Council President Scott Peters today announced his 100-day plan for reform, saying that he would call three special council meetings in the coming months to consider the 121-point remediation plan proposed by private consultants Kroll Inc. and pushed by Mayor Jerry Sanders.
The mayor unexpectedly joined the council president for his 10:30 a.m. announcement, further cementing the public camaraderie displayed by the two officials since last month’s release of the Kroll report and the mayor’s open disagreements with Peters foe City Attorney Mike Aguirre.
Both officials signaled that today’s 1 p.m. council meeting would be more of a formality for the City Council to give a blanket approval of the mayor’s remediation plan. They said more specific and detailed discussions would take place at the Oct. 16, Nov. 13 and Dec. 4 special hearings. Each of those hearings will begin at 9 a.m. on the 12th floor of the City Administration Building at 202 C St. downtown.
“No one in San Diego is more sensitized to the need for these reforms than this City Council,” Peters said.
The Kroll report found that Peters and a number of his colleagues acted negligently in allowing the release of faulty financial information to investors and knowingly caused the city to violate state and federal clean water laws. However, since the release of the report, the council president has said he disagrees with some of the findings and has repeatedly emphasized the need to move forward.
The mayor’s proposal will require a number of council actions and some voter-approved changes to the City Charter. The council’s independent budget analyst has also expressed concerns about the plan, saying that it consolidates too much authority under the mayor’s purview and has suggested evening out the balance between council and mayoral powers.
Aguirre has also put forth his own remediation plan that, among other things, would make him the appointed monitor that Kroll suggested as overseer of the city’s reforms.
Check back on more from the council hearing later today.