Of you are here for the very, very first time.

So all right.

We're ready, Kevin.

All right.

Good morning.

I will now call the city council meeting of Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026 to order.

Deputy Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Campbell.

Here.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Here.

Councilmember Foster.

Here.

Council Member Von Wilpert.

Council President Pro Tem Lee.

Here.

Councilmember Campio.

Here.

Councilmember Moreno.

Present.

Councilmember Elo Rivera.

And Councilman Council President LaCava.

Present.

Also attending the meeting are Chief Deputy City Attorney, Melissa Abels, independent budget analyst, Charles Monica, Council Affairs Advisor in the Mayor's Office, Coda Zeiser, and myself, your Deputy City Clerk, Kevin Smith.

Alright, thank you for that.

A quorum is now present.

We will begin this morning with the land acknowledgement and the pledge of allegiance led by Councilmember Whitburn.

So if you would please stand.

Despite enduring the horrors of genocide and colonization, the Cobia I spirit remains unbroken.

We honor the resilience of their ancestors who fought to protect their culture and lay it.

Today they carry their legacy forward, ensuring that their traditions continue to thrive in gratitude and strength.

We stand with the Cobi Ida should connected to our past and committed to a thriving future.

Please face the flag, hand over your heart, ready, begin.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

All right.

That reviews how the public can offer their public testimony during today's meeting.

I'll summarize the slide on the screen.

Please note that the uh time allocations for proclamations and consent items for meeting management purpose purposes, the order can be found on the agenda summary, found online or at the table in the back of the room.

If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and bring it to the front of the room.

Council ambassadors are available near the entrance of this room and can assist with questions and speaker slips.

No further in-person testimony will be taken once the city city council begins virtual testimony.

All right, thank you.

Uh with that, we will now dispense with the approval of the proclamation items.

Deputy Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

The public comment period for the proclamation items is now open.

Each speaker will have one minute per item per person.

If you would like to speak on three or more items, you will have a maximum of three minutes.

The proclamation items being approved are items 30 31, S500, and S504.

We will begin with in-person public comment.

Jason Cox, please come forward.

Good morning, everybody.

Um I'm speaking today as a resident of Oak Park and a frequent patron of the Oak Park Library.

I've probably been down there five times for books, maybe 15 or 10 for community events, but the rest for Mark Davis.

I want to say he's gone far beyond what it means to be a librarian.

And I would want to call out his active role in supporting the community, be it friends of the library or the Oak Park Youth Corps, and say that he's been exceptional.

But what I really want to highlight today is the fact that for Mark, it has never been exceptional.

It's just a Tuesday.

I've never seen someone so professional, so nonchalant, and yet so compassionate and helpful at the same time.

He has proven that pragmatism does not preclude activism, and in doing so, rather than exceeding the standards for librarians, he's lifted them up to his.

He's the quintessence of what it means to be a librarian in the 21st century, and he's a true public servant.

I hope he can serve as a model for all those who come after him.

And we're truly sad to see him go.

Thank you for your comment.

Our next speaker is Lisa Solis.

Lisa Solis.

You do have time ceded to you by one other individual, Eric Bonatao.

Are you here?

Could you raise your hand, please?

Great.

Oh, thank you very much.

You will have a total of two minutes.

Good morning.

Good morning, City Council.

And on behalf of Bird Rock Elementary School, I'm Eric Bametau, school principal.

On behalf of the whole entire staff, the community and our students, we are excited and happy that you can acknowledge our 75th anniversary.

And with that, we have a little bit of a serenade for you.

But first, let me do introduce our music teacher, Miss Solis.

Good morning.

We are so excited to be here, City Council today.

We have our students here.

When I found out that we were having this celebration, I thought it was really important for everybody to know that we are Pelicans, aren't we?

We're Pelicans.

Our um our our uh how do you say our motto?

Our we have uh what's that called?

Um, the first and the pelican.

Our slogan is the Pelican.

And we are not Pelicans, we are Pelicans, and we love Dr.

Banatel.

We call him Dr.

B at Bird Rock.

So you'll hear him mentioned in this song.

And I have today with me Avery, Talia, Petra, and Campbell, and they're gonna be singing our song It's Great to Be a Pelican.

It's great to be a Pelican.

Four stars again and again.

Dr.

Meads the way.

We safeguate this every day.

Yeah, we live, we learn, we give and play.

We dance and sing, the Pelican way.

We live, we learn, we give and play.

We dance and sing the Pelican way.

The Pelican way, the Pelican Way, the Pelican way, the Pelican way.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is James Aviage.

James.

Speaking on item 30 for pollinator week, James C.

Uh Aviage.

Oh.

Nye.

Oh, Nye.

Oh, sorry.

I couldn't read.

James Nye.

I apologize.

No worries.

Well, I wanted to thank Council President LaCava and the members of the City Council.

Thank you today for recognizing Pollinator Week 2026.

As someone who studies bees and representing the City of San Diego B City Initiative, pollinators are not just a symbol of nature.

They are part of our working infrastructure of healthy ecosystems.

In San Diego, they support canyons, parks, gardens, native plants, and even food.

And therefore they're really a valuable part of our city.

And I'm especially grateful that the city has taken the leadership role in the Mayor's Monarch Pledge, and particularly for supporting AB 2254, the monarch protection bill.

Protecting monarch overwintering habitats in our California coast is exactly the kind of practical science-based action that we can make a real difference.

So I think pollinator protection with the city's help is not just abstract.

We can dedicate ourselves to reducing chemicals to planting biodiverse, water drought tolerant native plants, and bringing our actions to make a real difference.

Thank you for helping San Diego take the lead in this.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Max Schmidt.

Max Schmidt.

You have filed a slip to speak to items 30, 31, S500, and S504.

So you will have a total of three minutes.

Hi.

Um, I just wanted to say that I'm strongly opposed to all of these um new dates.

Um we've got June twenty-second to twenty eighth pollinator week, June 30th, Shauna Anderson Day.

Um, June, August 26th, Bird Rock Elementary Day, June 25th, Mark Davis Day.

I'm opposed to all of those days.

Strongly opposed to them.

Very, very strongly, strongly opposed to them.

And the reason why is because all they are distractions and cover-ups for the underground Catholic genocide.

Or if I'm for something, I'm allowed to say the reason I'm opposed to to certain something.

I know my rights.

And the reason I'm opposed to these dates is because, in my opinion, with my first amendment right, I believe that they are cover-up for a Catholic genocide happening in San Diego, where people are being driven completely crazy and driven to suicide and driven to drugs by being constantly surrounded by Freemasons who are telepathic, who've done hermetic chants in the Masonic Lodge to become telepathic.

Freemasons surround Catholics and speak gibberish nonstop while saying their thoughts out loud to try to drive them crazy, mentally ill, suicidal into drugs.

And there's the underground genocide, and that for city council to say like, um, we support human rights and we support um all these uh human rights issues, they're phonies.

If they support human rights, then why are they covering up a Catholic genocide?

And I know my first minute rights, and I feel a little frustrated I was interrupted because if I come here and spend my time and say if I'm opposed to an issue, I have the right to say why I'm opposed to it.

And I believe that these um dates are cover-ups for a Catholic genocide.

That's happening in San Diego.

It's a miracle I'm even alive right now because after being made homeless in the dead of winter by liberals in Cincinnati, I moved to San Diego to not freeze to death.

And I um for the past year, when I go to job interviews, they also speak gibberish to me and read my mind and mess with me.

I can't get a job in San Diego.

And for the past year I've been followed around and had my head completely uh mentally destroyed by people speaking gibberish around me nonstop saying my thoughts, and it is a true genocide.

And the uh city council are phonies.

They don't care about human rights.

They're covering up a Catholic genocide in San Diego, and I don't want to be interrupted again.

I mean, this works, but does yours?

I mean, seems like the system is still glitching.

Nope.

We should do some house cleaning real quick.

I brought my broom.

So it's cool.

I'm live, so we're getting it out there.

You know what I mean?

At least it's not edited.

Anywho, uh, it's good to see you guys on this level, and like this is how it should be.

This close to the people.

No, it terrifies you guys, but you know, to really feel like you're living and doing what the people need, we should be on the same level and not you guys up on a dice.

It feels like you're trying to be above the people.

Anywho, so um, I'm gonna connect 31 and 30 and S500 and S504.

So with the pollinator week, I think you guys, you know, there's always underlying things when you have these proclamations.

And again, I feel like you should spend more time on the rest of the agenda as you do on proclamations.

You spend a very long time on it, and then it's like we just rush through the rest of the business.

But with this pollinator stuff, I mean there are things that are affecting pollinators like 5G, like the chemtrails and even things like Roundup that are being sprayed to, you know, kill certain uh weeds and stuff, but like there's an effect that this has on the environment.

And so, you know, when we have people that are into environmental protection, I would think that they would be into geoengineering and making sure that you know we don't have things like that that are not only detrimental to us as human beings, but also the environment.

And so, you know, bees are heavily affected by 5G, and there aren't as many as there should be, and this is why you know the uh environment is affected.

And so it's like you guys want to talk about climate change and things like that, but you don't talk about the man-made weather warfare that is happening, and that is egregious because it's like that's affecting all of us, and I just don't understand for people who do claim to care about the environment, then that stuff should bother you.

And it's a disgrace to say this is pollinators week when there are things that are happening that are detrimental to them that could be stopped.

It doesn't have to take place.

Just like the storms didn't have to take place, but when there's, you know, cloud seeding happening, there's detriment that follows.

And so it's like if we don't, you know, acknowledge these things, it's just I mean, what's the point of doing this?

And then for, you know, the uh librarian and for the elementary, you know, what bothers me is there's a lot of sexualization of children happening in schools, and that is the truth.

It's happening with books, and um, you know, under the guise of pride.

But this is very dangerous because I tell you guys all the time, it leads to a grooming type of thing that leads kids to being victims of sexual assault because an adult can come up to them and talk to them about things that they shouldn't know about and shouldn't be learning in school, even pronouns.

That's not something that children should be learning.

You know, they should be learning things that are gonna help them in life, and it feels like you know, kids are failing because of curriculum and stuff like this.

So I just feel like as you guys want to sit here and be so happy about things, we need to talk about the underlying things as well.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

That concludes in-person public comment.

I've started the five-minute timer in council and committee room.

We will now turn to the virtual queue in which there are currently three participants requesting to speak.

Please state which proclamation item or items you wish to speak to.

We'll go first to caller with the last four digits eight seven zero zero.

If you can please unmute, please proceed.

Uh thank you.

Uh by the way, I was applauding with everyone.

I'm going to do all of them a deputy city clerk.

Hello.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, what was your question?

Uh no question.

Uh, Deputy City Clerk, I will be doing all items.

Oh, all items, okay.

Thank you.

You'll have three minutes.

Sorry about that.

I I think I was kind of muffled.

Uh okay.

So uh let's start with uh bird rock.

Oh my god.

I I just those four faces, those those faces of the children and the song.

I mean, this is the beauty.

This is the beauty.

This is just part of the whole circle.

And I I just thank you, thank you, you guys and gals.

You were just so great.

You just touched my heart.

Love you so much.

And then on Mark Davis' day, um, I just want to say that the very first speaker who spoke on that, and and he he just said it so eloquently, and I wanted to thank him for that.

And Mark Davis, thank you for making the world better, and then Shauna Anderson, same for you.

Uh, I celebrate you, and I thank you for making the world better.

Now, here's the main one for me today, and that is number 30, which is pollinator week.

So here we go, uh, enabling the reproduction of flowering plants.

San Diego is a B city USA affiliate.

Love, love, love, the mayor's monarch pledge.

Thank you for that, Mayor.

One of the pollinator heroes to me is director of the World Beat Cultural Center in San Diego's Balboa Park, Makeda Cheatham.

Thank you, Makeda.

You do beautiful things for San Diego, and you love our pollinators.

Okay, and then lastly, I want to suggest that you Google the image of a bee's affectionately called pollen pants, where they carry the pollen and the nectar back to the hive.

It's just an amazing thing.

It's it's actually w the little bags are woven with hair, and and it's it's just an amazing thing.

So uh I celebrate with all of you a great job in moving and adapting this morning, and looking forward to the rest of the day and love to all.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Blair Beekman.

Please unmute.

Hi, Robert Beekman.

Happy Tuesday morning to everyone.

Um I wanted to speak on item 30, just one item today.

Okay, you'll have one minute, thank you.

Yeah, I just wanted to uh thank yourselves for this item, um, to be thankful to our butterflies and bees is a good thing.

And it's nice uh to to have such a proclamation for uh our pollinators.

Thank you.

Um thank you for words of DRA uh in stressing the importance of all the things we have to consider so we can continue to have our flowers, and an overall good luck that um as we are all trying to understand, you know, different levels and forces that kind of uh hinder us and and and and conflict with us as we try to work on our issues.

We try to find the constructiveness out of it, identifying the weaknesses is important, but then finding the positive constructiveness out of it.

Good luck how we can do that in the same public dialogue.

I think that can be a good thing.

I try to practice how to do that.

Um good luck.

Uh from the negative, uh, speak of the positive.

It makes for good meetings.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Kathleen Lippett.

Please begin.

Thank you, good morning, council, and thank you for this proclamation of the pollinate for the pollinators.

I wanted to speak about phenology.

It's the timing of endemic plant species, and it's essential to understanding their growth cycles and which have evolved to be compatible with flowering, fruiting plants, bird migrations and endemic insects.

If you have a pollinator with nothing to pollinate, the pollinator dies.

Fruiting and flowering in native natural environments evolve to be compatible so they can all survive.

That process is disrupted when endemic insect and species are replaced with things like marijuana and hemp rows that are not native.

They consume massive amounts of water and are grown with pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides that will poison native plants, insects, and wildlife.

Those who care enough to proclaim the importance of pollinators for a proclamation should recognize these harms.

Audra's reference to glyphosate.

That does conclude your time.

Our next speaker is Tony.

Please begin.

Okay.

Tony, we we can't hear you very well.

We can hear like a tiny little bit.

Can you turn up your volume or something?

Can you hear me?

That's better.

Hey, how's it going?

Good morning, Council.

How are you doing today?

Um, I'm just going to say that I uh I support the bee pollinator uh week and the initiatives to bring attention and uh highlight um all the actions in support of uh bees and pollination.

Pollination plays an central role in our food production, uh supporting local bees that are native to the area is super important.

Uh honey bees often get all the credit and they get all the glory, but we have uh the blue bumblebee, we have the blue bee and a number of other native bees that actually burrow inside the ground.

And uh the more that we expand the cities and the more that we uh cave over everything and uh put concrete over everything.

We're uh getting rid of the spaces where they burrow because not all bees uh burrow in uh hives in uh big uh colonies like the way like the way honey bees do.

Uh, it's important to note on that side.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

It does conclude your time.

I don't know for the record the five-minute timer has concluded with one speaker left in the queue.

No other speakers will be taken.

Natalie Rashke, please unmute and begin.

Okay, good morning.

Thank you for hearing me today.

It's Natalie Rashki.

I just wanted to comment on the bee, the pollinator week.

It's contradictory that we have this week, but yet we still spray our skies with chemicals.

I live in a big apartment complex, and I even have pictures where they come in every summer and spray all the plants and we have mass amount of dead bees in the parking lot.

So if we're gonna have pollinator week, what are we also going to do to protect them in areas such as big apartment complex?

Who's using what chemicals to kill these bees and why we spray our skies?

They want to say con trails or chemtrails.

Which one is it?

Because when we spray the skies, we're spraying our children too.

Thanks.

Thank you.

That concludes public comment on proclamation items.

All right, thank you, Deputy Clerk.

Um, I'll kick off uh council member comment and move the proclamations.

Uh item 30, pollinator work, as we've heard, in partnership with Mayor Gloria.

This proclamation sustains the buzz that San Diego values its environmental impact as a designated bee city.

Pollinators are proof that sometimes even the smallest constituents have the biggest impact.

And without our pollinators and native plants that go hand in hand to support our biodiversity, our local food system and economy, San Diego would not have the vibrant ecosystem that we know and love without pollinators.

From bees to butterflies and everything in between, we rely heavily on these pollinators to sustain our communities.

It is important that we continue to do everything we can in San Diego to protect our diverse ecosystem from the many challenges that their pollinators face, including climate change.

And I know my staff was taking notes based on some of the comments that the public made.

Thank you to all the scientists, biologists, local environmental organizations, and volunteers who make it their mission to protect our city's pollinators and keep San Diego thriving.

And a special thank you to Professor Dr.

James Nye for your research and your passion in this area.

Item S501, Bird Rock Elementary's 75th anniversary day.

So congratulations to the school for 75 years of service to the youth of La Jolla and San Diego through education and innovation.

As many of you know, Bird Rock Elementary holds a special place in my family's heart.

My wife taught there for more than 25 years, and my children attended their elementary school years there.

Being able to witness firsthand the dedication and care to the school and staff put into our youth is worthy to take a moment to celebrate this anniversary, recognizing the leadership and teachers of the past to those who are leading and will lead to this school forward.

And to the parents, this is the first place that I did community volunteer work.

So who knows?

You do some community volunteer work, you end up as an elected official.

I don't know if that's bad or good, but at least that was my path.

Anyway, from earning multiple awards and honors as a California Distinguished School, one of America's healthiest schools, Birdwalk Elementary continues to foster a thriving, supportive, and premiered community where students feel encouraged to learn and succeed.

Leading today and sustaining high standards for students and the communities is the school's principal, Dr.

Eric Menital.

Dr.

Benital remains committed to ensuring that San Diego, excuse me, that Bird Rock Elementary continues to be a place where students and parents alike feel confident and connected and with administrators like Principal Dr.

Benital, staff, teachers, and parents.

Today we celebrate.

Tomorrow I know you continue to work on behalf of the students.

And then item 31, Shauna Anderson Day.

In partnership with Council Member Von Wilpert, I congratulate and thank Sean Anderson for her work and commitment of 26 years to the San Dieguido River Park with the past six years as the executive director of the joint powers authority.

Shauna has been consistently at the forefront for local environmental protections and open space advocacy in District One, from securing over six million dollars in state and federal funding for regional trail projects to being a respected leader to her peers and staff.

She provided critical oversight on major habitat restoration projects built by others, but now a JPA management responsibility.

She drove critical advances to the long-term build-out of the 71 mile Coast to Crest Trail with now 50 miles already in place.

She transformed long-term plans into groundbreaking projects that expands environmental access and restore natural habitats.

Because of her, residents and visitors are able to experience more of what San Diego and the region has to offer.

Thank you, Shauna, for your exceptional work with the San Dieguido JPA and everything that you've done for our city.

Congratulations on your retirement.

Would you like to offer a few words?

Thank you, Council President Joe Locava.

Um, I really like the connection between Pollinator Week and the San Dieguito River Park because protecting our open spaces and our river valleys uh through in the San Diego region is so critical to uh our pollinators.

Um I'd like to thank the City of San Diego for your years of support for the JPA, particularly uh two board members, uh current board board members Joe La Cava and Marnie Von Wilpert, who've been on the board of the JPA since I've been the director, and for all your um passion and um engagement as we navigate the challenges of protecting our open spaces.

Um, thirty-five miles of those 50 miles of the Costa Crest Trail and other trails in the park are within the City of San Diego City limits.

I'd like to, it's a team effort, and I'd like to acknowledge some of our JPA staff that are here.

Please raise your hand.

We have a wonderful team of only 12 people and we accomplish so much.

I'd like to thank my family who's also here.

Please raise your hand.

Uh, I like to say that I've raised my kids at the San Dieguito River Park, and it's true.

Um, finally, I'd like to uh give a quick thank you to the first responders uh in the fire department of the city of San Diego.

Yesterday, a brush fire uh appeared in uh next to Lake Hodges, and um thanks to the firefighters and first responders.

It was only a brush fire, it was contained within you know just a short time, and um thankfully protecting the San the important San Dieguito River Valley.

So thank you so much.

I appreciate the recognition.

All right, thank you, John again.

Again, congratulations, thank you for your time.

And again, I will move the proclamations and we'll go to council member Foster.

Yes, thank you, Council President, and just a quick uh congratulations to all of the folks and organizations that are being recognized for the proclamations.

Um I would like to speak briefly on item 30 and S504.

First, starting with Pollinator Week 2026, um, just what would like to thank um you, Council President and the Mayor's Office for bringing this proclamation forward.

Um also just want to recognize a very special place in in District 4, um known as the Paradise Hills Native Garden.

Um it uh with the work of your office and the mayor's office, um, it has been incorporated into the City of San Diego's B City program.

Um, and so it is just such a um beautiful place, and I say, you know, we talk about the resiliency of District 4, um, that native garden is actually built on an old landfill.

Um so you can only imagine the challenges um that go along with that, as you can only um you know penetrate uh to certain levels and degrees, and and I tell you they have really found a way um to to make that into a beautiful beautiful um space.

Um not only do they have the bee um the bee uh garden that they that they have out there, but they also have a butterfly garden as well.

Uh so if you ever have a chance, you like gardening, please uh stop by the Paradise Hills Native Garden.

It's just a beautiful space.

Um, I say it's kind of like the zoo.

They have all the species out there with all the the names of this species, and it's really um a beautiful educational place.

So thank you.

Um just a big shout out to Nancy and Wes Jansen for and all the volunteers for everything that um takes place at Paradise Hills Garden.

Um also S504, um Mark Davis Day.

Um give him a round of applause.

Um, proud hello, proud to bring this proclamation forward with uh Mayor Todd Glory to recognize Mark Davis Day and celebrate her career.

That has meant so much to Oak Park in our city.

For nearly four decades, Mark dedicated himself to public service and to creating spaces where people could learn, connect, and feel welcomed.

And if you've ever been out to the Oak Park Library and the and the friends of the library and the events, um it is truly truly a place that brings community community together for fellowship.

Um as we know, libraries are our anchor in our community.

Um again, um special places um where we open the doors and just create um fellowship and opportunity for our residents.

Um and Mark understood that through his leadership and partnership with the friends of the Oak Park Library, the branch became a trusted community space and brought people together and created opportunities for generations of residents, and we see that impact directly in our office today.

Um as you saw uh through the efforts there and in uh my engagement um with the Oak Park community and the friends of the Oak Park Library.

Jackson that came up um and gave comment is now an intern in my office, and he made it very adamant that he wanted to round that he wanted to be here today to recognize uh Mark.

Um so just really want to just really appreciate the partnership Mark built with the community library staff and his commitment to making sure the future of the Oak Park Library reflected the needs of the people who use it every day.

So, on behalf of uh District 4 and the Oak Park community, Friends of the Oak Park Library in the City of San Diego, uh Mark, just thank you for your service, your leadership, and for everything you have given uh to Oak Park um in the city of San Diego, and uh just want you to really enjoy this next chapter, and it is well deserved.

Um, of course, um you are invited and want to make sure we see you at the new Oak Park uh opening um when we get that building um completed.

So looking forward to having you there.

Uh Mark, would you like to say a few words if you want?

Please, all right, coworkers.

It might have been nice if you had let me know that I was going to be speaking today.

Ahead of time.

Um, yeah, our libraries are definitely our hubs to our communities.

More than just places for educational material, but they are community centers.

And I'm very happy and proud to have been able to work in one and serve a community in the city.

And I want to remind you guys a dollar for dollar investments in libraries is probably more effective than fighting crime than investment in police.

So, thank you for restoring as much of the library funding as you were able.

Thank you so much.

And uh, and I'm sure I'm sure Alita Chavez um will be giving you a big giant hug um as you um retire.

But looking forward to having you at the opening of the new Oak Park Library.

Um, so with that, I will second um the motion and thank you um for the opportunity, Council President.

All right, thank you.

So we have a motion by myself and second by Councilmember Foster and move the proclamations.

I don't see anybody else on the lights, so please call the roll.

I have set up the voting system, please cast your vote.

All right, thank you for that.

Um, for continue to ask the indulgence of those assembled here.

We're gonna pause briefly to go to chamber to take pictures with the four recipients of the proclamations.

Uh anybody who wants to come into chambers and witness the photos, you're welcome to do that.

Uh if you choose to leave, uh two elevators are are working.

I've been told that two elevators are in fact working, so um so you won't have to walk all the way back down.

So uh my colleagues would join me in chambers, for though we can take pictures with the four recipients.

I mean, somebody just has to send you to set up.

Hello?

Hello.

Some events that started right here.

Okay, we're back from a brief pause, but Kevin, why don't you take uh attendance of the council members?

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Sure.

Councilmember Foster.

Councilmember Von Wilpert.

Council President Pro Tem Lee.

Councilmember Campillo.

Here.

Councilmember Moreno.

President.

Councilmember Ilo Rivera.

Council President Lacava.

Present.

Alright, thank you.

And again, thank you for indulging us as we kind of navigate these technical technical problems.

So we're going to proceed with the approval of consent items.

And there are two corrective statements for the record.

Our city attorney.

Thank you, Council President.

On item S501, our office will be submitting a corrected digest and ordinance to clarify that the ordinance, if approved, will remain in effect without any further action by counsel if vehicle code section 21214.7 is extended by the state legislature.

Alright, thank you for that.

And I believe the office of the mayor has a correction as well.

Thank you, Council President.

For item 100, the staff report and resolution indicate that appointee Stephanie Ben Benuto resides in Council District 1.

However, she actually resides in Council District 2.

A corrected resolution will be submitted following the meeting.

There we go.

With that, are there any requests to pull an item or any of the items by the council?

I don't see any request.

So with that, Deputy Clerk, please proceed with public testimony on the consent items.

Thank you, Council President.

Please note each speaker will have one minute per item per person.

If you would like to speak on three or more items, you will have a maximum of three minutes.

The consent agenda includes items 10, 50 through 52, 100, 101, S501, S502, and S503.

Also let me note for the record the potential appointments that are on the agenda this morning.

Item 100 is the potential appointment of Stephanie Benvenuto, John Ford, Tyler Martin, and Tiffany McDaniel to the homelessness revenue account citizens oversight committee.

Item 101 is the potential appointment of Tom Harman to the Board of Building Appeals and Advisors.

We did receive comments on item S501 on our e-comment form, which has been distributed to the council.

That we will go to in-person comment.

Max Schmidt, please come forward.

You have submitted speaker slips on all of the consent items, so you will have a maximum of three minutes.

Hi.

Um I just wanted to use my first amendment right here today at City Hall and say that with my First Amendment right, in my opinion, um I'm opposed to all of the consent agenda items.

I'm opposed to every single one with my first amendment right and um in my opinion.

And I want to say the reason why the reason why I'm opposed to all of these items is because I believe that every thing should be um stopped, and that the um uh city government should actually be shut down until more awareness is drawn about the Catholic genocide.

And if I'm gonna get in trouble for not staying on topic, one of the item 100 is appointments to the homeless revenue account citizens oversight committee.

I think the homeless revenue uh oversight committee should be shut down until awareness is drawn that um homeless Catholic people are you can call it death by gibberish, where Freemasons surround homeless Catholic people and speak dribbberish nonstop to the point they go mentally ill, commit suicide, or turn to drugs, and it's an underground hidden genocide.

And I want to say the reason why I'm opposed to these items and why it's such a big deal, is because homeless people are dying.

And they're being intentionally driven to suicide.

Intentionally driven to drugs, by um telepathic people surrounding them nonstop, um, surrounding them at the homeless shelter, surrounding them on public transit, surrounding them every single way, every single place they go and speaking gibberish so that their mind is so that they their mind is constantly um going insane.

It's imagine being forced to wear headphones that all you hear is gibberish all day long through these headphones, and then half the time if you can make out any of the gibberish, it's saying your thoughts out loud.

Imagine how that could drive someone to suicide or drug addiction.

There's an underground genocide um in San Diego that's being covered up and city council are phonies.

They don't care about human rights.

And they know they're guilty, and I'm not stupid.

Stop targeting Catholics, shame on all of you.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

Allegedly, Audra.

Please come forward and state the items you'd like to speak to.

We'll cover as much as possible.

That's right.

Okay, three minutes.

Let's do this.

Alright, fun fact, flies also pollinate.

So that's interesting.

You may not want to kill them.

You know what I mean?

It's like they also, you know, there's a reason why they go after poop.

Anywho, so yes, I'll continue to say this with your software agreements.

I feel like uh it is very negligent when we are engaging with these monopolies that have all of the government information, uh, again, because it seems convenient, uh, but it's very dangerous with the people who uh have nefarious intentions like BlackRock and Vanguard, who are, you know, just being given our data.

It's crazy, nobody cares.

Um, and then um, this appointment for the homeless revenue account.

I feel like you should rename that because it sounds like you're making money off the homeless.

I mean you do, but I feel like it needs to be more along the lines of the, you know, homelessness TOT revenue account, because it really does.

It doesn't, it doesn't look good.

Um, but I guess let's be transparent with the people so that they know, you know what I mean, that they're you know a hot commodity because they make you a lot of money.

And with this uh electric bike stuff, I just feel like eventually these are gonna be regulated like cars.

Uh so you're gonna need a license and insurance and all of that stuff.

So I mean, people, Sean, that bike, you know what I mean?

You're gonna have to get a specific license for it.

Um and children will too.

So it's interesting.

And then with this emergency ambulance transportation billing.

So I understand this is for billing, but ambulances like Falk Ambulance are uh ambulances that are picking people up, and I would like to specify ambulance number 36 that is engaged in drugging people.

Um Falk also uh manufactures some of these drugs that they use to um kind of sedate people, and it is something that is known that happens in ambulances, not just in folk, but across the nation and probably the world, where people who get sedated um also get sexually assaulted, and Andrea Ebbing had a rape kit done after she was in a folk ambulance after she was assaulted by Anthony Warner, San Diego PD officer, and put into this ambulance in one of those like burritos, or you know, they just like wrap you up, it's a wrap or whatever, and she wound up in the hospital with no clothes.

And they're like, where are your clothes?

I mean, she had them at the skate park, um, Raul, where it's in your district, but evidently when she ended up in the hospital, there were no clothes, and she had a rape kit done, and when that was done, they said this is one of the worst cases I've seen.

And I saw a bunch of bruises on her legs that look like, you know, fingerprints um on the inside of her thighs, and so it's very concerning to know that this is happening in the city of San Diego, and right now they have deemed her incompetent.

So, you know, all of this can get buried under the rug.

Good job.

Bob Kazewski.

Please state the item you would like to speak to.

Item 10, the minutes.

Okay.

Thank you.

I'd just like to say that I'd like to see more detail in the minutes rather than less.

The minutes re are supposed to reflect what happened at the meeting.

They're searchable so people can look for what they're interested in.

And I've heard that the push to actually reduce the amount of detail in the minutes when citizens speak rather than increase it.

And I think it should be increased so that what we say here is at least captured to some degree.

I know it has to be summarized.

Uh it might be something for AI to do at some point, but I do think that um, you know, s I spent six hours here yesterday waiting to give a two-minute speech, and uh I think the citizens deserve a little more than uh just their name and uh and a couple of words.

Uh also I don't understand why we're now reducing all citizen comments to one minute.

Um there's not that many speakers here.

There's no justification to not have two minutes today, and I've seen it again and again.

Now I can understand if you have a council full of, you know, a chamber full of people, as we did yesterday with the telecom, but in general, we should deserve two minutes for the Brown Act.

Thank you.

I think it concludes your time.

Um Anthony Rows.

Please state the items you'd like to speak to.

I'd like to speak to item 10.

I'd like to speak to item 100, and I'd like to speak to item uh S501, please.

Okay, you'll have three minutes.

Uh with regard to item 10.

Well, first of all, good afternoon, City Council.

Uh, with regard to item 10, I would like to say that I strongly agree with what uh Bob just shared.

Um I also share that position as well.

I think that if we're making the time to park down here, if we're making the time to sit here for hours, if we're making the time to routinely show up, I think that we all deserve to have uh what we say recorded as accurately as possible and as thoroughly as possible.

Um moving on to item 100.

Uh good luck with these appointments.

I know that empty seats can't make the important decisions that are needed with regard to all of these issues.

Um, so I hope that these people are appointed.

I'm not sure who they are, but I hope that they are qualified and uh good luck to them.

And with regard to item S501, the municipal code, uh the new sections eight four nineteen, eight four twenty, and eighty-four twenty one relating to electric bicycle safety.

Um, I'm assuming that that's uh I actually have not seen those codes specifically, so I can't speak to all the nuances within them, but um, I just wanted to share my own personal testimony with regard to electrical bicycle safety and share that my brother's almost been hit by an electric bike.

Um actually grazed his base um almost thankfully it it didn't hurt him and it didn't hurt his base.

Uh but I'm sure that you hear stories like this all the time, so I won't bore you with more details.

Uh just hoping that uh we can do something with regard to public safety with these electric bicycles.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes in-person public comment.

I've started the five minute timer in the committee room.

We will now turn to the virtual queue, in which there are seven participants requesting to speak.

We will begin with John Ellier.

John, please begin.

Thank you.

Good morning, City Councilman.

Uh John Brady with Liby Experience Advisors.

I'd like to speak on uh the consent agenda and item 100, please.

Thank you.

So I'm sorry, item 100.

Yes.

The yes.

Okay, you'll have one minute then.

Thank you.

And also the consent agenda.

Item 100 is on the consent agenda.

Oh, sorry about that.

Uh, I wanted to speak on the item related to the homeless uh revenue committee as well.

Uh okay.

You'll have to do two minutes, please.

Uh so uh I am concerned about this homeless revenue committee.

Uh we've spoken with our members.

The way the language of this uh committee uh is set up, uh it appears that no one from the homeless services space uh could actually serve on the committee if they are res if they are recipients of any city funding, which is almost everyone in the space, including our own.

Um, and uh what appears to be developing based on the first four appointments is that there is no homeless services or knowledge or experience happening, and on top of it, we are uh and I have no no problem with the individuals or the resumes, but what what's happening is we are actually creating an exception for someone who does not live in the city who is a lobbyist.

Um this committee, if it has impact over how this funding is spent, looks like to me it will largely be made up by business people and no one with any lived experience uh or knowledge of the industry itself, and that is problematic for us.

Uh as to the uh public comment area, I did want to say that when you call in, uh, right now we you get an error if you dial in uh and enter the code, it says either it doesn't recognize it or ask for the code again and people hang up.

Also, when we pull an item like yesterday on path, we had some people uh set up to speak, but we could not give them time to get on the phone because there was not the presentation that was planned for.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Aurora Livingston.

Please state the items that you would like to speak to and begin.

Good morning, Council President and Council members.

My name is Aurora, and I'm speaking today on behalf of California State Senator Catherine Blake Spear on item uh S501.

Uh, the Senator supports this ordinance to improve e-bike safety and thanks Councilmember Campillo for his leadership on this important issue.

Senator Blake Spear applauds the city of San Diego for taking such a thoughtful education first approach to improving e-bike safety.

E-bikes really are an important part of our transportation system.

They provide a sustainable uh mobility option for many residents.

Unfortunately, there have been serious injuries involving young riders who may not have the training or understand the rules of the road to safely operate these e-bikes.

Uh this ordinance strikes the right balance by establishing a reasonable age restriction and prioritizing public education.

Um and these are common sense guardrails that focus on prevention and will help keep all road users safe.

Uh Senator Blake Spare looks forward to advancing complementary state legislation to strengthen e-bike safety standards and improve consumer protections.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Leif Genser.

Please state the item you would like to speak to.

Hi there, my life is my name is Les Gensett.

I want to just speak on S 501.

I must have I'm gonna have an e-bike rider, I take it uh to go to the grocery store, they'll write it all the time.

I have a class one e-bike, which is limited to 20 miles per hour.

Um I want to point out that you picked up the worst statement to support when it comes to e-bikes.

There is no bicycle advocacy group although that supports this particular bill, especially because it would limit children under 12 to write class one and class two e-bikes.

These are not the e-bikes that people are always talking about.

These are not e-models, these are typically not the e-bikes that kids are doing wheelies on.

I want you to understand this has nothing to do with kids riding on the highway.

This is nothing to do with kids doing wheelies.

Um, please don't use the excuse that you're doing something because what you're doing is you're doing the easy thing, and you are creating bad externalities for people that cannot vote.

So, um, if you care about e-bike safety, you would be consistently in the better at implementing safe bicycle infrastructure.

My ask is you can do all of the uh education for the stuff and it's and and yes, you can all see education for stuff, and I don't even I'm opposed to better enforcement, but please take out the restriction on class one and class two e-bikes.

That's all I got to say.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

Please note that the five-minute timer has concluded with five speakers left in the queue.

No other speakers will be taken.

Next up is Ross Tritt.

Please state the item you'd like to speak to and begin.

Thank you.

Speaking on S501.

Good morning, Council President Lucaba and members of the San Diego City Council.

My name is Ross Tritt and I'm speaking on behalf of assembly member Tasha Burner in support of item S501, which would opt the City of San Diego into the AB 2234 pilot program.

Thank you again to Councilman K and PO for championing this ordinance in San Diego.

Assemblymember Tasha Brunner authored AB 2234 in response to the growing number e-bike collisions involving young riders across her district.

As a mom of two children who ride e-bikes, she knows firsthand how important it is to keep our kids safe on the road.

And uh this is really just a common sense change that gives cities the tools to protect families and prevent tragic accidents from happening.

I respectfully ask for your high vote, and thank you for having me.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Blair Beekman.

Please state the item or items you wish to speak to.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman.

I wanted to speak to S501, S503, and Item 51.

You'll have three minutes.

Please proceed.

Okay, thank you.

Uh I guess first to S501, uh the electrical bike sac, electric bike safety issue.

Um I come at this issue more from what the uh future of infrastructure is gonna be like in terms of uh our smart cities and e-bike use.

And do we have um good tech accountability practices and policies for the future of e-bikes?

Um the argument you guys are having right now is uh interesting.

Um good luck how it can be debated.

I think people should have freedom.

Uh but I guess there can always be uh limitations uh with the needs of safety.

Good luck in finding that good balance and good luck on tech accountability, good tech accountability with the future of e-bikes.

Uh for item um, that means open policies and and best practices.

Uh for item S five oh three, um emergency transport uh billing and collection services items.

I wanted to reiterate the words of uh DRA.

Um we're we're doing our ambulance service stuff.

Do we need a review of how our ambulance workers are taking care of our people?

Um I think it should be like front and center of how we address ourselves at this time and with the uh police issues as well.

Um I've been mentioning it.

I I'm really surprised in what's happening to Andrea Ebbings' case.

She's a pretty innocent person, and she's getting uh real railroad treatment right now.

She is her rights are being taken away.

And I think we have to really work something right now, and uh it's our better principles.

Good luck how we can do that.

Um and addressing what exactly what DRA was talking about.

What's going on with how ambulance workers uh take people to the hospital?

What's going on in in that time period?

Um those things have to be addressed.

Is it larger than just Andrea's issue here in San Diego?

We have to consider all these things.

Um also for item 51, um, uh improvements and modernization project for PS2 uh improvements.

Um I'm learning important lessons in the difference between stormwater, uh storm drain issues, and these are sewer issues.

These are all different classifications.

I spoke much uh a week or so ago on on my feelings of uh storm water issues when you were working on storm drain issues, they're related, but there can be a bit of differences, and I didn't mark those differences.

I wish I did.

I really tried to be heartfelt in my words last week.

Um and I was uh spoken to you of what is a more proper order of how to talk about the things.

Um, but nonetheless, my words had real good intentions for everyone, and I hope we uh continue to work on our stuff and work on clarifying language when we clarify each other that it can be done softly.

It's I have to learn that too.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Natalie Rashki, please state which item or items you wish to speak to.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, I can hear you.

Which item would you like to speak?

I'd like to speak on um consent item 10100.

100.

Okay.

It's Natalie Rashki.

Uh the title is kind of concerning to me.

It does sound uh a bit oxy moron ish.

Um it's concerning to me also that there's appointed four people to this um board, and yeah, I went to go fill out an application, and it's saying it's not taking any applications, and that um there are seven seats available.

I think with the transparency that is happening through the city and with its constituents.

Um I'm supposed to be a stakeholder, but it doesn't seem that uh my stakeholding seems to be uh noticed too much.

With this, I got a letter from the housing commission that my EHV will end November 30th, and then I will no longer be um a part of any housing commission available.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

The next speaker is the caller with the last four digits eight seven zero zero.

Please state the item or items you wish to speak to.

Uh, am I on?

You are on.

Which item would you like to speak to?

Sorry, Deputy City Clerk.

Good you're doing such a good job.

Uh 50 51, excuse me, 100, uh 501, two, 501, 3 and 4 and 2.

I'm sorry.

Did you get that or you want me to redo it?

I got that.

You'll have a total of three minutes.

Okay, thank you so much.

Okay, so uh 50.

Uh yes.

This is a very important item.

Uh yes, to uh B2G now, to come for comprehensive contract and labor compliance software solutions support.

Uh this is the uh administration and enforcement functions of the OLSE, the PLA, and the EOC programs.

Uh wonderful, wonderful important item.

Uh a question in today's IT world is 10 years too long.

Uh 51, uh yes to Brown and Caldwell, uh, the EOC report, 59 employees, 11 subcontractors, a question.

What about underrepresentation in the subcontractors?

Uh do we follow that workforce?

Uh no copy of the workforce report from Brown and Caldwell.

It's with the county.

This is one reason why item 50 is so crucial.

Uh 100, yes to the appointments for the homeless revenue account citizens oversight committee.

Thank you.

Thank you, volunteers.

Uh four years seems appropriate.

Length of service, revenue from the measure C T O T.

Please consider what John Brady said this morning.

I think that's a good thing to look at.

Uh F501, yes, and thank you to Council Member Camp Peel and all others involved on the e-bike prohibition for under 12 young people.

This makes sense.

We need to guide our young people, and this is very important for their safety.

So a question on that.

Could lack of resources affect enforcement of it?

503, uh, yes, 503 on the fence with Whitman contract for ambulance building and collection services.

Is there a program to help low-income people with the payments?

I'm sorry, back to 502.

Yes to the First Amendment to REI involves CDGB grant funds and HUD HUD system.

Timeline has been bumpy for meeting deadlines.

Please be careful on that.

Uh involves equity and underserved community.

It's a good thing.

So uh thank you, EB, the Economic Development Department.

So this is chunk full of good stuff, and appreciate your work on your flood to all.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Catherine Douglas.

Please state which item or items you would like to speak to.

E-bike safety.

Okay, you'll have one minute, please proceed.

I strongly support this common sense e-bike safety proposal unanimously approved by the public safety committee.

There's an urgent need for practical measures that'll enhance public safety and help prevent avoidable injuries.

Setting a minimum age of 12 for class one and class two e-bike riders.

Prohibiting passengers unless a bike is specifically designed with a permanent second seat.

These are simple common sense safety measures.

These safeguards will protect young riders, reduce dangerous riding behaviors, make our streets safer for everyone.

As e-bike usage continues to grow, kids need these protections now more than ever to ensure they can ride safely and responsibly while protecting those around them.

I urge you to support council member Campillo's proposal and swiftly implement these much needed safety improvements.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

That does conclude public comment on the consent agenda.

All right, thank you, Deputy Clerk.

We'll turn it over to council members' questions, comments, entertain a motion, and we will start with Council Member Campio.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you to members of the public for uh their participation today.

I will move approval of the consent agenda and speak briefly to item S 501, the regulations on e-bikes.

This ordinance comes down to one simple question for me and my constituents.

If we know children are being seriously injured on e-bikes and we have the legal authority to act, why wouldn't we?

As a parent of two young children, a former fifth grade teacher as well.

Child safety is always at the top of my mind, and I've seen the data, I've spoken with the families, spoken to the doctors, I've heard from healthcare professionals and educators, and the message is clear.

They want to see us do more to protect our children.

Today's e-bikes are not the bicycles many of us grew up writing.

They travel farther and faster, often in traffic alongside cars, and yet many young riders haven't received the training on the rules of the road or safe riding practices.

So this ordinance uses the authority provided by AB 2234 to establish common sense guardrails focused on education and accountability and safety.

The goal is not to punish anyone, particularly children.

The goal is to prevent injuries before they happen.

I want to particularly thank Assemblymember Tasha Berner for authoring AB 2234 and Senator Catherine Blakespeer, whose upcoming legislation will put more responsibility on manufacturers, and that has my full support as well.

E-bikes are and can be a great transportation option, but safety cannot be optional.

So when children are being seriously injured and other pedestrians walking around or being injured, doing nothing can't be an option.

Our state legislature allows us, allows for this ordinance to be a tool to protect children and protect everyone, really, and collect evidence for several years to help shape policy into the future.

This ordinance is reasonable, it's balanced and a necessary step to protect young riders, their families, and everyone who shares our roads and sidewalks.

So with that, I respectfully ask support of the council.

And that concludes my motion, Council President.

Alright, thank you, Council Member Campia.

So we have a motion to move the uh consent items, not sending the lights, I'll second it.

And um I will thank you, Councilmember, for bringing the item forward.

Uh and I will uh join you in expressing the frustration uh for the good work that Senator Blakesphere and Assemblymember Warner's been trying to have common sense legislation and having a tough time up in Sacramento, but at least we have this.

Thank you for taking an opportunity for the pilot program.

Uh and thank you to the city attorney for clarifying that uh this will have the same term of whatever the state legislation is going forward.

So we have a uh motion by Councilmember Campillo and a second by myself to move the consent items.

We'll go next to Councilmember Elo Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Um I will first be asking some questions about item 100, um the appointments to the homeless revenue account citizens oversight committee.

Tried to navigate the system, seeing what works and what doesn't work from various perspectives is incredibly important.

We know that when the city has done our best work on homelessness, it has been very much guided by people with lib experience at the table, not as a as an afterthought, not as window dressing, but as in a in a meaningful way that actually helps inform the direction that is being uh being headed.

So I I am happy to support the appointments of the folks who are nominated today.

I will not be supporting any additional appointments to this committee until there are uh until at least someone with lived experience is is appointed after this.

Um just want to be transparent about that, because I do think it's a it's critical to ensure that the intended effect of this committee um lands in the way that it's supposed to land in terms of of impact.

Uh item S 501.

Uh, appreciate the work that's been done here.

Uh the one thing that I will flag is wanting to be sure that we are tracking what the um enforcement of this ordinance looks like once that does go into effect.

There are already gross disproportionalities in terms of enforcement of a variety of laws in this city.

Um experience those disproportionate enforcements in a significant way.

Uh the school to prison pipeline is real.

Um the um youth-to-prison pipeline is real, and I want to be sure that this ordinance is being enforced with the intended effect of protecting young people from harm, not as a pretext to additional contacts with law from law enforcement to uh young people, especially young people of color.

I do I I will be very closely looking to see that um black and brown youth are not being disproportionately targeted for enforcement of this law.

Um so understand the desired effect.

I too have been very concerned at times uh when I've seen uh young folks bombing downhills on e-bikes, um, and all the that all that can go wrong there.

And um again, just want to be sure that we're not opening the door to um disproportionate and unnecessary interactions between uh young folks and the uh in law enforcement or the justice system.

Um and I'll just play out one example where um we could see this happening where a young person, 13 or 14 years old, maybe 15, 16 or 17, depending on how um creative uh folks want to be in terms of of enforcing this or attempting to enforce this law, uh, gets stopped um with the pretext of checking to make sure that the person is of the appropriate age to be riding a class one or class two e-bike.

Um, and that initiates an unnecessary contact between that young person and the system.

If that person's not carrying an ID, um you can kind of see it going from there in terms of of what that contact can look like.

Um, and again, thinking about my constituents, um, the young folks that I've worked with over the years uh who have have had negative experiences that very rarely involve them actually uh causing harm, but has permanently clouded their um their perception of the city, their perception of public safety.

I want to make sure that this doesn't open the door for that.

And then lastly, just wanting to make sure that we continue to encourage uh folks to ride when possible, that we encourage folks to develop those habits rather than then discourage that.

That's important to me as well.

So uh appreciate the intended effect.

Um I will support the motion in front of us, uh, but we'll be looking closely to make sure that it's not being enforced in disproportionate way.

Thank you, Council President.

All right, thank you, Councilmember, we'll go next to Councilmember Foster.

Uh yes, thank you, Council President.

Um, I just would like to register.

Um, I will be supporting the consent agenda, but I would like to register a no vote for item number 50, the new contract with BG with B2G now.

Um again, we are ending a contract with a certified black uh women-owned woman-owned business, and we are um entering into a new agreement with a non-certified firm at double the cost.

And that is very problematic for me.

So I will be registering a no vote.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Foster.

We'll go back to Councilmember Campillo.

Thank you, Council President.

I appreciate Councilmember Ilo Rivera's points uh completely spot on uh on the historical and the societal effects that he's talking about.

Just want to point out AB uh 2234 does account for collection of the data that he's pointing out that are important, uh subsection D of that state law says that the when we submit the data to the state to the state legislature as a result of this pilot program, it does include uh how many times a person is stopped uh while uh under the age of uh 12 uh but then will the or they an officer thought they were under the age of 12, but was in fact over the age limit.

Uh the officer does have to take down information about perceived race, ethnicity, gender, and approximate age of the person stopped, uh, and uh provided that the identification of these characteristics is solely based on the observation or perception of the police officer who initiated the traffic stop.

So I appreciate his uh points on that and note that the state legislature uh does require us to collect and submit that information um to uh protect against the issues he brought up.

So thank you for those points.

Alright, thank you, sir.

Uh not seeing anyone else in the lights.

We have a motion by council member Campillo, a second by myself.

Deputy Clerk, please call the roll.

I have set up the voting system.

Please cast your vote.

Councilmember Byrne, could we get a voice vote from you as well?

Yes.

Thank you.

The item passes unanimously with district four casting a no vote on item number 50.

And districts one and districts five outside of the district two and district five absent.

Thank you, Council President.

Stephanie's messed up my head.

Uh with that, um, do we have any comments by mayor's office, council member, city attorney, independent budget analyst, city clerk.

Only only comment I have uh to follow up on Councilmember Ilo Rivera's comments regarding item one hundred.

One of the appointees does have lived experience, but I completely understand your concern and your request that for the remaining three appointments uh to keep that top of mind.

So completely heard.

All right, thank you for that input.

Uh Coda.

Not seeing anybody else.

Um we will now take up non-agenda public comment.

Council members respect and appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings.

Deputy Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

Per Rule 2.7 on agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda, but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city council, each speaker will have two minutes.

Please note if there are eight or more speakers on a single topic, the maximum time for the topic will be sixteen minutes.

If you are in the committee room, please submit your speaker slip.

If you are joining us virtually, please raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you are a call in participant star nine.

We will begin with in-person comment.

Maximilian Schmidt, please come forward.

You'll have two minutes to speak.

Communist countries across the world are eliminating dissidents and killing off anyone who opposes them.

And how they do this is they're actually um people, um, what if I told you that if someone does a hermetic chant in a Masonic lodge, they have the ability to look through your eyes and read your mind and access your consciousness completely.

And what's going on is communist countries, if someone's a dissident, they will actually surround the dissident, and they will speak gibberish, half gibberish, half um like patronizing their private thoughts to drive them mentally ill to um suicide or mental illness or drug addiction.

And it's um it's extremely cruel and usual, it's the equivalent of wearing headphones speaking gibberish, uh patronizing your private thoughts nonstop.

And that con those communist tactics to um remove dissidents has sadly spilled over into San Diego, where I'm someone who's done a lot of grassroots on my own.

Um on my own free time.

Um, I took it upon myself to go to the store, um, get a Trump flag and wave a Trump flag on the corner.

Um, that's what I like to do for fun.

And um after that happened, I started to get surrounded by people, um, telepathic Freemasons speaking gibberish nonstop, driving me insane, driving me crazy.

And I wanted to say the GOP doesn't do that.

We don't um target people who don't like the GOP and try to um drive them crazy and um kill them with um driving them crazy gibberish.

That's what communists do, and that's what liberals do.

And I want to make it clear that liberals do not care about human rights.

They're supposed to be like the party that cares about human rights, cares about um hum uh any hate against homosexuals, cares about uh illegal immigrants.

However, they're using communist tactics to kill people who don't like them.

So they're liberals aren't the party human rights, they're phonies.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

Next up is allegedly Audra.

Lived experience should be a requirement for that, but whatever.

I mean, because I feel like you're just saying that you're gonna do that.

Um, and Raul, I would actually say that collecting that j data on children under 12 could be very concerning uh with the things that happen with children and data collection.

Um, with your guys' cannabis item yesterday, I'm wondering if you know that in December that it got reclassified as a schedule three, like ketamine.

And so it's gonna have to be pharmaceutical grade and have like FDA approved manufacturing and all of these things.

So as you're bringing in these requirements, I mean the goal is to like get the cannabis industry out of here.

I mean, it's just gonna go black back to the black market.

Um, but it's going to put dispensaries out of business.

So as you're talking about deliveries here and there, you know, reclassifying this again, that's why it's like back and forth.

I mean, it's like a roller coaster ride.

How do you keep up with it?

Um, but you should think about that as you're bringing in enforcement.

And going back to Andrea Ebbing, it's very concerning um to know that they have deemed her incompetent, um, because she's not incompetent and a uh psychological evaluation.

The evaluator said she was competent, and then somebody from the county, like a social worker came in and started asking her political questions.

And so, irregardless of that, the judge has the deciding factor in a PC 1368.

So the problem is is that this is going to stall the proceedings, and she could potentially go into a mental facility and be drugged up.

And this is a way to silence people, and it's just really sad to know that she has been fighting for her children, fighting to report crimes that have happened against her, and this is what takes place.

And her attorney, prior to saying that she was incompetent, like a few weeks prior, had filed a dismissal of charges because the arrest was unlawful.

So there is a huge problem here that they have now deemed her incompetent when all the charges should be.

That does conclude your time.

Next up is lay brother Stephen G.

Sidlovsky.

Please come forward to the microphone.

You'll have two minutes.

I understand you have some media you'd like to project.

Good afternoon, San Diego City Council and Citizens.

I am Lay Brother Stephen Gerard Sidlovsky.

I'd like to open up with holy scripture, because that's a good thing to do, I think.

And I'm going to open up to Proverbs 10.

We've just celebrated Father's Day, Mother's Day to Father's Day time.

The Proverbs of Solomon, a wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.

But righteousness delivers from death.

The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish, but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand.

But the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

He that gathereth in summer is a wise son, but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

And finally, blessings are upon the head of the just, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

I delivered all of you a wonderful Bible book, Mark.

I travel the country and I have spoken at San Diego in the past, amplifying new USA pre-born personhood cities.

Since I am a pro-life speaker, what I wanted to display before you is that I attended the California March for Life on March 16th of this year in Sacramento.

And the document up there shows that about 4,000 citizens attended the wonderful March for Life because we are marching for the sanctity of life.

We all here in Council Chamber started off our journey of life in our mother's womb.

Fatherhood starts in the mother's womb.

Motherhood starts in the mother's womb.

Childhood starts in the mother's womb.

And that does conclude your time.

Thank you, and I'll continue to update you on the new possibilities of personhood cities.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Bob Kazewski.

Okay, we'll bring the video up.

Bob Kuwski here.

A week ago today, I was hang gliding at Docweiler State Beach in Los Angeles under the Docweiler waiver that has been in place since 2017.

The public has been able to hang glide at Docweiler Beach for nearly 10 years under that waiver.

A decade ago, however, hang gliding at Docweiler was not allowed by the County of Los Angeles without Yushpa membership.

Fortunately, that all changed due to a sequence of events that started right here in San Diego.

On July 24th, 2011, a female student named Shannon Hamby was taking lessons at Tory through the city's concessionaire.

She was under radio supervision when she was flown directly into the path of another student.

She crashed and was badly injured.

I was contacted by Shannon's lawyer and asked to testify as an expert witness, and I did.

My testimony in September of 2014 was solid, and the case was quickly settled in Shannon's favor for an undisclosed amount.

Yushpa ended up losing their insurance coverage.

By November of 2014, I was retaliated against by your concessionaire, who conspired with Yushpa in the spring of 2015 to have me expelled for my testimony, which ended my ability to fly at all Yushpa sites, including Tory Pines and Docweiler.

In early 2017, we met with newly elected Barbara Bree for help.

Barbara Bree suggested a flight waiver to solve the problem, but she never followed through.

Joe Faust and I also spoke to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

While Barbara Bree did nothing here in San Diego, Los Angeles supervisor Janice Hahn stepped up and actually instituted a waiver.

The first Dockerweiler waivers were issued to Joe Faust, Frank Colvert, and myself on July 26, 2017, and we have flown under those waivers without incident ever since.

Barbara Bree dodged the issue for the rest of her term until her failed mayoral bid in 2020.

Joe LaCava has followed her lead throughout his entire term.

Reactivate the Tory Pine City Park Advisory Board and institute a Tory Pines flight waiver now.

That's concluding.

Next speaker is Anthony Ralphs.

Good afternoon, City Council.

I'm sure you're probably wondering what the flowers are for.

The flowers are from DFLOC San Diego, and they are to all of our city council members who voted against Flock and who respect their constituents' privacy rights.

And I actually got some.

I wanted to give these to our independent budget analyst, Charles Modica, because he uh advised this city council uh to cut Flock from the mayor's budget.

And uh because he's the independent budget analyst, we should be listening to him.

We should be respecting the financial input that he gives our city and the fact that we are not, and the fact that we are disrespecting our constituents' privacy and that we are giving an already overbloated police budget even more money and even more surveillance technology to use against us is extremely concerning.

Um in this last week, I saw a report that was detailing uh 17 cases of uh police stalking their former ex-girlfriends uh using Flock ALPR technology.

Um just yesterday there was a shooting and it was not stopped uh due to Flock ALPR technology.

That's the second time that Flock has failed in the last month.

If I were to fail at my job like that, uh in significant instances where I was expected to give a performance and I didn't deliver, I would be immediately fired.

Um I don't understand why SDPD continues to be shown the leniency that they've been shown.

Um, and I'm not sure how we're gonna hold them accountable when we have 42 million dollars in the public viability fund uh that they've blown through in all of the uh lawsuits that they've cost the city, and we're not done paying those.

I would like to see this council focus on police accountability.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time, and our city clerk staff can help distribute the flowers.

That does conclude in-person public comment.

I've started the five-minute timer in the committee room.

We will now turn to the virtual queue, in which there are currently ten participants requesting to speak.

We'll go first to Blair Beekman.

Please begin your comments.

Thank you.

Yes, uh, I'm also really trying.

I think we can address Flock issues in in new ways.

I am I'm hoping that there is simply a con I feel there's a continuing growing but will in the past year in San Diego and across the country to no longer do business with Fox.

As Flock uh may be developing its ideas, its data within the context of supporting international policies of war.

I have been describing for months now how both the city of Oakland is County of Alameda are creating 18-month process of full community input, best practices to leave Fox for a new better principled ALPR vendor.

This is simply a good model San Diego can refer to at this time.

Uh a good beginning model.

Uh uh, I we simply should be continuing uh community dialogue and conversations how to formally leave the LPR vendor clock and to look for a better principled ALPR vendor.

Or do we simply give up the ALPR vendor process all together and work out uh new data collection arrangements?

It's ubiquitous, so owners of new San Diego ALPRs?

At the same time, San Diego uh uh we can be working towards something of a yielding review process, I feel that can be important also at this time in how to create a small reduction of unnecessary or redundant surveillance technology and ALPR use from local San Diego neighborhoods.

And at the same same time, this will not overly take much away from the current use of surveillance technology within San Diego neighborhood public safety concerns.

Um I'm also hoping this can develop a consistent responsible yearly reduction of unnecessarily unnecessary surveillance tech uh while at the same time uh developing better principle of more responsible community tech use with clear oversight.

Um I think it can work.

Monica Montgomery Step a few years ago believed the OPRs could be reduced.

That was that was on her mind with new ALPRs, and good luck.

We can talk more about ALPRs use in real team.

Next speaker is Terry Ann Skelly, please begin.

Good afternoon, San Diego City Council, Chair Locava.

My name is Terry Ann Skelly, and I work with my planning group on good public health and safety policies and land use decisions.

I spoke yesterday in support for item two hundred two regarding creating more comprehensive policies regarding pot deliveries.

I truly appreciate the city's efforts to know who is selling pot in our cities and where the pot is coming from, since it doesn't seem to have a physical location within the city.

I was concerned that there were those yesterday who wanted to have a permit from other another jurisdiction and then wanted to deliver in San Diego, but did not want to register for a permit to deliver in San Diego.

That was a scary declaration and made me wonder about all those pot entrepreneurs who continuously tell us that they are providing a necessary service.

However, they don't want to abide by the rules and register in the city of San Diego to deliver POP.

That makes the public wonder if the real motive behind selling pot is just money, which has always been the motive behind selling drugs.

So I especially appreciate the work of city councilperson Cambillo and staff for creating a system of fines associated with enforcement against pot deliveries, doing so illegally.

Thank you for hearing my issues this morning or afternoon.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Barbara Gordon, please begin.

Um, thank you.

As a public health educator, I wanted to share with you the American Medical Association's recently adopted new policy calling for the prohibition of flavored cannabis vaping products in cannabis dispensaries, hemp product retailers, and other retail outlets, while also advocating for legislative changes.

Their position reflects the organization's growing concern about public health risk associated with flavored vaping products and their appeal to adolescents and young adults.

According to the AMA, flavors such as fruit, candy, menthol can make vaping products more attractive to youth, increasing the likelihood of initiation and long-term substance use.

The new poly extends to the AMA's long-standing position, reflecting a broader effort to reduce youth exposure to an inhaled psychoactive substances.

The report says there is no public health justification for flavors that enhance the appeal of cannabis vape products, particularly when youth vaping remains a significant concern.

AMA later leaders have emphasized that protecting young people from addiction and potential health harms should take precedence over the commercialization and availability.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

Our next speaker is caller with last four digits 8700.

Please begin.

Thank you.

Uh Joyce Anyata.

The beautiful tapestry, the lens through which we look at and see life.

Here's my lens.

What if we are all pollinators in city government?

After 20 years in my work as an activist, I see a common thread to it all.

We are all working to see what works best.

We now know that bees are connected to a bigger picture that includes a mysterious miracle.

Yes, the mysterious, the miracle is bumpy.

Yet something is working.

We're still here.

Life is still here.

I woke up feeling different this morning about F GE, about public power, about trash fees, parking fees, budgets, ADUs, parks, libraries, even flock, and so forth.

We are doing something that the whole world is doing.

We are doing what we are meant to do.

We are fulfilling our role as pollinators of the great circle of life.

In my opinion, we are so lucky.

We are we just happened to be here in San Diego.

We are just so lucky.

And we are connected.

I believe in that.

And I I just I'm getting stronger and stronger about it through all these difficult days.

It's all connected.

I believe in that.

So I I hope you'll consider that too.

And I'm sure you're there already on many levels.

Maybe you're even the best of the best.

Help us with our new vision if you are.

So I believe in all of that, and I believe in the beautiful tapestry.

Love to all.

Thank you.

That doesn't be a great day.

Thank you.

Please note that the five-minute timer has concluded with five speakers left in the queue.

No other speakers will be taking out this time.

Next up is John Ellier.

Please begin.

Uh good afternoon.

Uh thank you, Council members.

Uh, thank you, Sean Elo for discussing lived experience.

Uh, the lived experience that was mentioned is not what we would define as lived experience, which is somebody who has experienced homelessness within the last five to ten years and is intimately involved in the homeless space as an advocate.

Uh, I don't think that anybody here should consider lived experience being somebody who may have experienced homelessness 10, 15, 20 years ago, not even in the region, if that or here, because things are different now.

Uh, I also want to talk about Neil Good.

So it was not clear to any of us that when you voted to cut the funding for Neil Good, that there would not be an option to do fundraising and maintain the operations, and that the permit was being pulled at the end of the year.

If that is the case, that is outrageous.

That means we traded a critically needed resources for our most suffering people to fund flock, and that is completely unacceptable.

Uh, it was never made clear in any of your deliberations that the funding you were committing or decommitting was tied to a permanent closure by revocation and permit, and no one, including everybody at the community community budget alliance was aware about either.

We would have addressed it differently.

Um, when it comes to uh that issue, we need to be revisiting why exactly we are terminating the permit when there is an option and people are interested to fundraise the necessary funds to keep the facility open as is, um, and then uh finally, uh, it is come to our attention that uh if you do not have a solution for your EHV voucher by the end of the year, that you are going to be dropped, have no priority, and uh, and be on your own finding housing, and that too is not accessible, especially when the county filled all theirs.

I think that does conclude your time.

Our next speaker is Natalie Raskey.

Please begin.

Hi, I just want to give you an update on the letter that I received.

I was on a phone call and I got interrupted.

Um, it basically states for word for word that when the San Diego Housing Commission stops paying the EHV rent subsidy, you will no longer be an SDHC participant.

You will not need to do anything, and you will no longer be a part of this program.

I was informed that I would be on a waiting list for a project-based voucher.

So it's unclear to me if that it would still be the case.

I have tried contacting, I am in contact with legal aid, which it tells me to do.

There's urgency, um, it seems with any of these uh entities, uh Sarah Jacobs' office still has not seemed to get back to me.

I have contacted every single entity that I can to put me in front of somebody that I can relate to how wrong this is.

It's extremely overwhelming going to these websites, and I spoke last week or the week before, uh willing and able-bodied person that has the ability to do certain tasks that is having a really hard time completing tasks when the other parties aren't participating back, or there doesn't seem to be an urgency in what's happening.

I'll give you a rust a rough estimation on what November 30th will look like.

If um nobody else gets housing, there will be over 1,600 people, a lot of them with children that will be unhoused on that day.

That is overwhelming to me just to even think about, and with the cuts, where are these people gonna go?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Judy Strang, please begin.

Good afternoon, San Diego City Council.

Uh, thank you for the many comments we've heard so far.

I wanted to share with you an article that came out from the Washington Post in association with the University of Colorado study regarding cannabis and brain.

Uh it so happens that June is brain awareness month.

I thought about that when we were talking about e-bikes, because that's the injury you so often hear about, and traumatic brain injuries are horrific.

Those of you who've had exposure to that with people can appreciate it.

Anyway, the article from Washington Post is entitled Seven Unexpected Findings that highlight significant vulnerabilities in younger individuals related to marijuana use.

I'm only going to share a couple that really struck me.

Uh, first, I would like to share that it continues to surprise me that people don't realize that the cannabis people are using these days are not the plant with low concentrations, they are highly engineered, and they're engineered to increase their potency.

And this, of course, is what leads to addiction and dependence and adverse mental health episodes.

Number two, this structural change to the adolescent brain due to their exposure to marijuana through use is significant.

They call it in this article brain inflammation, and it changes the structural wiring of the white matter in the brain.

One can only think for about 10 seconds, and you know what that means for a population of children, a whole demographic.

And three, the concern they have regarding working memory impairment, and I've spoken to that concern as it applies to impaired driving.

But four, and the one that brings me here, is the role of marijuana use in triggering the mental health problems of paranoia and panic.

If you've ever dealt with someone having a bad experience with paranoia, you know how painful it is.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Becky Rapp, please begin.

Good afternoon.

My name is Becky Rapp, and um I'd like to thank the Public Safety committee for bringing forward the Transition support team Pilot Program, helping to connect vulnerable individuals with behavioral health services, housing resources, and other supportive programs, as it is crucial.

However, I'm concerned that in the report, marijuana and its potential behavioral health impacts were not included.

If the goal of the transition support team is to improve behavioral health outcomes and prevent people from falling deeper into crisis, then we must recognize the connection between high potency marijuana products and mental health consequences.

The most recent publicly reported San Diego County toxicology report found that THC was present in 43% of completed suicides involving individuals age 25 and younger.

Let that sit in for a minute.

43%.

We have to start recognizing the role marijuana plays in mental health outcomes.

I'm also encouraging the council to request updated information from the medical examiner, behavioral health services and other agencies regarding THC positive suicides, marijuana related psychiatric admissions, emergency department visits, and impaired driving incidents.

As this pilot program progresses, council must ensure that marijuana prevention, education, and behavioral health reporting are integrated into this program.

If the mission of the transition support team is to help people avoid crisis and achieve stability, then we should be willing to address all substances that may be contributing to those challenges.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our final speaker is Madison.

Please begin.

Hi, thank you.

My concern is about the growing normalization of marijuana use and what science tells us about its impact on young people.

Lynn Silver is a San Diego-based public health physician and advocate focused on protecting youth health through evidence-based policy prevention and education.

Her work centers on reducing the harms of substance use and supporting healthier communities.

And she shared recent research that shows that when it comes to cannabis, three factors matter most.

How often it is used, how young someone is when they start, and the potency of the THC.

Unfortunately, today's marijuana products are far more potent than those used in previous generations, and young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects.

Studies have found that heavy cannabis use is associated with changes in brain connectivity, reduced working memory, and an increased risk of psychosis-like symptoms.

Perhaps most concerning adolescents who use cannabis within the previous year were found to have double the risk of developing a psychotic or bipolar disorder by age 26.

We're also seeing other serious consequences, like cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that causes severe and repeated vomiting, have quadrupled among young people in recent years.

Researchers have concluded that cannabis is not supported as a treatment for many mental health conditions, despite claims often made by the industry.

The takeaway from all this research is clear, there is no safe limit for youth cannabis use.

The developing brain is uniquely susceptible to harm, and early exposure carries measurable risks that can last well into adulthood.

As policymakers, you have the responsibility to put the health and well-being of young people first.

I urge you to continue supporting policies that reduce youth exposure, limit normalization, and prioritize prevention and education.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This concludes non-agenda public comment.

All right, thank you, Deputy Clerk, for that.

I haven't gotten confirmation that the chambers will be suitable.

I'm getting a head nod that it probably won't be.

So when you come back to the 12th floor uh check if chambers is ready, we'll go in there.

And if not, we will resume the meeting here in the committee room.

So we will now adjourn for the noon recess and reconvene open session at 2 p.m.

or shortly thereafter.

Thank you, everyone for their flexibility, Well, We get started.

I will now reconvene the city council meeting of Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026.

Deputy Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Campbell.

Councilmember Whitburn.

Here.

Councilmember Foster.

Here.

Councilmember Von Welpert.

Council President Pro Tim Lee.

Councilmember Campillo.

Here.

Councilmember Moreno.

Present.

Councilmember Ilo Rivera.

And Council President LaCava.

Present.

Also attending the meeting are Assistant City Attorney Leslie Fitzgerald, Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica, Council Affairs Advisor in the Mayor's Office, Coda Zeizer, and myself, your deputy deputy city clerk Kevin Smith.

Alright, thank you for that.

The quorum is now present.

While the technical issues in council chambers look like they're very, very close to being resolved.

We decided to take this, or I decided to take the safer course.

We know this works.

It went very well this morning.

And again, thank you to the city clerk's work, IT, and everybody, the my colleagues and the public's flexibility to move us into the committee room and get on with this morning's business.

With that, we will also have a change of order for this afternoon.

We will start with item 333.

We will hear the staff presentation and public comment for that item.

We will then hear item 330.

After that is concluded, we will come back for item 333 to hear the tabulation of any protests and proceed with council member comments, questions, and entertain a motion.

With that, Deputy Clerk, please introduce item 333.

Item 333 is collection of solid waste management fee on county tax roll.

Six votes are required pursuant to health and safety code section 5473.

Alright, we will now open the noticed public hearing to consider whether to adopt the written report identifying the parcels receiving city provided solid waste management services and the solid waste management fees for each parcel for the upcoming tax year.

If the report is adopted, the solid waste management fees listed in the report will be collected on the 2026-2027 county tax roll in the same manner by the same persons at the same time as together with and not separate from the general taxes.

If you're an affected property owners and have a written protest that you want to submit, please bring it to the front where speaker slips are submitted.

And if you wish to register a protest as part of your comments, please state your name and address for the record.

Both oral and written protests will be accepted, including protests received virtually.

Talk about today's meeting, the proposed hearing, and how it was noticed.

We'll discuss how the fees were calculated for those that are in the report that will be presented and considered by city council.

We'll remind the department's benefits of tax rebellion that we had identified last year and continue to hold today, and then timeline of next steps.

So on the proposed action, just for the record, I want to note that yesterday we did update the description of the proposed action in the staff report.

It had referenced the fiscal year as fiscal year 2007-2000, sorry, 2006-2007, and just did conform with how the city typically refers to fiscal years.

We corrected it to match what's on the screen, fiscal year 2027.

So the item today, as Council President explained, is for council to consider a report of a list of the properties that receive solid waste management services from the city of San Diego and the amount of fee to be charged for the solid waste management fee for fiscal year 2027.

As background, last June, after the fee was adopted by city council, environmental services department returned to city council to receive authorization to collect that fee on the county tax rule.

The city then submitted a report to county of the list of properties and the amount of the fee, and then as the county collects the fee, it remits revenue to the city each month as that revenues received from the county to from customers to the county.

Typically comes in two bulk areas of revenue around November, December, and then between February and April corresponding when the majority of customers pay their property taxes.

So today's action is to request council to adopt the report for fiscal year 27, and as council president noted, this requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

A public hearing notice was published on June 8th and filed with the city clerk.

City Clerk website includes a the report of the properties.

We also trend on the daily transcript, we advertised notice of today's meeting and availability of the report as well as how to protest and how to be present for this meeting.

And then the report, if adopted by city council today, environmental services department by August 10th will submit that report to the county, which will then allow us to collect the revenue in the coming year.

This slide just shows an image of the notice that was published with the daily transcript, including a description of today's hearing, the time and location, the health and safety code citation, contact information, and information on how the city considers protests.

This slide shows the headings of the report.

So it the first column is the individual ID for each property, the assessor's parcel number.

The second column is the baseline fee for each property, so corresponding to the service level that that property has.

So for example, if a property has the 35-gallon trash container package, it would show $403.92 corresponding to the baseline rate for that service package.

The next four columns show potential credits that that property might have earned in this current fiscal year.

So for example, if a property ordered a 35-gallon package, the smallest container this year we're in right now, and they received that in January, the 35-gallon package is $10.78 less than the $95 gallon.

So the math would be six months times $10.78.

So that would show negative $64.68.

So demonstrating a credit of $64.68 for the difference in the fee.

Similarly, the next column shows financial assistance received.

So if a property was eligible for financial assistance, in this case, it might show negative 201.96 cents corresponding to that credit for assistance.

We don't have any other adjustments, but we included that in case there were other adjustments to account for.

And then the next column is a total of all the credits.

So in this case, for the example I just described, it would be $64.68 cents plus 20196.

So it would show a total credit of 266.64 cents.

The next several columns show debits or additional charges.

So if, for example, a customer received a second trash container in January, in this fiscal year, a second trash container costs $17.78 per month.

If they received that in January, the math would be 6 times 1778.

So this customer would show a debit of 106.68 cents.

Assume as well, for example, that this customer pledged to donate 100 dollars the financial assistance program.

In that case, the column for financial assistance donation would show 100.

So in this example, if you summed those two, the total would show 206.68 cents.

The final column on the right is the net.

So we would show whatever the baseline fee was for the customer, minus any credits, plus any additional charges or debits, and that would be the amount to be charged to the customer.

Just want to note that although this may sound complicated, the portal was designed to track the delivery dates of containers and to export the report in an easy manner for staff.

This slide shows in text form what I just described on how the fees were calculated in the report.

I'll also note that customers can view the fee breakdown on their portal account if they have a portal account at Wasteportal.sandiego.gov.

If they don't have a portal account, they can call our call center, the number listed on the slide 858 694 7000, and our call center staff have access to the background data and can describe the math that goes into the charge for each property.

This slide just recaps the rationale why staff proposed text or billing initially.

We had estimated that standing up a new billing department would cost significant sum of money, and the cost of that program would have been incorporated into the overall fee that went to customers by taking another path that savings has been passed on to the customers.

They're already paying the property tax bill anyway, so this is one less bill to track.

It's easier for the city.

We have no need to track tenants coming and going.

The customer is the property owner.

There is a strong payment compliance.

As of last week, 98.48% of customers have paid their property tax bill.

We have a couple more weeks left in the fiscal year.

Typically, the city budgeted budgets with an assumption of 98.8, 98.9.

So we'll be able to see in the coming weeks whether this year is on track with prior years or if there's any difference.

And the cost to the city for the county to send out the bills, collect the revenue, and do any follow-up customers, costs us around $22,500 per year for the county to take care of all of that.

And this last slide just shows a summary of the timeline.

So on June 8th, as I noted, we noticed the action today, the report today being available, the hearing is taking place as we speak, and then by August 10th, if council adopts the fee, we will provide the report to the county, which will then allow us to collect this revenue in the coming fiscal year.

And then in the fall, customers can expect to see the fee on their property tax bills.

And that's all I have.

Thank you.

Alright, thank you for the presentation.

So with that, uh we will go to public comment.

And as a friendly reminder to issue a protest, you must actually be a customer of the City of San Diego's trash collection system.

So Deputy Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

The public comment period for this item is now open.

I would like to remind everyone that if you are an affected property owner and wish to submit a protest against adoption of the written report identifying solid waste management fees to be collected on the 2026-2027 tax rule.

You must do so prior to the close of the public hearing.

Both oral protests asserted during the public comment and written protests that are received by the clerk before the hearing is closed will be counted.

If you are in chambers, please submit your speaker slip on top of the box at the um front of the room.

If you're watching on City 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 160 943 0466.

If you are joining us virtually, please raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon or if you are a call-in participant, star nine.

We will begin with in-person comment.

Hi.

Um I wanted to be a voice for all property owners in San Diego who could not come to this meeting to um say that the property taxes um are too high, and that for there to be this additional fee on the property taxes.

Um I think a lot of property owners obviously don't want this fee.

Um I know that might be the minority of people because um I do believe in fair elections, and I believe that there's many liberals in San Diego who believe that city council knows how to spend their money better than they do.

So maybe they support defeat.

However, I do know that there is a um voice of resistance in San Diego who thinks the property taxes are too high.

Um I, for one, am homeless, so I don't have property, so it doesn't really account for me.

And I also wanted to be a voice for um Catholics, where I think many Catholics um would be against an added property tax fee to go to the city of San Diego because of the um Catholic genocide going on.

I think that until the city of San Diego addresses the underground hidden Catholic genocide, I believe um many Catholic property owners in San Diego would be against an extra um an increase in property tax.

And the reason I think that is because the genocide's real.

Um Catholics are being killed.

Um they're being surrounded by people speaking gibberish until the point they're driven completely insane, and it's it's become a serious problem and needs to be addressed.

Thank you for your comments.

Allegedly, Audra.

I guess I wonder how many times we're gonna go down this path.

I mean, what was proposition two eighteen put in place for?

And we just had a lawsuit for a million dollars to get you guys to change what is happening, and here we are again saying that you want people, um property owners to come and protest.

Are you going to honor Prop 218, or are we going to go down the path again to potentially uh engage in litigation and cost the city really the people a million more dollars or potentially more than that because you are not uh engaging in this work properly?

Um the way that you talk about, you know, um you know, strong payment compliance.

Well, I mean, when you're set to lose your house, if you do not pay this bill, I mean, of course you're gonna force compliance, but when you talk about making it easier and cheaper and convenient to put it on a tax roll, uh that is very negligent because that's not true.

You're actually setting people up to lose their property.

And when nobody knows about you guys, it's like this room is filled with your staff and a couple of people who, you know, care about what's going on in the community around us.

But when you have people who are working right now trying to make ends meet, and you're expecting them to come and protest a new tax bill.

Um, just kind of wondering like why we continue to do these things.

That that is insanity when you continue to try and stick a square peg into a round hole and expect people to.

I mean, yeah, most people don't pay attention, but you will have people that will come against you in litigation, and it's not fair to the people to make us do that in order for you guys to follow the law.

You expect us to, and so I think that you should be held to the same standard.

Thank you.

That does conclude in-person public comment.

I've started the five person uh excuse me, I've started the five minute timer in the committee room and we'll now turn to the virtual queue in which there are currently two participants requesting to speak.

Hector, please begin your comments.

All right, thanks.

Well, building trust in the community.

This is not like the when the get go of this thing was not really documented thrust for the community.

But the way to collect the fees, I disagree with this.

I don't have a house, I got a condo, so we could trash pick up uh private, and then uh the uh let's see it is weird there's no one even there to protest.

They probably don't even know about it if you send them a message.

I think you should just uh trust trust the people to send their money in every month.

Just trust the public to send you a check every month instead of taking out of your property tax, which is just that's like uh that's not right, you know, to do that.

And in any way on the who gets the spread.

Say your check clears your property tax like a week ago, and then the property tax is due like in the next week, and then who gets the spread from the actual money being in the bank, so the money comes to the city.

It probably doesn't go directly to the city for a while.

So does the city get the spread?

That's the whole banking system is in the spread.

Whoever makes that holding the money for seven days is worth something.

That's a lot of money that's going to somewhere.

I was just wondering, who gets do you guys know who gets the spread?

Does the county get it while they're sitting on all the cash before they give it to you?

Or do you when they pay your taxes, you don't get the money through that same day.

So I just wondered uh who's shading uh who's getting the spread, and you might want to s tell us if you know that, who's getting the spread.

That's one of my questions, and then uh good luck with the trash thing too.

That's my thing.

Thank you for your comments.

Our next speaker is a caller with the last four digits 870.

Please begin.

Uh thank you.

Uh we have two minutes, right, Deputy City Clerk.

That's correct.

Thank you so much.

Uh Joy Sanyata.

Uh first of all, yes to trash collection system.

Um I think I heard this correctly.

The county is going to keep uh twenty-two thousand dollars per year out of those fees in order to process them on the tax rolls that surprised me.

I I wish it was zero.

Uh so uh thank you for the presentation, DSD, and thank you to ESD for all your work on this matter.

Especially uh thank you to Kirby Brady, the director.

Uh now for me this process really was a lesson to learn.

I I learned a lot.

You know, I was aboard right from the beginning.

Uh I don't know how many years ago that was, and and I just have learned a lot.

And after the give and take on both sides that we came to this place, I I support the adjusted lower fee schedule.

Now, um I want to say this, dear homeowners.

I I've never been a homeowner.

I wish that would have happened to me.

It wasn't in the cards.

But anyway, uh dear homeowners, uh, please don't protest this.

Uh I'm trying to get inside your pocketbook, inside your the quality of your life, and and you know, I can't in reality.

But I just ask that that we need your help.

We need you just to jump on board and to help us through this big crisis of deficits and so forth.

Everybody makes mistakes.

We're all doing our best.

So uh dear homeowners uh on all sides, uh, please uh do not protest.

Uh, please uh uh participate in our government and make it work uh for all of us together at the same family table.

So thank you for listening and love to all.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tony.

Please begin your comments.

Tony, we can't quite hear you.

Can you speak up or turn up your volume, please?

Tony, we cannot hear you.

We will have to move on.

Uh council president, that concludes public comment on this item.

All right.

Uh thank you, Deputy Kirk.

With that, the public hearing is now closed, and as previously noted, we will trail this item while protests are being tabulated and move on to item 330.

The protests will be written to the record after item 330 concludes, and we will take council member comments, questions, and entertain the motion at that time.

So with that, Deputy Clerk, please introduce item 330.

Item 330 is city provided residential solid waste management services implementation update.

All right, please introduce yourselves again for the record and let us know how much time you need for this item.

Thank you, Council President.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Jeremy Bauer, Assistant Director, Environmental Services Department.

I'm joined with Sarah Sims, our Deputy Director.

May I please have up to 15 minutes for this item?

All right, when you're ready.

Great.

So today's item is to provide an update on the implementation activities.

Environmental services department has been up to since last June when the solid waste management fee was adopted.

We'll provide a quick update on the background.

We'll discuss the container rollout, the con customer portal, we'll talk about the financial assistance program, the outreach and engagement activities we've undertaken, upcoming program development, the fund outlook, and next steps.

So as a background, under the city ordinance, city forces are obligated to provide trash and recycling services to eligible customers in the city of San Diego.

The city ordinance specifies that this work be done by employees of the city of San Diego, and it clarifies who's eligible, namely residential properties with one of up to four properties on a single lot that meet city requirements for C service.

Measure B, when it was adopted by voters in 2022, it removed a longstanding prohibition that had been in place that prevented the city from recovering the cost to provide this service.

Following a year of outreach and engagement and a cost of service study, we presented for city council considerations last June a fee to recover those costs.

City Council adopted that fee on June 9, 2025, and then a couple weeks after that, authorized the city to collect the fee on the county tax role.

Before the adoption of that fee, the services were primarily covered by the general fund.

Now they're largely covered by the fee.

As well, I'll note in this presentation that on June 8th, the City Council authorized a settlement agreement, which reduces the previously adopted fee for fiscal year 28 and 29.

That action did not change the fee for the current year, nor did it change the fee for next year.

So on the container rollout, I'll take the opportunity to remind the rationale for replacing the containers.

The new fee is based on the size of the trash container and the total number of containers on the property.

The new containers, recognizing that we the city did not have great data on the number of containers at each property.

We didn't have sufficient accuracy or precision to be able to know how many containers were out there, and to be able to ensure customer verification that we were only providing service to eligible customers and that we were providing service at the level selected by the customer.

Also recognizing that so many of the containers out there were well beyond their useful life.

We did make the determination that the most effective way to validate our customers and their service level was to do provide new containers, new trash and recycling containers.

Importantly, we involved in this process collecting the old containers to recycle them to ensure that that material is available to make new plastic products, including buckets, pallets, or even new trash containers.

I will also note that the we are not doing a comprehensive replacement of the green organics containers as those are quite new, but those customers that are changing their organic service level or have the legacy yard waste containers, they will receive a new green container.

This slide shows a visual representation of the progress of the rollout.

You'll see the bar graphs on the left, the progress on the gray container rollout.

We started in October and essentially completed that process in May.

There's a less than half a percent or so of data verification for some of the gray containers, but essentially it's complete at 259,000 containers to nearly 225,000 customers at this point.

And as I mentioned, we're verifying data for the remaining.

The blue containers were at nearly 60% rollout.

You see that the teal shows the actual, and the blue shows the anticipated progress scheduled to be complete by the end of September.

The customer portal we launched in July of last year.

It's a way for customers to engage in self-service to select their containers, to track their service levels, track their billing history, and also to sign up for text message alerts or email alerts.

Over 123,000 customers have created portal accounts, about 55%.

We designed it to be optional.

We know some customers prefer to speak on the phone, and that remains an option.

It also allows customers to pledge donations, and as of this week, around $63,000 have been raised by customers who not only are paying the fee for the first time but pledge to donate money to the financial assistance program to help their neighbors.

I'll also note that customers can create a portal account at any time.

They have benefits to doing so.

The website sandiego.gov slash trash has a one-two, three step process for how they can create an account.

And by doing so, again, they have the benefits of the ability to self-service for container replacement repairs, tracking service, or to view their history.

So the financial assistance program, I really want to describe this as a success story.

We were throughout the outreach and engagement, we heard concerns from residents about paying a fee for the very first time, and we are reassured them that we are working on developing a financial assistance program to help those who would be most in need.

So it was very meaningful for us that City Council included in the budget for ESD funding to launch this program.

In January, we partnered with the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County, also known as MAC, a local nonprofit.

And I'm pleased to share that a couple of representatives from Mac are here with us today in the chamber.

The program was designed based on either household income if household if customers meet income requirements, or as a proxy, if a member of the household is enrolled in an existing assistance program, including Medi-Cal, CalFresh, Calworks, or the low-income home energy assistance program.

If they apply, they could be deemed quite, they could qualify for the assistance program.

The assistance amount was set at 50% off of the solid waste management fee, or recognizing the concerns around charging on the tax roll, we added an additional criterion.

If a household was enrolled in a payment plan for past due property taxes, which is an indicator of past inability to pay their property taxes, they would qualify for a full 100% subsidy.

And as of this week, two customers have met both criteria and so we have made use of both both the 50% off assistance as well as the 100% subsidy.

I'll note for fiscal year 26 assistance.

We had set a deadline of April 30th, and Mac is currently going through the 4,000 applications that were received.

We're still accepting applications now through next April 30th for assistance towards the fiscal year 27 fee.

Some things to look forward to for next year with the program.

As I noted, in addition to this program remains in our budget.

In addition to the budgeted amount from the general fund, we're also counting on the $64,000 in donations from customers.

We've also, based on feedback from the community, we've added an additional proxy criterion.

If a household member is enrolled in the SDHD care program, they would also qualify for our program.

MAC will also be updating the income requirements to 2027 dollars.

We've also streamlined enrollment, re-enrollment based on feedback.

If a customer is eligible one year, they would qualify for a second year, assuming it's still the same property owner.

Similarly, if they apply for the first time in 2027, they would have a streamlined and a qualification for the year after that.

For applications that are approved before August 10th, they will see their reduction applied proactively to the bill that they see on their property tax bill.

After August 10th, assuming funding remains, we will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis, and at that point the payments will be provided as a rebate.

MAP will continue to hold clinics, in-person clinics, to assist customers on how to enroll, how to apply for the program.

And the program will continue to be first come, first serve.

I'll note that the funding for the program had capacity for 7,000 customers.

We had 4,000 applications this year, so we did have capacity to fully cover the number of applications.

We continue to spread the word about the program, and we believe through word of mouth and social media and targeted outreach, more people will become aware.

We continue to believe that the existing capacity is enough to meet the need of people who will apply.

With that said, we are receiving weekly updates for MAC, and as we get the data, if we need to revisit or pivot, we will be able to do so.

Outreach and engagement.

I mentioned has done at this point 15 in-person clinics last fiscal year, or sorry, uh before April 30th, and seven more since April 30th.

Uh, for our part, it's been important to us to continue continue to be available and present in the community to give updates similar to what you're hearing in this presentation, talk about financial assistance, and answer questions face-to-face.

I've seen many of your staff, I've seen some of you in person yourselves as well at these meetings, and we continue to be available to do so.

As of now, we've done about 25 of these meetings with uh community planning group meetings, town councils, and others.

We talk about the container rollout, financial assistance, and we answer the questions.

So, what's coming up with the adoption of the reduced fees for fiscal year 28 and 29, as we get out in the community, we'll continue to amplify that decision and what it means for the timing of the reduced fees and what it means with regard to weekly recycling the previous plans for weekly recycling and previous plans for the bulky atom program.

We'll also continue to emphasize that the plan was always when we developed delivered the new containers to ultimately phase out collection from the old black containers and the old dark blue containers.

So we'll continue to communicate on that, as well as customers who need additional containers, engaging with them so they know how to do so, whether it's ordering more, or for those who have determined they don't need as much capacity, how to downsize, which could result in reduced fee for them going forward, as well as emphasizing the availability of the financial assistance program.

Our code compliance officers when they observe overflowing containers they will be engaging with customers leaving behind literature so customers know how to order a second container as well as if they continue to see the lingering black containers to remove those and engage with the customers so if they need to order another one another gray one they know how to do so.

We mentioned last June that all of the new containers become are equipped with RFID readers we are working on the next stages of a pilot to test the technology of the hardware that will be attached to the trucks and that hardware when it when installed would allow us to collect operational data to improve services over time as well as identify containers that are not where they are supposed to be that's not the purpose of today's item but we will you can look forward to an item in the coming weeks or so on on that item the fee schedule I won't go into too much detail we presented this a couple weeks ago but I'll just highlight for those present the second column are the fees that go into effect July 1 2026 of this year.

You can see they are about a dollar more for the three main bundles but then I'll emphasize the latter two columns those are the newly adopted reduced fees for fiscal year 28 and fiscal year 29.

And one thing in particular I want to emphasize is the because the reduced fees are heavily subsidized by the recycling fund the fee for an additional recycling bin for fiscal year 28 goes down to six dollars and one cent per month for that fiscal year and then $6.56 per month for the following fiscal year.

This is important to note as some customers may have ordered fewer recycling containers anticipating weekly recycling so I wanted to be sure to amplify the subsidized rate for second recycling container.

This next slide as well we presented a couple weeks ago at the adoption of the reduced fees I'll just note a couple things one the second row shows the rate revenue so looking at the third column you see the rate revenue goes down significantly when the fees are reduced.

The next two rows show the subsidies so you see the estimated subsidies from the recycling fund and then the next row of the subsidies from the general fund.

I'll note these are these are estimates they will ultimately be subject to the budgeting process and actual expenditures and revenues leading up to those years.

And then lastly the fund balance you can see that we are one of the anticipated changes we made to our operation based on the reduced fees is not funding our to build up our fund balance.

So you see we remain in a negative position through the four year period.

So next steps is uh following up the latter part of the hearing on the adoption of the report for the property tax bill following this item between now and August 10th MAC will continue to review applications for fiscal year 27 assistance for those who will see the assistance in the form of a credit on their tax bill and then after August 10 they'll continue to review applications for rebate style and then by August 10th if city council adopts the fee today the report today rather by August 10th we'll submit the report to the county and then between May and this and the September we'll continue the rollout of the new recycling containers and thank you for your time this afternoon.

All right thank you for the work and the presentation deputy clerk please proceed with public comment.

Thank you Council President we will begin with in-person public comment Max Schmidt.

Please come forward you'll have two minutes to speak.

Hi, um I just wanted to say that increasing the fees on increase for the um the monthly fees that um homeowners pay for um their trash and recycling services to me seems unnecessary.

I believe that um homeowners should not have to pay um such high fees for trash and recycling.

I believe that um if the um government was cut out of the situation and the homeowner um could pay the um uh trash or recycling company directly um it could be cheaper and that I think that um property taxes could go down and um I think property taxes um are too high for people and um I do not uh support giving um the city of San Diego any more money and um has to do with many reasons and one um is because of um the underground hidden Catholic genocide that needs that hasn't been addressed.

And I just also wanted to say that there's a um one of the slides and to raise the fees says that the um uh recycled containers are gonna be repurposed and other plastic products, and they tried to make uh it an environmental issue, and I just wanted to say there seems to be a connection in random tax increases and trying to help the environment, where it seems like an age old uh liberal strategy straight out of the liberal playbook to um throw in some slides about the environment when they um increase um when they try to increase taxes.

I'm gonna say this tax increase on property is a big deal, and that um I don't want the um I don't think the climate should be used as a scapegoat to tax people more.

And I will honestly say that I believe that um Satan may be telling liberals to um exaggerate the climate to try to tax people more.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

Allegedly, Audra.

Um, this is interesting.

Why does the negative balance get smaller to 2029?

I that's interesting.

I don't know if I'm reading it right.

And then uh saying there will be reductions uh through that year.

I mean, really, because I feel like you guys are gonna come back to us for more money at some point because it's not gonna be enough.

And again, you talk about people receiving trash cans.

No, they're paying for them.

Let's be real.

They're forced to pay for those even if they don't need them.

Um and the fact that you're saying you're gonna recycle them, I mean, we'll see about that.

I'm sure that's another racket that's gonna be, you know, engaged in.

Uh, because I mean anything you can make money off of, people are like jumping on that.

So I guess I was a little confused as well about prop two eighteen.

Unfortunately, I guess it's like you guys can sit here and raise the fee as much as you want.

And as long as nobody's here to protest, it doesn't matter.

So it's like, oh, so many loopholes that you know get uh taken advantage of when uh people are, you know, having to pay more money.

Um and these RFID chips, I mean, come on, you're like we're collecting data.

I mean the amount of data that's collected on people is just so insane.

Um, especially when these data centers like they're gonna be taking all our fresh water.

How cool is that?

I mean, are you guys excited for us to like figure out how AI is gonna provide us with more water probably?

That'll be neat.

Um, but yeah, I just uh this is very sad because people should have the ability to say what they want as far as the tax goes, and yeah, here we are again, you're not gonna have enough protests, and so this is gonna move forward.

And I'd like to know, I mean, what are you doing because this was a million dollar lawsuit that made you reduce the fee?

Are you going to give people a credit for what they paid in the interim of you know your mistake?

Thank you.

That does conclude your time.

I have that concludes in person public comment.

I have started the five-minute timer in the committee room.

We will now turn to the virtual queue, in which there are currently three participants requesting to speak.

We will begin with Hector, please begin.

Thanks, guys.

Yeah, this is a different uh another example of the city not knowing what's going on.

Where there was two thousand five hundred people getting their trash picked up that shouldn't have got it done.

So they just found that out when they started doing the cans.

They're picking up some guys's apartment that should have had a commercial guy doing it.

So this is probably not the only thing.

There's other places in the city where they're giving out free services or they're giving out special deals to people that no one knows about yet.

But this is an ex another example.

And then to set the record straight to build trust in the community.

Why don't you pull all the parking meters at Balball Park now?

So we can have free parking over the summer to go to the board park and stuff.

That would be like show us a good sign of for building trust in the community.

Just to just apologize to everybody for putting them through how.

And you want to start, you want to turn over a new leaf and go for it.

And then let's see.

There was one other thing I wanted to do.

Yeah, you're gonna charge them for the the oh yeah, the solid waste.

We gotta get a solid waste factory down the Tijuana River and do some waste removal down there.

And I think that the city should focus on the Tijuana River sewer plant upgrades, big time upgrade down there with solar, use some of that recycled stuff down there that to absorb all the sewer gas and everything.

Anyway, it's gonna be it's gonna be a good summer.

It's gonna be hot, and that stuff's gonna smell terrible to the kids.

So that's that should be our number one focus.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

We'll go to our next speaker with caller with the last four digits 8700.

Please begin.

Uh thank you.

Uh Joy Sunyata.

I just have a b a batch of of odds and ends.

Uh thank you for the update.

Uh ESD.

Very, very good update.

Uh uh thank you also for a great financial assistant program that you're, you know, you've been rolling out.

I it sounds very successful, still available, and uh uh just thank you so much.

Uh I appreciate the recycling of the containers.

Uh I thank you for improved align.

Thank you, everybody, for improved alignment with measure B.

And a question for you, ESD.

Uh, would you and Director Kirby Brady uh discuss adding qualitative data to the metrics?

That would be really super for you to explore that innovative idea.

It's not really innovative, it's it's being used throughout a lot of different areas uh in government and business and so forth.

So uh let's see.

What is this?

Uh we can always improve customer relations, right, and community outreach and engagement.

So any efforts that you can approve to make those better would be absolutely super duper.

Love the customer donation.

Thank you, customers.

Whoever you are, you get five stars.

I think it's up to $67,000.

So thank you.

And and thank you, S D G and E.

I mean, I I I don't get it, but I if there's an opportunity to thank them for caring about a community.

Let's do it.

So uh their care program, I guess, can be added to uh our qual they can call it if they qualify for our programs that program can be added to it.

So I feel really, really good, and I want to be sure and thank them for any uh little steps, big steps.

We want some big steps S D G and E.

But thank you for that.

And uh again, this is a great item.

Uh we've made great project progress lessons learned.

Love you all.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tony.

Please begin your comments.

Tony, please please unmute and begin your comments.

Hey, can you hear me?

Yes, we can hear you.

Please begin.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Hey, um, I am in support of this measure.

Um, I think that it's necessary.

I think we need to have some type of uh trash service.

I would love to see us putting in more of an effort to create some uh some compost stations.

I know that we do have like green compost at some areas like the Mira Mesa landfill, for example, but I know that we don't have any um actual uh uh compost landfills that are designed for like biodegradable plates and cubs and utensils and things like that.

Or please correct me if I'm wrong, um, whenever y'all respond to these comments.

Please please let me know if there is a compostable uh site, because as far as I know, like when you pick up compostable plates or utensils or whatever, or even napkins, they all say um on the packaging itself, they say only it's only disposable or only compostable within uh compostable landfill facilities.

I have not uh I don't know of any that exists here in San Diego, and that would be a huge incentive for people within the sustainable community and for uh waste at large.

Um if we can s if we can uh eliminate the mass amount of plastics that we're using, we would be so much better off if we could create some type of ordinances um requiring packaging on foods and on goods to use alternative uh uh methods of packaging because I mean uh we've been beholden to the DuPont monopoly on plastics um for far too long, and there's way too many alternatives that exist uh for packaging, including like hemp, which has been uh uh declassified, it's now uh available for commercial use.

Um it's now not scheduled as like a narcotic as it previously was um as of you know twenty nineteen, um, the end of the first Trump administration was one of the things he did oddly on his way out legalizing hemp, uh, which was super cool and really unexpected.

Um, thank you.

That does conclude your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes the public testimony on item 330.

Alright, thank you, Deputy Clerk.

A reminder, this is an information item.

No motions required, but we'll turn it over to council member for questions and comments, and we'll start with council member Ilo Rivera.

Thank you, Kelts President.

Uh thanks for the presentation, Jeremy.

Um, and for all the the work that led up to this.

Um a couple questions.

One, and this is for you and or Jordan, um, the fund balance that um was shown there.

What are the uh effects of that?

So when we thank you for the question, council member.

Uh when we cross the threshold of the fiscal year with a negative balance, uh, we do have the ability to pay that enterprise fund a one-day loan to cross the threshold at a non-zero, and then the first day of the next fiscal year to pay it back.

So there's an ability to cross the fiscal year with negative.

Uh ultimately uh as we adopted the fee last year, the goal was to build up a reserve fund.

We are postponing that at this time, but long term that is something we can revisit and ultimately we would want to be in a position with a with a positive balance.

I turn it over to Jordan if you have more.

Yeah.

I mean, it mostly it mostly starts to be a big budgeting problem if you have a lot of fund balances with a negative fund balance.

Um, which is why we typically try to highlight these things if we're seeing many of them.

Jeremy's correct.

As far as ESD goes, because ESD also runs to other large enterprise funds.

They currently are projected to have positive cash balances, so within ESD, you will be fine.

Um but again, it's not a good practice.

You the original cost of service did anticipate building up a reserve over a number of years in order to adjust to fluctuations that may or may not happen in between costless service studies.

But at this point right now, given where we are with the fees, the settlements, et cetera, the best course of action at this point is just to manage the fund where it is, because otherwise it would be requiring the general fund to be sending more money into the fund in order to try to get out of that negative um fund balance quicker than what's currently projected.

Right.

Okay.

Um and I'll note too, so originally the plan was sort of fund, and Jeremy, correct me if I'm wrong, it would have gotten out of negative balance around by year two or three.

Correct.

Yeah.

So there was a plan to get there for those plans have just been changed.

Will it be a problem?

It would it would be a bigger problem if the fund balance was going the other way.

So one of the reasons why you're actually seeing that going into a it's going smaller is because a lot of that is the general fund paying back for costs that were incurred but not reimbursed in the first year.

If it was getting larger, perpetually larger, that would be a problem that you would see because then you don't have a plan at which you you there would be no plan in order to do bring it back in, and at that point you would need to start taking financial actions to bring it back into positive balance, um, which would either require more general fund subsidies or higher fees in the subsequent cost of service study.

Thank you.

Uh we've talked about this a little bit, but I want to make sure I I drill down just a little bit more.

Some of the the services that are provided, or were planned to be provided, are now the plan is to scale scale back.

Are there and and there's the services that residents kind of receive and experience as a result of those operations?

And then there's the diversion from our landfill, there's climate action goals that we're pursuing.

Are there plans in place or is there planning happening to pursue those goals to um reduce what ends up in the landfill in a different way than what we planned for?

Yes, Councilmember, one uh one example is investment of some of our recycling staff from our waste reduction division to be staffed at the landfill itself at the gate to help identify loads of waste that is heading towards the face of the landfill, but to engage with them to divert what's recyclable from that load.

Additionally, as I mentioned in my remarks, additional outreach to help customers understand that the the rate for a second recycling container is more affordable than it was last June.

Make sure they know that.

So if they need to order a second recycling container, they can do so at a subsidized rate.

Okay.

Um I appreciate that.

And the reason I I keep asking about this part is, and we're gonna continue to have conversations about this environment committee and and hopefully at the full council level is the closure of the landfill is it it's not a small deal for the city.

It's a really really big one on a variety of fronts.

And so I want to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to push that out or at least not accelerate the the cliff that we're we're running toward.

Um is there anything that you are not planning to do but you would like to be able to do that doesn't involve the the uh the weekly recycling or or something that was already planned for.

I I don't know if that makes sense, but are there other strategies or tactics that are being considered as a way of again either pushing out the cliff or at least not accelerating our approach to the cliff?

The our clean SD uh division helps with some of the community cleanup events.

That is a general fund funded division.

Uh so to the extent that that division had more funding available, they could be more available to do those community cleanups.

And when our staff are directly involved in cleanup events, it's easier to divert uh to separate segregate recyclable materials versus materials that are intended for the landfill itself.

And Jordan, just to kind of pivot to you if you can to reiterate to all of us from a financial perspective, the impacts of Miramar closing sooner rather than later, or being able to push that out.

I mean, it's hard to quantify at this point.

What I will tell you is so Miramar as it stands right now is the cheapest place to deposit um solid waste and go to recycling to those things, and the reason why it's the cheapest is because it's managed by the city, right?

So this would be similar to, you know, if the city was able to manage its waters wholesaler as opposed to having a different entity charger to do different things.

So to that end, if Miramar goes away as being the place where waste could go to be deposited, and the city does have to start going to other private landfills, which I believe it's only private landfills that are remaining in the county.

At that point, you now have to pay either their disposal fees, which will make the cost for collection services go up, which will then require either higher fees on homeowners or additional general fund dollars.

Um there's also the options to do the transfer station, but again, the transfer station just because it's extra steps, it could be cheaper than the landfills directly, but it still will not be the same as just being able to utilize Miramar in the way it's currently being utilized.

And then there's the tipping fees that we won't.

The tipping fee is what you collection services, even though it's city of San Diego dumping a city of San Diego site, pays to dump at the Miramar landfill.

I mean the tipping fees that we receive from other from other entities as well.

Correct.

So yeah, so those will come off.

We'll have to figure out a way to run the land run landfills, run other operations without receiving tipping fees both from the city of San Diego and from outside entities as well, because they'll no longer be a landfill to operate.

I appreciate this.

I and I know we've talked about this a bit, I just I I keep hammering this part because I think there was a perception that weekly recycling was a nice to have, and I suppose it was from the perspective of it's not something that the city needed to do today necessarily, and it's not necessarily something that residents all needed on a weekly basis, but it served a greater purpose that has significant environmental and economic impacts for the city over the long term.

Um and so as with everything that we deal with, there are no easy outs, and and you know, not doing weekly recycling solves for one problem and it creates others as well, and we just need to be eyes wide open about that, and I appreciate the creativity of a VSD on how we're going to approach that.

I think it's going to require group effort.

Um I remember a few years ago I'd asked the ways in which environmental services was kind of boxed in by not being able to recover cost.

And I actually got a really interesting response to that question, which was in certain ways, requires ESD to be even more creative because they're the the ability to recover costs just wasn't there.

Um so it looks like you're leaning back into that creativity that um we needed to use in the past, um, but that general general fund still has um is gonna end up bearing um significant cost, I think, as a result of this.

Um last thing I just want to say is thank you to Mac again for uh the outreach and the really um intentional effort there to make sure that folks know about um know about the the the rebate or the refund programs or the discount programs um that was very important to us that was important to us before we ever got um the the program up and running and will continue to be uh important to me as well.

Um so thank you again for the work.

Thank you for the time, Council President.

All right, thank you, Council Member Elo Rivera.

We'll go next to Council Member Moreno.

Thank you, and uh thank you for the presentation.

Um I want to start off by thanking uh the environmental services department for the incredible work you guys do uh day in and day out.

Uh this past March I had the pleasure of joining uh ESD staff for a write-along uh during a trash pickup day in District 8 and the 20 yeah at 8 a.m.

uh at the Miramar Landfill operations station.

Um pretty impressive uh piece of work that we have there in the city of San Diego.

Uh I think the yard has the collection services division, the container management program, and the trash pickup uh for truck maintenance crews.

Um we exited the operation station, and what really astounded me was the hundreds of trucks that are housed at this station.

Um just and just how everybody left in just it was almost like a beautiful symphony of trash trucks uh going out.

And um, I was able to ride one of the trucks driven by Mr.

Enrique Rojas, uh also known as uh Kiki.

Uh Mr.

Rojas has been a sanitation worker for the city of San Diego for almost 40 years, and he was kind enough to share his experience with me as we drove uh south to the southern part of the district.

And um, I think one of the things that I was just taken aback by is that these folks are really sometimes for a lot of residents, their number one people, right?

The number one person that they uh first connect with in the city of San Diego.

Um the love and admiration uh from the kids uh was also really quite impressive, and Mr.

Rojas just really went out of his way to accommodate every question, every comment.

Um so just kudos to him.

And and I'm sure uh I was probably a thorn on his back for the morning, but uh nonetheless, um it was it was quite the experience.

Um we were in the community of Nestor, and um unbeknownst to me, we were uh for a time we were being followed uh by um another vehicle that was collecting the empty containers.

Um so this allowed me to see firsthand just the complications of this rollout of such a just a massive scale.

Um, but it was impressive to see how you know obviously they work together and and how complicated this endeavor was truly complicated.

Um my ride along ended with um uh with the Otai landfill in Chula Vista, and just the impressive work that goes um there.

I believe it's owned by Republic, uh if I'm not mistaken.

So I was able to see firsthand what the ESD men and women do daily, and it's just incredible to witness the magnitude of work that happens behind the scenes of a service that I think often goes unnoticed.

Uh so I'm just extremely grateful to all ESD, uh, everybody in ESD because I know it's not just the folks picking up it's like I said, it's like a symphony.

Um it was grueling and it was demanding.

Um just but the one thing that uh it was very clear to me is it's such it's such a um it's such a it's something like I said that we don't uh think about and thanks to you guys, we don't have to think about, and it's just so invaluable to the quality of life.

I quickly understood if these men and women decide not to show up one day or even two, it would just be super detrimental to the city workers.

So just wanted to say um recognize them and thank them uh for everything that they do.

Um moving on um to the um updates regarding the implementation.

Um I want uh to note that this is obviously it's important to me that residents receive access to financial aid.

Um how many financial aid clinics um have we held?

Just double checking my notes.

I believe it was 22 with six since the April 30th deadline for fiscal year 26 assistance, and they've continued after that, and we're currently coordinating with MAC to identify dates for additional clinics for the and these are in person, right?

The 22.

They are in person.

Wonderful.

And how many have been held in district eight?

I believe it was four.

Uh it would double check my notes, but my recollection was it was it was four.

Got you.

And uh at what times have these clinics been held?

They've been approximately, again, based on memory, around 9:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon, give or take.

And um, I do appreciate the effort that ESD has put to reaching out to the community I am concerned regarding the times that we've chosen to hold these clinics and this would be um a uh follow not a follow up but a a critique if you will um I represent a working class community where folks often have just more than one job and I do find it problematic that these clinics are not being held past 5 30 or even on weekends um when residents are more likely to attend um I'd also like to ask given that the program can support approximately 7,000 customers and only 3,997 um applications have been received right not accepted received that's correct uh what target outreach tactics are being considered for fiscal year 27 to increase the um participation and out of those so that's one question and the second question is out of those 3,997 how much how many have been accepted.

So I'll take the last one first it so far around 2300 have been fully approved of the of the nearly 4,000 for uh thank you for the feedback on the timing.

I'll note last year uh one of the constraints with involvement of our staff is that the financial assistance program is general fund funded and our program was funded by the ratepayers now that we'll be entering a subsidized program with general fund we might have the opportunity to explore whether staff could become involved in either providing more assistance or even attending more clinics something we can look into now that we're not 100% but we have sorry you made me think of another question we have enough money for up to 7,000 folks.

That's correct so that that isn't a question.

And on that note on the targeted outreach we've one one item we've done is reached out to the county to see if there's any information they could share either of those folks who may have in the past had an ability to pay their property taxes on time also if they'd be willing to pass along our information if if they couldn't share the addresses directly and then additionally we've been coordinating with community based organizations to invite them to pass along information on the program to their net the communities they serve in their networks.

Okay.

And that is what that's the tactic to get more folks to apply or yeah I guess at this point to just apply right?

Yes and the other thing I would note is one of the feedback we received in the first year was rather than having people apply from scratch in the second year can we streamline so that if they qualified for one year if they remain the property owner of that property have it be two year increments and what that means is for the second year we're not starting from zero we're essentially starting from and then we're we can build from there.

2,300 correct which would be okay and um there is an opening and a closing right when is the opening and closing of these applications?

For uh the fiscal year 27 for fiscal year 26 the program launched in January and it was through April 30th and now starting May first through we project next April 30th and the reason for that it gives us an ability to go through all of the applications received and then get through that queue and get the assistance out before the end of the fiscal year.

So it's currently open the application process is currently correct okay um and MAC Mac is a provider um or a partner I should say what what are we paying Mac to do this work?

The first fiscal year fiscal year 26 it was approximately on the order of five hundred thousand for the year for next fiscal year again based on approximate memory it's on the order of around 2500.

So part of the reason the first year was more was standing up the program and building infrastructure.

So it's 5000 to put on 15 clinics and to accept or deny the applications.

Correct.

And also to outreach for the applications.

That's correct.

Okay.

Um what's the average wait time for financial assistance application?

So it I I can answer that question indirectly.

They have been getting through around lately, around 100 to 200 applications a week.

It's hard to give an exact average because a lot of the applications, if if they're 100% complete, they have all the information, they can approve it very quickly.

What they've been doing is if an application is missing information, they've been reaching out, calling the applicant or or calling them waiting them to call back to get missing information or corrected information.

So depending on how responsive an applicant is, that could extend how long it how long it would take.

We have uh 3,997 applications.

So can you tell me how long?

Uh I you probably can't tell me right now, but can you tell me the median um uh wait time for uh the financial assistance application for maybe even say the 2,300?

I guess we shouldn't only include that because they're also so for the 3,997.

If I could know how many, you know, how long it takes, just on average, even not putting into consideration any variable, just this is what it's taking.

Uh I would I would say multiple months to give you uh an average, it would include the date that application was received and then the date.

So it would be looking at the individual factors for all 4,000.

I can check with uh Mac.

I I'm not gonna put them on the spot unless they need the answer.

No, I wouldn't want that.

I can even uh just an email just so I could see.

Um, and I would ask staff and and Mac also to factor in um working family schedules.

For I mentioned that for the clinics, um, if they could start later in the day, um, obviously robust outreach for residents, uh consider senior citizens, especially the inability to attend some of the meetings.

I think it's gonna be a factor and also uh the fact that a lot of um well I shouldn't say a lot, 10% of the population in my district are um they exist within the digital divide.

So they have they do not have access to any um you know smartphone phone Wi-Fi, so really getting creative on how we outreach this program.

Um so are residents able to walk into Macs installations and receive information for the financial assistance program.

I I understand that their um their offices are in Chula Vista, but is is a resident are we able to send a resident to the Mac facility to apply in Chula Vista?

They aren't staffed and set up to accept walk-in.

The clinics are the primary approach, and so I I am thank you for the feedback on the timing of those events, and that's something we we can look at for the coming years we schedule those to make sure they're accessible.

Thank you, and so obviously, um, just to put it on the record.

Future clinics are being considered uh in other communities in addition to San Isidro and Logan Heights, right?

We're looking at Ota Mesa, Nestor, Eger, um, just want to put that on the record, and I just have a few more, um, maybe a minute or two.

Um, once again, it's important to me that residents in District 8 have the opportunity to easily participate in the financial assistance clinics provided by ESD.

It's good to hear that you guys might uh jump in and and get some of that intellectual property right that we're handing over to Mac.

Thank you, Mac by the way.

Um, and so um yeah, we should make it easier rather than harder for folks to apply.

And so that would be my um concluding comments, but once again, just tremendous work that the men and women did out in e um in ESD.

Just it was truly phenomenal, and um, it was tough too.

And I actually got to lift up a trash can.

So that was that was really cool.

So please thank Geeky and all of his um and I think we're working on a ride share.

That's what came out of this conversation is uh a ride share with Sandag.

So uh it was a really fun time, and thank you, you guys.

I appreciate it.

Thank you, Councilmember.

All right, thank you, Council Member.

We'll go next to council member Kempi.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you to our staff.

Obviously, uh environmental services does an excellent and important job uh for making sure public is safe and healthy and a million other things.

Wanted to just uh get a sense of um one of the issues in the staff report.

It looks like the first RFID readers aren't working out, but we're going to a second one.

Can you give us a little more information on that?

Uh yes.

So we discussed last June that all the new containers come with the RFID readers themselves are in the containers, and that our plan was to test hardware through a pilot before we invested in installing on that hardware on our fleet of trucks.

We did test one hardware.

Uh the detection rate and the versatility of the equipment was not sufficient for our in our perspective to invest the money to buy 150 to 200 of those devices.

In that sense, we see it as a successful pilot in that we were able to conclude something before purchasing Rarig, the same the same vendor that makes the containers, we became aware also makes this hardware.

So our next step is to test that hardware.

And if and only if it also turns out to be successful scanning meeting our detectability goals, then at that point we would plan to invest in the equipment to install in the trucks.

Okay, understood.

Um in terms of the second pilot that we see uh we're at we're have we already started testing that says early this summer.

So we have an item coming to council in the coming weeks or so to consider the contract vehicle that would allow us to buy the equipment.

Very good.

Okay, um what what's the long-term plan?

What's plan C if this one doesn't work because the RFID ships are important for us to be able to um certify that we're charging people for the right at the right location for the right amount of trash.

In general, if for some reason it wasn't giving the detective rate, we would look for uh we would look for if there's other equipment, other vendors that we could also test.

Okay.

Uh well, looking forward to bringing that seeing that item come to full council um and making sure we get this to work.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Campillo.

Um I don't see anybody else in the lights.

Uh I'll add my thanks, you know, a good reminder that everything that you're doing, you started from scratch and um and um uh fabulous job.

Um, and you know, you a lot of bumps along the way, but you navigated those and ride the ship and uh really delivered for us.

Um a couple of questions kind of inspired by my colleagues that I wasn't really gonna ask.

Um so in the FY26 budget we allocated money for this financial assistance.

It sounds like we did not burn through that.

Did we roll that over so we actually have more money in FY27 or do we still have the three million?

Yes, so the uh for the contract administration we simply wouldn't spend that for the amount that was allocated for the assistance itself.

Uh, we we still have that.

We're going through the nearly 4,000 applications, and depending on whether those how many of those are fully approved, the remaining funding would first go to those.

It would then roll over, and then when we review the applications for next year, we'd have that available.

If funding is not used, then at that point it would be available to return to the general fund.

Okay, in terms of expectations, the 2300 that were approved, that would be a credit towards their FY26 cost that would show up on their FY27 bill.

So for no uh how does that work?

Thank you for the question, Councilmember.

So for those that have applied for fiscal order twenty-six, because they've already received their bill and in most cases already paid it, the assistance for this year is in the form of a rebate.

So they will receive or have already received in some cases either a check or a direct deposit.

For next year, the plan is to primarily do the proactive credit on the tax bill.

Okay, and then the remainder of the 4,000 what once they get finally approved, like if they're in process, will they also get a rebate?

That will be a rebate as well, yes.

Okay, all right.

Again, standing up a first time effort, so uh really doing a very, very good job.

I appreciate Councilmember Moreno's perspective given her knowledge of of her constituents uh about how to connect with them.

I think that's the biggest challenge we have is how to connect with people who don't know a program's available uh and this is something that can be pretty um available to them.

Um there was a comment.

I want to make sure people realize SDG does not run the care program or they run the care program, it is not SDG's money.

It is ratepayers' money uh that and SDG manages on behalf of a statewide uh public purpose program.

No shade on SDGE, but I I didn't want to uh anybody to get confused after yesterday's conversation.

Uh and I appreciate the conversation too about the fund balance and keeping an eye and managing on that.

Um that's at the risk of relitigating, I think about 70 or 80 million that was being taken out of the general fund to run ESD.

That no longer is part of the conversation.

Um, and um, and I know there's still some folks that believe that private haulers charge less in the city, and I think I know personally that that is not true.

Um, we heard a lot of stories about how much people pay for private waste collection.

Um, that goes above and beyond what the city is actually charging.

Nevertheless, we should be sensitive to what constituents have to pay uh going forward.

So, with that, again, thank you for the very good work.

Thank you for these regular updates about the program and keeping us informed.

It's I think it's very helpful to us and to the public.

So, again, this was an information item, and no motion is required.

So, with that, Deputy Clerk, please reintroduce item 333 and proceed with the tabulated protests.

Item 333 is a collection of solid waste management fees on the county tax roll based on information provided by the environmental services department.

112,516 protests would represent 50% plus one of parcels subject to the proposed solid waste management fees.

The city clerk's office received three protests against adoption of the written report identifying affected parcels and the solid waste management fees to be charged to each affected parcel on the 2026-2027 county tax bill without reviewing or authenticating any protests and assuming that they are all valid and from affected property owners.

We can clearly say that the number of protests lodged with the city clerk's office is clearly below the threshold of 50% plus one.

This concludes my report.

Alright, thank you, Deputy Clerk.

Uh again, the public hearing portion was closed.

We will now take up council members' questions and comments and entertain a motion, and we will start with council member Ilo Rivero.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll move the recommendation here.

All right, and not seeing anybody else in lights.

I'll go ahead and second that.

I'll leave it that.

Not seeing anybody else, so we have a motion by council member Elo Rivera and a second by myself to move a staff recommendation on item 333.

Clerk, please call the roll.

I have started the voting system.

Please cast your vote.

And I will need a verbal votes from Councilmember Campbell and Council Member Whitman, please.

Yes.

Thank you.

That item passes.

Um six to two with district five absent.

All right.

With that, Deputy Clerk, please introduce item S505.

Item S 505 is the fiscal year 2027 appropriation ordinance.

All right, as you settle yourself in, please introduce yourselves for the record and let us know how much time you need for your presentation.

Good afternoon, Council President LaCava and Council members.

I'm Ben Vitalia, Director of Finance.

With me today, is Amber Gutierrez, uh Financial Operations Manager.

Today we'll be presenting the fiscal year 2027 appropriation ordinance, and we'll need about five minutes, please.

Alright, when you're ready.

The city council approved the fiscal year 2027 budget on June 9th, and the mayor signed the budget resolution on June 11th.

The adoption of the appropriation ordinance is the final step in the fiscal year 2027 budget process.

As outlined in Charter Section 69, the AO appropriates the budget based on the two controlling documents: the salary ordinance, which sets the compensation for city employees, and the budget resolution, and this incorporates the mayor's draft budget as modified by the May revision and the city council's additional modifications.

The purpose of the AO is to define the legal level at which the mayor and the CFO are authorized to control operational and capital project expenditures.

Additionally, it facilitates administration of the city's six point four million dollar uh four six point four billion dollar budget by providing certain delegations of authority to the chief financial officer, and this is mostly for routine non-policy items.

Charter Section 69 requires that the city council adopt the AO by June 30th each year.

This year there are three requested modifications to the AO.

The first is modifying section 2G2 and adding a new section to G4.

And this authorizes the CFO to reallocate unobligated CDBG balances to previously council approved nonprofit facility improvement projects to support timely project completion.

This authority is to reallocate funds for completed canceled or ineligible CDBG projects to eligible nonprofit facility projects in line with consolidated plan objectives and will assist the city in meeting federal timeliness requirements.

Since this item was presented to the budget and government efficiency committee last week, we worked closely with the I office of the IBA to revise the language to clarify the intent of this section, including that authority to appropriate balances on future activities not previously approved in the annual action plan are subject to council authorization, and all uses of this added authority will be included in the consolidated annual performance and evaluation report each year.

The second update authorizes the CFO to accept appropriate and expend grants that are awarded to the office of the city clerk.

The new section improves administrative efficiency for the city clerk's grant funded projects, and it expands the city's ability to leverage external funding sources.

And the third update removes section 2B8, and this removes the automated refused container fund from the special revenue fund section.

With the establishment of the solid waste management fund, this fund will be fully exhausted and closed in fiscal year 2026, and therefore this section is no longer required.

And finally, there are minor language updates throughout the document, including updating the fiscal year and the recitals.

Included with this item are the fiscal year 2027 operating and capital appropriations, along with the annual change letter, as well as assigned budget resolution.

Staff's recommendation is to approve the fiscal year 27 appropriation ordinance, which will codify the adopted budget into law.

That concludes our presentation, and we're available for any questions.

Alright, thank you for the work and thank you for the presentation.

Deputy Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you.

We will begin with in-person public comment.

Max Schmidt, please come forward.

You will have two minutes.

One of the things I saw in there was a um recycling enterprise fund.

And um I don't think that money should be um taken from the people um for the climate agenda hoax that's being pressed.

And um, I just wanted to say that um San Diego, in their general fund, has about two billion dollars that they get from property um sales um and cannabis tax.

And if that two billion dollars, they um have provide fire and police safety, they operate the parks, they operate the libraries.

And I just want to give a first-hand um testimony of why I'm opposed to San Diego getting taxes from a homeless person who uses the libraries, uses the parks, um, and I just wanted to say that I've been harassed by police officers who, believe it or not, this is gonna sound crazy, but have actually exposed me to squad cars teleporting, um, in conjunction with my private thoughts, and then literally said to me, um police officers tried to scare me saying you're getting teleport sex trafficked, which was the stupidest thing in the world, where Freemason uh Luciferians, like I said, the police exposed me to teleporting and then said you're gonna teleport sex traffic.

It's stupid.

And then at the library, um, which taxes go to sports library, I get surrounded by librarians speaking gibberish trying to make me go insane, and then um at the parks, uh the same thing happens.

Park employees will speak gibberish to make me go insane.

And then the transit, um, the transit police will also try to make me go insane.

So I don't think San Diego should be getting any of our tax dollars.

That does conclude your time.

Our next speaker is allegedly Audra.

Is that not funny to anybody else that only three people protested?

Does that sound like good numbers?

Right?

Good outreach.

I mean, thank God.

Anyway, uh that's just so sad because these people are gonna have a rude awakening.

Who knows?

Uh, just that things change, or that I may ensure it gets less, whatever.

Um, yes, this is interesting.

Sean, be creative with less, right?

I mean, don't you guys think that you could do that?

I think that should be an ordinance that you guys create.

You know, I mean, because the mayor, it's like absolute power corrupts, obviously.

Um, and then a couple of you guys want to be mayor, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

But wouldn't it be good if there was an ordinance for real when we have to do with the budget that it's like, let's see how much we can cut back your funds and see how much you can do with less.

And I mean, I'm telling you, you guys get creative, right, Sean?

Don't you guys feel like you could do a lot more with less money?

I do.

I feel like you guys would be very good.

And you could do like a competition where you see who you know comes up with the best ideas.

I'm telling you, I mean, people have to do it out in the public.

You could even have a citizen board of people that would come in and be like, this is what we could do with less, and we'll get more with it.

Telling you, people like on their budget just to go to the grocery store.

It's like, I mean, you can't buy organic, but you sure make sure I mean I remember being a kid and I was like, I could live off of twenty bucks for a week, and I did it.

I mean, it's possible.

So I feel like we should be really good stewards of the people's money and seeing what we can do.

Again, you guys are gonna have to take cuts, you're not gonna be able to, you know, wear those fancy suits and ride your electric bikes, but at least the people won't be suffering as much, right?

Because you're not gonna take as much from us.

It'll be good.

I think that that should be something you guys work on Lickety split, and I know you wouldn't.

Thank you that does conclude your time.

Next speaker is Anthony Ralphs.

Good afternoon, City Council.

Um just wanted to let you know, Ken Lee, I didn't forget about you and got you these flowers as well.

Um, this is a sign, a gesture of appreciation um for the change of position on Flock.

It means a lot to us, residents in San Diego that you're taking our privacy concerns seriously, and I know that it was within the context of a budget crisis that we're still in, and I know that you explained that given the circumstances, if we could afford everything, you would still prefer to have this type of technology in place.

Um and while that position is hopefully one that you'll reconsider when you reevaluate when you look into all of the harm that Flock has been causing throughout the city.

Hopefully that can weigh in on your mindset uh moving forward um, hopefully it's not just something that's solely predicated upon the fiscal situation that we find ourselves in which is only going to get worse until we address the root systemic issues of this problem which is a totally unaccountable police force and a city council or only half of a city council that's willing to address that problem.

The other half I'm concerned about because they're not making eye contact with me and I'm addressing them and it looks like they're on their phones right now as I'm speaking to them and um it's disrespectful and there's a number of council members that aren't even here right now including Marnie Varn Wilper and I know that this is something that's frustrated you Lakava as well you've mentioned it multiple times it's it's disrespectful to the people of San Diego to the constituents you know um y'all are being paid well and we spend a lot of our time and a lot of our money to come out here and to have these two minutes to be able to address you and the least that y'all can do is look at us and make eye contact with us campbell Mr Whitburn as we're addressing you directly thank you.

Thank you that does conclude in person public comment we will now turn to virtual public comment I've started the five minute timer in the committee room and there are currently there's currently one participant requesting to speak so we will go to caller with the last four digits 8700 please begin uh thank you uh first off point for just a few seconds uh thank you president lacava for giving me the clarity on the SDB uh anyway s d G and E item that was really appreciated and then uh council member Marino five stars for that storytelling does everybody notice the power of storytelling that was an example on the uh uh picking up the trash story that was five stars okay uh so on the item itself uh please uh let's uh work on open communication and collaboration between all branches of government okay I think we this is a very very important it's kind of a dicey item to me for some reason but I want that kind of improvement uh the public really deserves that now on the update with the item involving CDBG um uh a little concern on the projects this goes way back with me when I used to really put time in on that um some of the projects fail and I can't remember if the training was inappropriate or the application wasn't appropriate but uh let's make sure that we're handling all those projects for those wonderful people that want to do them and I think a lot of them are are low income people having a dream to come true.

So I don't know exactly how I'm uh is saying that in the right way but if I'm helping I hope so and then one thing I hope we have time to read this this is the department of finance the whole thing is a quote as the city continues to address the structural budget deficit the importance of maintaining cash reserves to strengthen the city's fiscal position and effectively manage potential future economic downturns has never been more critical.

Thank you that does conclude your time thank you.

Thank you.

That to conclude public testimony on item S505.

All right thank you deputy clerk uh we'll now turn it over to council members for questions comments and entertain a motion and we'll start with the chair of the budget committee, Council member Foster.

Uh yes, thank you, Council president and uh Rolando.

I'm sorry, thank you for um the presentation.

Um, and thank you for addressing the CDBG um item, you know, our discussion at um committee.

So with that, I will move staff's recommendation.

All right.

Thank you, Council member.

So we have a motion by council member Foster to move the recommendation.

We'll go next to council member Kempio.

Thank you, Council president.

Thank you to our department of finance and our city attorney's office for the good work on this.

I'll second.

All right.

We have a motion by Council Member Foster, a second by Council Member Campio to move the staff recommendation.

And I'll just quickly add my thanks for the good work.

I know there's a lot that goes into this and responding to Councilmember Foster's concern.

The CBDV are a tricky thing.

And you all do a great job of navigating the challenges associated with that.

So with that, again, we have a motion by Councilmember Foster, a second by Council Member Campia.

Deputy Clerk, call the roll.

I have set up the voting system.

Please cast your vote, and I will need a verbal vote from Councilmember Campbell and Council Member Whitburn.

Campbell, yes.

Yes.

Thank you.

That item passes unanimously with council district five absent.

Yeah.

So that's 8.1.8.

Yes, yes.

And one absence.

Correct.

Yes.

We'll get it by the end of the day.

Anyway, with that, Deputy Clerk, please introduce item 332.

Item 332 is the fiscal year 2027 tax appropriations limit, the GAN limit.

And with that, staff, please introduce yourself again for this item and let us know how much time you need.

Good afternoon, Council President Lacovin.

Council members, I'm Ben Bitalia, Director of Finance, and with me is Amber Gutierrez, financial operations manager.

We're here today to present the fiscal year 2027 tax appropriations limit, also known as the GAN limit, and we'll need about four minutes.

Alright, when you're ready.

In November of 1979, California voters approved Proposition 4, also known as the GAN initiative.

This legislation requires a governing body of each local jurisdiction in California to establish a tax appropriations limit.

And this is a restriction on the amount of tax revenue that can be appropriated in any fiscal year.

Local jurisdictions can choose among four adjustment factors, which includes measures of inflation and population growth to compute the final adjustment factor.

The measures for inflation or price factors include growth in California per capita income or growth in the city's gross assessed valuation due to new non-residential construction, which measure which measures while measures for population growth include population growth within the county or the city.

Revenues subject to the limit consist of tax proceeds and state subventions.

Tax proceeds include property tax, sales tax, transient occupancy tax, and other local taxes.

As a result, not all city revenues are included in this calculation.

The tax appropriations limit must be established on or before June 30th each fiscal year for the following fiscal year.

The fiscal year 27 GAN limit calculation verifies that appropriations are below the limit.

And this results in an adjustment factor of 1.1168 or 11.68%.

The adjustment factor is then applied to the previous year's appropriations limit of 6.29 billion, resulting in a fiscal year 27 tax appropriations limit of 7.03 billion.

And again, this is an 11.68% increase over the fiscal year 26 tax appropriations limit.

I will note the fiscal year 26 tax appropriations limit was revised from $6.24 billion to $6.29 billion following receipt of a revised report from the county, which made a correction to the city's assessed valuation of non-residential construction from the prior year.

And this revision has no impact on the city's compliance with the tax appropriations limit.

The fiscal year 27 tax appropriations limit is calculated to be 7.03 billion.

The total adjusted appropriations subject to this limit for fiscal year 27 is 1.71 billion.

As a result, the fiscal year 27 tax appropriations are projected to be below the limit by $5.32 billion.

Staff's recommendation is to approve the resolution to establish a tax appropriations limit of $7.03 billion for fiscal year 27.

That concludes our presentation, and we're happy to answer any questions you might have.

Alright, thank you for the presentation and the work.

I'll now turn it over to the office of the IBA for comments.

Thank you, Council President, Council members, and thank you, Ben, for the presentation.

So this is really a routine item that we take up every year, but it is worth taking a moment to talk about what the GAN limit tells us about the city's overall level of resources.

As you heard, the GAN limit was established by a 1979 statewide measure that was implemented in 1980, and it set a cap on the total amount of tax revenue for the state, as well as any local government in the state can appropriate, and it tied that cap to actual tax appropriations in 1979.

Again, as you heard, the limit can be adjusted each year by using several factors: growth in income, gross in non-residential assessed value, growth in the population of the city or the county.

And this was done to recognize that inflation exists and that cities grow, but still with the underlying intention of holding tax revenue near or below those 1979 levels.

The adjustments to the GAN limit that you just heard would bring the city's limit to just over $7 billion.

Our actual tax revenue that is subject to the GAN limit for the upcoming fiscal year is estimated at $1.7 billion.

This tells us something about our resources.

Now this will be inexact because the city's economy does not precisely track the four adjustment factors, and the city generally uses the largest possible factor when it's recalculing its GAN limit, but as a very rough shorthand, the $5.3 billion difference between our actual tax revenues and the updated GAN limit illustrate that if the city's tax revenues had simply kept pace since 1980 with growth in income, property values, and population, the city would be collecting roughly four times the tax revenue that it does today.

And this gap is one of the real reasons that the investments the city made in its operations and infrastructure 45 years ago were in many cases significantly larger than the investments that it can make now.

Now the constraints on the city's resources are not caused by the GAN limit, they are instead the result of how the city raises money and what voters are willing to approve.

But this annual item is a useful reminder of the gap between what the city once invested in itself and what it can afford to invest today.

And this should also complicate any notion that the city's current budget issues are simply the result of overspending.

Instead, the larger part of that story is a that tax revenues have not kept pace with growth of the city or with the cost of and demands for programs and infrastructure in the city.

We've just moved past the adoption of a difficult budget, but it is worth keeping this gap in mind as we move through the rest of the year and continue to have discussions about the programs and policies that this council would like to pursue.

Thank you, Council President.

Alright, thank you, Charles.

I always appreciate your perspective.

And uh with that, Deputy Clerk, please proceed with public comment.

Thank you, Council President.

We will begin with in-person public comment.

Next, Schmidt, please come forward.

You'll have two minutes to speak.

Um I just want to say I was at City Hall when they had the um fiscal year 2027 um budget finalized, and it was a big crowded day at City Hall, and then now we have these final two ordinances finalizing it again.

And then I just want to say that it's very interesting to me that after the um it's finalized, and we have the um tax revenue is stated at 1.7 billion dollars.

It's very item 332, the GAN limit is very interesting to me.

And the reason why is because it's um just this kind of random number of um seven billion dollars, and um there are five billion dollars underneath underneath that.

And I just wanted to say it's just kind of interesting to have this information item right after everything is finalized to say, oh, by the way, there's a limit to how much revenue we can make, and it's 7 billion um when the revenue is only 1.7 billion.

And the reason it's interesting to me is um the Chinese Communist Party has something called 10 year and 20 year plans laid out, and to me it almost reminds me of something that the China's Chinese Communist Party would do as a 10-year plan.

And um the GAN limit presentation even said that um revenues that they w revenues are not keeping up with city growth, and they want revenues to be higher.

And I just can't imagine the financial hardship the people of San Diego would have if the g if the um GAN limit was reached this year, and we actually had uh seven billion dollars in um revenue all taxed.

Um it's just it just almost seems like a very interesting thing to have this random GAN limit after the um budgets finalized.

It almost seems like a a plan of sorts to try to increase seven billion dollars.

It does conclude your time, allegedly Audra.

This surely is interesting.

Never really understood it before.

You get really good education come into meetings like this.

That's why people should pay attention.

Um, but it's interesting that you set the limit of like how much you guys can spend.

Like, what if your children were like, I'm gonna tell you how much you can spend on me, and it's like a billion bucks, and you better spend it.

And if you don't, you better get me that money back.

Um, you know, because you guys, it's like obviously you're gonna come in below that, but it makes it look good that like we're we're coming in below our limit.

Um, and it's just interesting to see the way the government works.

How it's like, you know, you set your policies and like you wanna keep people in um compliance with your policies, but it doesn't really matter if they break the law.

It's like you can break the law, but just follow the policy and like we'll do all this nonsense to pretend like we're holding people accountable, it's just you know, but when you're setting your own limits, I mean, like you're gonna set it to a place where you're gonna exceed it.

I mean, obviously you wouldn't, that would be stupid.

I mean, uh, but it's also sad to see, you know, people come in and give you guys um, you know, accolades and and uh appreciation for votes, and you know, I'm used to you guys not looking, it's like it's fine.

I mean, and Joe, I do appreciate even though half the time your faces are kind of funny because but you're you're you're you're not on your phone, you know.

You're you're sometimes I feel like you're in lala land, it's okay, but you're you're you know, listening, which you can get into that mode.

But it's like, I mean, if you guys treated your or if your staff treated you this way, if your staff while you were talking to them was looking down on their phone, you would fire them immediately.

You wouldn't put up with it.

But yet, people we pay your paycheck, and you guys can't even give people the courtesy of even saying thank you for something like that.

I mean, he didn't have to do that, he spent his own money doing it, and just the fact that you guys don't even acknowledge it just shows kind of where we're at your time.

I have started the five-minute timer in the committee room.

We'll now turn to virtual the virtual queue in which there are currently just one uh participant requesting to speak, so we will begin with caller with the last four digits eight seven zero zero.

Please begin.

Uh thank you.

Uh excuse me, uh, deputy city clerk, two minutes.

Yes, two minutes.

Thank you.

Joy Sanyaka.

I've never spoken on this item.

And I wasn't going to speak, so this is off the top of my head.

And and what made me press star nine is uh our IBA, our great IBA Monica, Monica speaking.

And he spoke beautifully.

Uh I want to add to it.

Because we have a structural budget deficit.

And it does involve overspending.

And it's out of balance and it's replicating itself for either 20 or more years.

And we're like a durable stuck on a wheel going round and round and round and round again.

And I'm looking forward to speaking with all of you maybe tomorrow if I get energy about a time of reckoning, which has to do with the people who didn't vote on the sales tax measure, the recent one.

And we need to listen to them because they're telling us we're not spending our money correctly.

We are overspending.

I know it's more complicated than that.

And but I just thank you, IBA Monica.

That was beautifully said, but I think we need to tweak it a little bit.

And I'm really uh there's a great article from the UT on it's got the word reckoning in it for our city, and and the people are saying no to our things.

So uh I'm gonna really try to work on that for tomorrow.

Anyway, uh thank you for listening.

Always a great day.

We have one more.

Love to all.

Thank you.

That concludes public testimony on item 332.

All right, thank you, Deputy Clerk.

Uh with that, we'll turn it over to the council members for questions, comments, and entertain a motion.

And we'll start with council member Campillo.

Thank you, Council President.

Uh, thank you to the members of the public for the participation in this item.

I'll move approval of staff's recommendation.

All right, we have a motion by Councilmember Campillo.

We'll go next to Councilmember Foster.

Second by Council Member Foster.

So we do have a motion by Councilmember Campia, a second by Council Member Foster.

The only thing I'll throw in that the GAN limit, please correct me if I'm wrong, was actually a voter approved.

So we're just following the voter approved measure.

That's correct.

It's probably like two eighteen.

There's a lot of reasons to be a little frustrated by it, but until there's a new vote and repositioning that legislation.

We that we just have to follow that.

So, all right.

Uh we have a motion by Councilmember Campia and a second by Councilmember Foster.

I think as you've seen, we have a little glitch in the voting system and the tally system.

So all in favor say aye.

Any opposed?

And was that a no?

Councilmember Morina.

No.

See, I am paying attention to the audience.

So that passes eight to zero with uh district five absent.

Deputy clerk, please introduce item 331.

Thank you, Council President.

Item 331 is the fiscal year 2027 tax rate ordinance for the maintenance of zoological exhibits.

This item is not subject to the mayor's veto.

All right, thank you for that.

So we have the same staff, but please introduce yourself for this item and let us know how much time you need.

Good afternoon, Council President Joe Locava and Council members.

I'm Ambar Gutierrez, financial operations manager with the Department of Finance, and with me is Ben Batalia, Director of Finance.

Uh, we are here to present the fiscal year 2027 tax freed ordinance.

We'll need about three minutes.

All right, when you're ready, the tax rate ordinance establishes a tax levy for the maintenance of zoological exhibits in accordance with section 75 of the city charter, which requires the adoption of an annual tax levy by ordinance.

Approval of this ordinance also ensures compliance with the with the filing requirements and deadline established by the county auditor and controller, which mandates submission no later than the last day of August of each year.

This levy was originally approved in 1934 when San Diego voters approved Section 770A of the city charter to levy an annual property tax of two cents per 100 dollars of assessed value to be used exclusively for the maintenance of zoological exhibits in Balboa Park.

In 1981, the California Revenue and Taxation Code's definition of the assessed valuation on which property taxes are levied was changed from 25% of a property's value to a hundred percent of a property's value.

In order to translate charters section seventy-seven A's tax rates to the new definition, a conversion factor of one fourth was applied to the zoological exhibits tax rate, changing the levy from two cents per 100 dollars of assessed value to half a cent per 100 dollars of assessed value.

Since then, the tax rate has remained unchanged.

For fiscal year 2027, the zoological exhibits maintenance fund is budgeted at approximately 22.8 million for revenues and expenditures, and it's based on the calculation of half a cent per every $100 of assessed value.

This amount is an estimate based on the city's fiscal year 2027 property tax budget.

Each year, the city trans transfers the actual property tax revenues collected by the county for this purpose.

The 22.8 million represents only a portion of the total cost of maintenance for zoological exhibits.

The remaining costs are funded through zoo operations and support from members, donors, and guests.

Staff recommendation is to approve the fiscal year 2027 tax rate ordinance, levying a property tax of half a cent per hundred dollars of assessed value to be used exclusively for the maintenance of zoological exhibits in Balboa Park in compliance with Charter Section 75 and the county auditor and controller's requirements.

That concludes our presentation.

We're available for any questions.

Alright, thank you for the work and thank you for the presentation.

Thank you, Council President.

Max Schmidt.

We'll begin with in-person comment.

Max Schmidt, please come forward.

You'll have two minutes to speak.

Um increasing the tax to five cents for every hundred dollars of the twenty-two million dollars in maintenance revenue um seems unnecessary.

And I just wanted to um say that earning um taxes off of um San Diego's um amazing zoo also seems unnecessary.

I think with um the two billion dollars um in taxes that San Diego San Diego has to spend, um maybe they could try to make the zoo um more affordable or even free.

I know St.

Louis, Missouri has a free zoo and it's very popular.

And I just wanted to also say that um I've mentioned this a lot already, but I'm against um the city of San Diego getting any tax dollars from um the people, whether it's through um the zoo's maintenance fee or whether it's through property or sales tax, and um the reason why is because there is um serious criminal illegal activity that falls under city sponsored and state sponsored, and um what that is is people being paid tax dollars, like staff at homeless shelter, police officer, um transit authority on the trolley, um whoever's running the trolley intercom, are actually harassing Catholics, and what they do is they s they speak constant, bizarre, strange, half gibberish, half um reading your mind.

I know it sounds crazy, but they're telepathic from doing hermetic chance to Masonic Lodge, and people who are getting paid tax dollars are actually um trying to drive Catholics either to suicide or drug addiction, and there's a genocide happening.

Thank you.

That does conclude your time, allegedly, Audra.

Poor Viving got thrown under the bus.

Why why not call out Jennifer?

You didn't think it was her.

Yeah.

Um, this is interesting.

That's, I mean, a half a cent, and you get twenty-two million dollars, almost twenty-three.

Uh I feel like that should give us a free pass to go to the zoo uh when they're getting that much money from the people.

And is this countywide or is this just in the city?

Is this just city property?

Yeah, that's interesting.

That's a lot of money.

Um, and those people still have to pay to go to the zoo.

Um, and I'm wondering because it's like nobody really keeps up with their maintenance.

How do we know that this is going towards their maintenance really?

I mean, do we know that?

Is there any kind of checks and balances to be sure?

We just give it to them and say it's out of our hands, right?

Is that how it works?

I guess so.

I mean that's that's the way it seems.

That's the way the government works.

We contract with you.

We did our part.

We followed the policy.

We created a bike lane, yeah, costs like 13 million dollars and it goes to nowhere, but we did what we were supposed to do.

So again it's like until people are gonna like go to the zoo for free.

I mean twenty two million dollars uh and plus we're like holding animals in captivity.

Always hated that as a kid like going and watching these animals.

I mean they say they save 'em, but it's like, is it really?

I mean, 'cause like out in their own habitat, they don't really do those things.

But it's like, you know, wild horses, mustangs.

I had a couple of those once.

So sad.

They're like fifty bucks.

You can't even like sell them for that much 'cause they're wild horses anyway.

Um yeah, so I'd just like to see kinda some kind of uh you know uh audit to make sure that this money is going towards maintenance and how much more they're like requiring from the people.

Um I'd also like to request an audit on Flock.

So if we could do that as well that would be good.

Thank you that does conclude your time.

Our next speaker is Anthony Ralphs.

I think I'm in favor of this tax, but I'm not entirely sure.

Um I don't know if the zoo is uh private corporation and if they're getting public subsidy um if so then it probably I don't know if this tax is justified they do bring in a lot of people and they are like a world famous sandy the world famous San Diego Zoo right so I guess there's a there could be a justification for it.

Um but I the the not knowing that distinction um makes it difficult to formulate a fully educated opinion so um I think I'm in favor of it.

Anyway thanks.

Thank you.

That does conclude in-person public comment.

I've started the five minute timer in the committee room.

And we will now turn to the virtual queue where there is one speaker uh requesting to speak.

Hector please begin your comments.

I've been grown up here I've been to the zoo a lot of times as a kid.

I think we should sunset this thing and not pay him anything.

Because the the they originally did that to get the zoo running up and running.

So the sand uh city could with the zoo when it first started to get everything going.

But now the zoo is in great hands.

There's a lot of entrepreneurs there, a lot of people donate it's top of the line and we should almost charge them twenty million dollars.

Like rent or something.

Because they're they know they have all sorts of things going on and we don't need to subsidize them.

Not that we gotta be mad at them or nothing but just we got twenty million we can spend on so many other things and they should we could charge them maybe a million bucks rent.

'Cause I think we own the property but it's probably it's its own corporation or how it works the zoo works but all the big time guys in the zoo that they know what's going on.

And this is just an extra this is like almost mayonnaise on the sandwich.

You know if you take out the mayonnaise it would still be a good sandwich.

You know they're not uh hurting for money.

But they're getting the parking revenue now so who knows what's gonna happen but anyway, we should move to sunset this.

Politically, it might be a no no for you guys, but we'll spend the money down in uh Laureo Logan, man, setting up a lot of stuff's down there with the Arch Dummer.

And g give the money to uh, you know, all sorts of different things we could do.

And it would make a positive impact in a lot of different places.

Thanks for your time.

Thank you.

We have the next speaker is a caller with the last four digits eight seven zero zero.

Please begin your comments.

Uh thank you, uh Joy Sanyata.

Uh Councilmember Foster the third.

Would you listen up uh on this item, please?

Um we have a world class zoo, there's no doubt about it.

And uh on another item this year or last year, we realized and not realized, but we just had we were told and we knew how great they are and how they improved and uh the executives and everything and done great, and you know, so out of the five stars, which I think is the best.

Sometimes I give a plus more, but out of the five stars, they only get four for me.

And the reason for that is there's a question mark on the fifth star, and that is how they treat their employees.

And uh I I I don't know, uh excuse me if I stumble on this with the EOC and the workforce report.

I Googled back away a year or two ago.

I Googled how they treat their employees, and I got awful negativity stuff.

And and I I just it's it frightened me.

It it it just shocked me.

So I I just would like to shine a light there, Councilmember Foster the third, and and make sure that I can that that I'm wrong, that it's just fake fake news on Google.

And so I I just had to get that off my chest.

I wasn't going to speak on this item.

I was sort of waiting for Mr.

Stump to speak.

So um I I feel better that I put that out there.

I hope it's wrong, but if there may if these people, these employees are doing the maintenance, we've got to treat them five stars.

So uh please check on that.

And uh it's been a great day.

And thank you so much for listening to love to all.

Thank you.

That concludes public testimony on item 331.

All right, thank you, Deputy Clerk.

Uh with that, we'll turn it over to council members for questions, comments, entertain a motion, and we'll start with Council Member Whitburn.

Thank you, Council President.

Ninety-two years ago, San Diego residents voted to enact this property tax to help maintain the exhibits at the zoo.

Uh, whatever voters pass a property tax for a specific purpose, the funds have to be used for that purpose and only that purpose.

Uh in this case, the funds must be used for the exhibits at the zoo.

Uh San Diego uh zoo is a point of pride for our city.

Uh, it's uh the reason many tourists visit our city.

Um a lot of the people who work at the zoo have worked there for decades and speak very highly of their experience.

Many of them are represented uh by the Teamsters Union.

I very much appreciate uh the zoo's long-standing partnership with the city, and I'm happy to move the staff recommendation.

All right, we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn, we'll next go to Councilmember Campillo.

Happy to second, Council President.

Oh, right, well, quick on the on that.

Um, I don't see anybody else uh on the lights uh and so we're gonna do a voice vote again.

Uh we have a motion by Councilmember Whitburn, a second by Councilmember Campio to move the staff recommendation.

All favor say aye.

Aye.

Any nays?

That passes a zero with district five absent.

That brings us to the end of our agenda.

We will now adjourn council to the next regularly scheduled council meeting on Monday, June 29th, 2026 at 10 a.m.

And I am confident we will be back in chambers.