San Diego Budget Review Committee Meeting – May 8, 2020

The San Diego City Council Budget Review Committee convened on Friday, May 8, 2020, to review proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budgets for several independent departments, hear public testimony, and provide direction to the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was conducted remotely with members participating via teleconference, and the public was allowed to provide live phone testimony. A quorum was present, including Councilmembers Campbell, Ward, Montgomery, Kirsey, Kate, Sherman, Moreno, and Council President Gomez.

Public Comments & Testimony

• John Stump repeatedly called for the city to audit or recover costs from Zoo Global, stating the city provides services to the private corporation without full reimbursement. He also raised concerns about marijuana and tobacco advertising in city libraries and urged the city attorney to prosecute the matter.
• Nicole Crosby, a member of the Deputy City Attorney Association, opposed drastic cuts to the city attorney's office, stating deputy city attorneys are the most underpaid in the state and that cuts would make it impossible to retain qualified attorneys.
• Joy Sanyata publicly asked Mayor Faulconer to place all new department creations on hold unless they directly help public safety or public health.
• Rhonda Baramaki (in non-agenda public comment) expressed concern about tenants during COVID-19, noting many have not paid rent and face potential evictions despite the moratorium, and asked what the city is doing to help them.

Personnel Department Budget Review

• The Personnel Department presented its operations, including hiring 953 employees, testing approximately 2,000 police recruits, 800 fire recruits, 300 dispatcher applicants, and 123 lifeguard applicants. It received over 30,000 applications and conducted 287 recruitments.
• The department discussed the proposed 4% budget reduction and the negative impacts it would cause, including delays in hiring, classification/ salary studies, investigations of discrimination, and administration of reductions in force.
• The IBA's Lisa Byrne noted the 4% reduction is approximately $389,000, equivalent to about five of 19 budgeted associate personnel analyst positions.
• No public speakers commented on this item.
• Councilmember Kirsey requested data on hiring process timelines compared to previous years. Council President Gomez said she could not support adding a new position at this time, citing the need for fairness across departments, but suggested revisiting in six months.

Ethics Commission Budget Review

• Executive Director Stacey Fulhorst presented the Ethics Commission's accomplishments, including responding to approximately 400 requests for advice, transitioning to online training during COVID-19, and updating charts for new state campaign advertising laws.
• She noted the budget reflects six full-time positions, up from 5.5 due to a mid-year hire, and mentioned her upcoming retirement in early 2021.
• The commission reduced its budget for legal fees and professional services to meet the 4% reduction.
• The IBA had no comments.
• Public commenter John Stump hoped the Ethics Commission would review election processes for Charter Section 66 city schools, which need review and oversight.
• Councilmembers praised Fulhorst's service. Councilmember Ward asked about the 0.25 FTE increase for a three-month transition overlap; Fulhorst explained the need for mentoring a successor in a small, niche field.

Office of the City Auditor Budget Review

• Interim City Auditor Kyle Elser presented the office's accomplishments, including issuing 18 audit reports and one hotline report in FY19, with 85 recommendations. He highlighted recent audits on the city's strategic human capital management, homelessness response, and financial condition.
• The proposed FY21 budget is $3.7 million, a reduction of $293,000 (7.3%) from the prior year. Personnel salaries were cut by $244,000, requiring at least two positions to be cut or staff salaries reduced.
• Elser respectfully asked the committee to restore $244,000 in salaries and related fringe costs, arguing audits and investigations are more important during an economic crisis.
• The IBA had no comments.
• Public commenter John Stump urged the auditor to audit unreimbursed city costs provided to Zoo Global.
• Multiple councilmembers, including Campbell, Montgomery, Sherman, and Moreno, expressed strong support for restoring the auditor's budget and opposed personnel cuts. Sherman also asked about the process for hiring a permanent city auditor, noting no funding was allocated for that in the budget.

Office of the City Attorney Budget Review

• City Attorney Mara Elliott presented a detailed overview of the office's workload: reviewing about 20,000 misdemeanor cases and 3,000 domestic violence cases annually, with a 95% conviction rate. The Family Justice Center served 8,000 adults and children last year and provided 593 telehealth counseling sessions since the pandemic began.
• The office faced a proposed 4% budget cut ($2.4 million), combined with budgeted vacancy savings, equating to about 8% of its budget and up to 40 positions eliminated or left vacant.
• Elliott requested funding for a security guard at the Family Justice Center, citing safety concerns.
• IBA's Angela Colton noted concerns about the high vacancy savings in the mayor's proposal and said the IBA would monitor it.
• Public commenter John Stump urged enforcement against marijuana and tobacco advertising in city libraries; Nicole Crosby of the Deputy City Attorney Association opposed the cuts.
• Councilmembers were largely opposed to the cuts. Councilmember Kercy asked about potential CARES Act reimbursement for COVID-19-related legal work; Elliott said the office is tracking hours. Councilmember Moreno asked about the rapid increase in the vacancy factor, which the Department of Finance explained. Questions remained about how much cuts would impact charter duties.

Office of the City Clerk Budget Review

• City Clerk Liz Maland presented her office's role as "public access infrastructure," including election information, records access, and council meeting support. The office processed over 28,000 passport applications, generating about $842,000 for the general fund since 2014.
• The proposed 4% reduction of $239,660 would equate to 65% of the department's discretionary non-personnel budget, creating significant risk to legally mandated tasks.
• Maland noted the office expects a busy year with elections and redistricting, but has consistently returned surplus funds (averaging more than $276,000 annually).
• IBA's Jordan Moore highlighted that the only programmatic change is the 4% reduction, and there is no increase for redistricting commission work within the clerk's budget.
• Public commenter John Stump praised the office as efficient and urged no cuts.
• Councilmembers strongly supported protecting the clerk's budget, citing the election year and redistricting. Several mentioned efforts to reallocate funds from other areas to avoid cuts.

Closing Remarks and Direction to IBA

• Councilmembers made closing statements and gave specific direction to the IBA.
• Councilmember Campbell emphasized the need for priority-based budgeting, not equal cuts across all departments, and highlighted core services such as public safety, clean water, and homelessness reduction.
• Councilmember Montgomery asked the IBA to review homeless strategies costs, potential savings in the police department to preserve the STARPL program, alternative funding sources, and potential savings in the communications department.
• Councilmember Kercy requested analysis of the zeroing of the infrastructure fund, CARES Act funding opportunities, and whether proposed new departments are truly cost-neutral.
• Council President Gomez opposed the creation of new departments at this time, would not accept any library closures (specifically the Mountainview library), and supported addressing the technology divide.
• Chair Bree (Councilmember Barbara Bree) listed numerous items for the IBA to analyze, including CARES Act funding, borrowing options, hiring freezes, elimination of high-earning PIO positions, and savings from reduced office space and furloughs.
• The IBA's Andrea Tevlin reminded members that a list of funded and unfunded vacancies was sent by the COO, and encouraged memos to be submitted by May 22.
• A motion directing the IBA to include all recommendations stated during the meeting in its upcoming report (due June 3) was made, seconded by Councilmember Moreno, and passed unanimously with all present councilmembers voting yes.

Non-Agenda Public Comment

• John Stump repeated his call for the city to charge Zoo Global for services.
• Rhonda Baramaki raised tenant concerns, stating about 30% of tenants have not paid rent in April and May, and asked what the city is doing to prevent evictions after the moratorium.

Key Outcomes

• The committee voted unanimously to direct the IBA to incorporate all recommendations made during the meeting into its final report scheduled for June 3.
• No other votes were taken; the meeting served as a budget review and discussion session.
• The meeting was adjourned to the next scheduled city council meeting on Monday, May 11, 2020, at 6 p.m.