Items 1 & 2)

• Johnny Perkins (Deputy COO) and Shauna Laurence (Public Utilities Director) presented. The FY2021 budget totals $1.2 billion, with $479 million operating, $282 million capital, $205 million debt service, and $269 million for water purchases. No rate increase is proposed for 2021. Recreation program expenditures are cut by 26%, with Barrett and Sutherland reservoirs proposed to shut down all recreation and El Capitan closing water-contact activities. Pure Water Phase 1 is expected to go out to bid in fall 2020 and begin construction spring 2021.
• IBA (Angela Colton) noted user fees cover only about half the recreation costs, and the remaining cost is supported by the general fund. No staff reductions are tied to recreation cuts; staff will be reassigned.
• Councilmembers asked about CARES Act funding for water bill assistance, the smart meter program (on hold pending union discussions), Pure Water litigation, dam condition assessments, and water sales trends (lower due to rain). Councilmember Sherman suggested exploring volunteer groups to help operate lakes.

Transportation Department (Item 3)

• Chris McFadden (Director) presented the department's history and $126 million general fund budget with 640 FTEs. Proposed reductions total about $4 million, including $1.2 million (director figure) from tree trimming, $700,000 from weed abatement, $600,000 from palm trimming, five vacant traffic installation positions, two vacant pothole crew positions, two vacant graffiti abatement positions, and other contract cuts.
• IBA (Jordan Moore) reported tree trimming reduction as $1.8 million and weed abatement as $750,000, noting discrepancies with the director's figures. The IBA also noted unfunded sidewalk repair requests and 21 FTEs.
• Councilmembers expressed strong concerns about service-level impacts, liability from deferred tree maintenance, and the proposed separation into new departments. Councilmember Campbell opposed the reorganization; Councilmembers Montgomery, Kercy, Kate, Sherman, Moreno, Gomez, and Bree indicated they would seek to restore tree trimming, graffiti, pothole, and weed abatement funding. Councilmember Kercy requested more detailed street condition assessments using LIDAR technology.

Stormwater Department (Item 4)

• Chris McFadden presented the proposed new Stormwater Department. The budget includes $4.9 million in reductions, all from contracts, with no position cuts except one new director position costing $382,000, offset by parking meter revenue. Reductions would impact flood risk management, water quality monitoring, channel maintenance (from 6 to 4 channels per year), and the watershed asset management plan (WOMP) update.
• IBA (Jordan Moore) grouped reductions into five categories: drainage/flood risk ($1.9M), watershed planning ($1.4M), habitat mitigation ($750K), water quality monitoring ($700K), and optimization plans ($165K). The WOMP update would be delayed 12-18 months, but the funding strategy remains on track for January 2021.
• Councilmembers generally supported the concept of a separate stormwater department but opposed the new director position in the current fiscal climate. They asked about TMDL compliance, Choice Creek, channel maintenance priorities, and vacant positions (17 currently).

Environmental Services Department (Item 5)

• Gene Matter (Interim Director) presented the department's $120 million budget with 430 FTEs. Proposed cuts include seven vacant sanitation driver positions, one filled hazardous inspector position, and reductions in contracts and supplies. COVID-19 impacts include a 15% increase in curbside tonnage (about 1,000 tons per week), suspension of some services, and increased digital requests.
• IBA (Bakou Patel) noted concerns about using one-time funding for ongoing Clean SD programs, and highlighted $4.6 million in new recycling processing costs due to China's National Sword policy.

Key Outcomes

• All budget review items were informational; no formal votes were taken.
• Councilmembers identified priorities for the final budget, including restoring tree trimming, weed abatement, graffiti abatement, pothole repair, and lake recreation funding; opposing new department director positions; and supporting a stormwater funding strategy.
• Staff were directed to provide additional information: applicability of CARES Act funds for water bills, detailed lake cost/revenue data, a list of stormwater contracts, department-wide vacancy data, and updates on the smart meter program and Pure Water litigation.
• The public comment period for the Environmental Services Department was deferred to 2 p.m. The committee planned a hard stop at 12:15 p.m. to move into closed session.
• Discrepancies noted between the director and IBA on reduction figures for tree trimming ($1.2M vs. $1.8M) and weed abatement ($700K vs. $750K).