San Diego Budget Review Committee FY2024 Budget Hearing - May 8, 2023
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San Diego Budget Review Committee FY2024 Budget Hearing - May 8, 2023
The Budget Review Committee convened on May 8, 2023, to review the proposed FY2024 budgets for several city departments, including Engineering & Capital Projects, Strategic Capital Projects, Environmental Services, General Services, Human Resources, Purchasing & Contracting, and the Capital Improvements Program. The meeting spanned morning and afternoon sessions. No votes were taken as these were informational items.
Public Comments & Testimony
Members of the public provided comments on various agenda items. Key points included: Kathleen Lippitt criticized the city's water management and the "toilet to tap" program, urging investment in water storage infrastructure; Blair Beekman commented on stormwater issues and concerns about law enforcement overreach; other speakers addressed the Pure Water project, transparency in program naming, and support for hiring and equity initiatives. During the afternoon CIP discussion, public speakers advocated for road repairs in underserved communities, completion of Otay Mesa road network, park improvements in districts 4, 8, and 9, and emphasized the need for transparency in street selection processes.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Engineering & Capital Projects (ENCP)
Director Ranya Aman presented the department's operating budget, highlighting 44 completed construction projects and over $500 million in new contract awards during FY23. The department has a 16.6% vacancy rate (135.5 vacancies). Unfunded requests include a program manager for environmental permitting, two civil engineers for Lake Hodges Dam replacement, $800K for materials testing lab equipment, and $280K for laptops. The IBA noted challenges in filling management analyst positions. Councilmembers expressed concern about capacity and ability to use bond funds for projects due to staffing shortages. The department is implementing a "quick build" section for small projects.
Item 2: Strategic Capital Projects
Director James Nagelvoort presented the new department focused on large projects like Pure Water Phase 1 (35-40% complete). The department's budget is $5.9 million for 35 positions, with no new positions requested. They are working on implementing Measure D (project labor agreements) and exploring progressive design-build delivery. Councilmembers praised the West Mission Bay Bridge and Pure Water progress.
Item 3: Environmental Services (ESD)
Director Renee Robertson highlighted historic milestones: citywide organic waste rollout (over 5,000 tons diverted), updated recycling ordinance, polystyrene ban, and new encampment waste teams. The general fund budget increases by $23.7 million (29%) due to program reallocations and additional positions. Unfunded requests include $1.5 million for sidewalk sanitation expansion and vehicles for code compliance officers. Councilmembers praised the organic waste program and hotspot cleanup crews, and discussed the cost-of-service study for trash collection fees following Measure B.
Item 4: General Services (DGS)
Interim Director Mishir Little presented the department's budget for fleet and facilities management. Key requests: $1 million for repair and maintenance at citywide facilities, $750K increased fuel costs, $100K for fleet management system upgrades. Unfunded: $2.2 million for updated facility condition assessments (last done in 2014-16), $25 million for electric vehicle infrastructure at Chollas Yard. Councilmembers noted the lack of accurate facility condition data and the importance of planning for EV conversion.
Item 5: Purchasing & Contracting (P&C)
Director Claudia Barca reported on procurement activity: over $711 million in public works contracts and $1.56 billion in purchase orders. The department has 17 vacancies (26.6% vacancy rate), especially in the Equal Opportunity Contracting (EOC) program, which is being reclassified to contract compliance officers to improve recruitment. Unfunded requests include additional FTEs for goods and services and inventory scanning software. Councilmembers discussed the disparity study implementation and the new bonding assistance program.
Item 6: Human Resources (HR)
Director Julie Rasco presented efforts to improve recruitment, including a successful citywide career fair (2,300 applications, 1,200 interviews) and the Employee & Empower internship program (260+ paid interns, 35% conversion rate). The FY24 budget adds 13.5 FTEs (including 7.5 interns) for a recruiting team and expanded labor relations. Unfunded: $250K for an employee relations management system, $200K for professional development, $100K for employee appreciation. Councilmembers praised the career fair and sought ways to quantify its impact.
Item 7: Capital Improvements Program (CIP)
The afternoon session covered the State of the CIP and the FY2024 proposed CIP budget of $647.6 million. ENCP reported on mid-year progress: 1,261 open projects, $270 million expended in first half of FY23. Major projects include Pure Water Phase 1, Lake Hodges Dam repairs, La Media Road improvements, East Village Green, and West Mission Bay Drive Bridge (completed). The FY2024 CIP allocates $144.3 million for transportation, $104 million for street resurfacing (debt-financed), and $21.5 million from the General Fund. The IBA noted a $5.2 billion funding gap for capital projects. Councilmembers discussed the need for updated facility condition assessments, the impact of the new Council Policy 800-14 prioritizing equity and climate, concerns about the street resurfacing selection process, and the lack of transparency in how the $104 million will be spent. Many members advocated for projects in their districts, especially in underserved communities.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; all items were informational.
- Councilmembers directed staff to provide more details on street resurfacing lists and the use of the $104 million.
- The committee received updates on several unfunded requests that may be considered during the May revision.
- Staff will return with updates on the facility condition assessment study, the cost-of-service study for trash fees, and the implementation of Measure D.
- The meeting will reconvene on May 9, 2023.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the budget review committee of May 8th, 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 the public is allowed to attend the meetings in person, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the C's website, and Council Administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Additionally, 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 public testimony concludes, whichever occurs first. This will allow for better meeting management between the two platforms and ensure the council is able to manage and conduct safe business. We appreciate the public's cooperation. Chair. Committee member Lee. Committee member Campillo. Committee member Moreno. Vice Chair, Council President Elo Rivera. And our chair, Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step. Here. Also attending the meeting today, Charles Monica and Aaron Noel from the Independent Budget Analyst Office. Dana Fairchild from the City Attorney's Office. Chief Financial Officer, Nat Betzpe, Department of Finance Director Rolando Charbell, and Senior Policy Advisor for Mayor's Howard Gloria, Randy Wilde. Tyler, please proceed with public comment instructions. Thank you very much, Chair. If you are in person, please complete a speaker set located at the entrance of chambers and place it on top of the box indicated. Members of the public can join the webinar by computer tablet or smartphone by accessing the link which lists in online in the preamble language on the agenda on the city's webpage. If you need to participate by phone, you may dial 1669-254-5252 and input webinar ID 160-564-5569-pound. This information is also available on the agenda. It will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. As noted previously, 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 ends, whichever happens first. Please note that if you're watching on C T V 24 or 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 selecting the raise your hand button, or if you're a call-in participant, star nine on your cell phone or landline. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Thank you, Tyler, for reviewing those instructions for the benefit of the public. A quorum is now present. We will now move to committee members, mayoral staff, city attorney, and independent budget analyst comments. So at this time, we will move forward with our information agenda. As a reminder, these are informational items only. So no motions are required. Tyler, please introduce item number one. Thank you very much, Chair. Item one engineering and capital projects. If you are watching on C TV or the live stream online and would like to call into the meeting to speak, please call 1669-254-5252 when prompted. If you are watching on C TV or the live stream online and would like to call into the meeting to speak, please call 1669-254-5252 when prompted input webinar ID 160564-556-9 pound. You may raise your hand to speak on this item by selecting the raising hand raise your hand button or press star nine. Thank you. We do have Alia Clay, our DCO here for an introduction, and then we'll move on to the presentation. Please proceed. Good morning and thank you. Alia Corey, Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Operational Support Branch. Good morning, Council President Pro Tem Montgomery Step and Committee members. I hope you are ready and refresh for today. You'll be seeing a lot of me today.
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