Many of the programs former city councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe championed as a member of the San Diego City Council are on the chopping block in the mayor’s proposed budget — and she has something to say about it.
“I cannot remain silent in the face of a budget proposal that fails to adequately reflect a commitment to equity and fairness for all residents,” Montgomery Steppe, now a county supervisor, wrote in a letter to Mayor Todd Gloria on Monday.
She identified four programs and two other funds she wants the mayor to preserve. The programs include: No Shots Fired, a gun violence prevention effort she championed; SD Access for All, an internet access initiative the city expanded during the pandemic and Gloria once described as important because “access to the Internet is more comparable to water and electricity services …”; and drop-in centers for teens.
She is asking the mayor to preserve the Cannabis Equity Program he wants to eliminate. The city will return a $880,000 grant to the state if it ends the program before October, as our editor Andrea Lopez-Villafaña reported last week.
The supervisor wants Gloria to allocate resources to the city’s Housing Commission. As we reported, the mayor wants $15 million from the housing agency to help fund homeless services. And she wants him to fund the city’s climate equity fund.
“Equity should not be sacrificed at the altar of fiscal responsibility, particularly after the recent disastrous floods and their impacts on the people we serve.” Montgomery Steppe wrote.
Mayor Gloria presented his proposed budget to the San Diego City Council yesterday and City News Service reports that newly seated City Councilmember Henry Foster III, who now represents Montgomery Steppe’s southeastern San Diego district, was among the council members who are uneasy about it.
“This proposal pains me,” Foster said. “Inequity does come with a price tag.”
Next steps: City Council budget hearings will begin next week. The City Council has until June 30 to approve the budget.
Mega Shelter Diary: Long Meeting; No Update
The San Diego City Council had a lengthy closed-door discussion Monday on Mayor Todd Gloria’s mega shelter proposal and ended its meeting without any public announcements.
As our Lisa Halverstadt previously reported, the City Council scheduled the closed session to discuss the costs and terms of Gloria’s plan to lease a Middletown warehouse and make it a 1,000-bed homeless shelter amid questions about the initial pitch. That discussion went so long, the City Council had to start its public meeting more than an hour late.
Meanwhile: As the City Council gathered behind closed doors Monday, NBC 7 San Diego reported that activists protested outside the Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street warehouse. Shane Harris of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates separately called a press conference there to urge the City Council to wait at least 60 days before voting on the proposed mega shelter and the city to hold community input sessions in every council district.
More revelations: The Union-Tribune’s Jeff McDonald revealed in a subscriber-only story that Douglas Hamm, who recently bought the warehouse the city’s eyeing, secured millions of dollars in loans for the purchase. McDonald’s reporting on those loans, coupled with local real estate experts’ takes that Gloria’s proposal is particularly favorable to Hamm, could have contributed complexity to the City Council’s private discussion.
What’s next: TBD. Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, whose office would need to schedule a City Council vote, said late Monday there’s no “scheduled date” for the proposed lease to be heard at an open City Council session.
Elo-Rivera, who declined to comment on the closed session discussion, pledged to make sure the City Council can vet the proposed deal before any votes.
“I’m committed to ensuring that the council has every opportunity to make the best decision possible for the city of San Diego,” Elo-Rivera said.
Why the Leader of Sheriff Oversight Board Gave Up
Four years after Paul Parker excitedly agreed to lead the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board, the citizen oversight body of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, he abruptly resigned.
Parker was hopeful he could implement change into the San Diego County jails system, which has had record numbers of inmate deaths for the past three years.
But, according to a report by CalMatters, the oversight board doesn’t have the power to force the sheriff’s department to make changes, it can only make recommendations.
The review board, led by Parker, tried to introduce several changes to the sheriff’s department, but those changes were rejected. Parker told CalMatters he was ultimately tired of fighting for something that he doesn’t think is going to change.
Border Report: The Tale of Twin Cities and their Economies
Migration and drug trafficking have put an international spotlight on the U.S.-Mexico border. But those of us who live and work here know the border is about so much more, writes Voice contributor Sandra Dibble.
For this week’s Border Report, Dibble speaks with San Diego economist James Gerber about his new book, “Border Economies: Cities Bridging the U.S.-Mexico Divide.” The author conducted a broad analysis of a region that extends nearly 2,000 miles – from San Diego-Tijuana to Brownsville-Matamoros. He explores how border cities are unlike any cities in both countries’ interior.
Dibble gets into why San Diego-Tijuana are unique and fascinating regions to explore.
Related: Two beaches separated by the U.S.-Mexico border, Imperial Beach and Playas de Tijuana, are often deemed unsafe due to pollution from the Tijuana River.
But, according to a report by the Union-Tribune, residents of the two beach communities seem to handle those beach closures differently.
Imperial Beach-goers typically stay out of the water, while many Tijuana residents still go in the water. Experts told the U-T, Tijuana residents have grown accustomed to the polluted waters, don’t have many other options when it comes to accessible beaches and also need more information about the risks of polluted waters.
In Other News
- San Diego officials are considering major changes to the second phase of its multi-billion dollar Pure Water sewage recycling project. The city is now reconsidering where it will build the second phase purification plant and where to store that plant’s purified water. (Union-Tribune)
- A former Marine is facing state and federal charges for allegedly stealing a Border Patrol vehicle and taking it for a joyride. Shawn Farrar, who is not a federal agent, has previously gone joyriding in stolen government vehicles three times before. (Union-Tribune)
- The County of San Diego and Catholic Charities have separately been awarded $19.6 million grants from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Services (FEMA) to offset the cost of providing services to newly arrived migrants. (Union-Tribune)
- The County Sheriff’s Department wants to open a new sheriff’s station in North County, as well as a new substation in Ramona and a new or renovated jail in Vista. (Union-Tribune)
- The Supreme Court began weighing a ban on people sleeping outdoors on Monday. The case is expected to be decided by the end of June. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, Lisa Halverstadt and Tigist Layne. It was edited by Scott Lewis.