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The city of San Diego today announced it found the money needed to operate a downtown homeless shelter during the winter a week after Mayor Jerry Sanders and the City Council removed the program from the budget.
After the council initially included $465,000 for the shelter in its day-to-day service budget, Sanders vetoed the cost. He claimed the money would be better spent on shoring up the city’s depleted reserves and that the program could be paid for with other means. The council conceded the fight and let the veto stand earlier this week despite the objections of critics such as Councilwoman Donna Frye who said the city should not rely on outside sources to get the funding.
Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilwoman Toni Atkins will announce today that the shelter will be paid for by community development grants, the Centre City Development Corp., the San Diego Housing Commission and the local United Way.