The San Diego City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to approve a budget that avoided many previously threatened cuts to library and lake hours, recreation centers and park restrooms.
It also adds back the chief operating officer position that Mayor Todd Gloria abruptly nixed and took over earlier this year, funds a safe parking lot for homeless families at Central Elementary and restores the Office of Race and Equity.
The city’s budget for the year that begins in July is balanced – at least for now – with the help of assumptions the city will more swiftly pursue paid parking at Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo, move forward with digital billboard ads, charge fees on credit card transactions at parking meters and cut about a dozen additional positions.
Charles Modica, the city’s independent budget analyst, repeatedly warned of risks.
“I’m going to be very hopeful that everything in here materializes,” Modica said.
If not, Modica said, the City Council and mayor could be forced to make tough calls again soon – and the threat of economic headwinds could lead to challenges even if various revenues the budget counts on exceed projections.
The adjustments followed a last-minute push from councilmembers who collectively identified additional projected revenues that ultimately helped restore many – but not all – of the cuts that Gloria proposed in his draft budgets.
Who voted no and why: Councilmember Jennifer Campbell said she wasn’t confident that the budget was balanced. Councilmember Vivian Moreno argued it didn’t do enough to address stormwater concerns that continue to plague her district following last January’s floods.
The mayor’s take: Late Tuesday, Gloria’s office issued a statement noting that the City Council had “added tens of millions of dollars in new spending and changes” that concerned city budget analysts and attorneys.
“Over the next several days, the mayor and his team will closely review the Council’s amendments to ensure the final budget meets the level of fiscal responsibility this moment demands, especially given the current economic uncertainty and global instability,” spokesperson Rachel Laing wrote.
What’s next: The budget is now headed to Gloria’s desk for his signature. Once it lands there, Gloria has five days to sign the budget or issue line-item vetoes. Tuesday’s 7-2 majority vote suggests the budget is veto-proof, but Gloria’s office hinted he may push councilmembers in coming days.
The City Council has the option to override any line-item veto with six votes. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
South County Report: Immigration Debate Enters Supe Race
We are weeks away from the final day to vote in the District 1 County Supervisor race.
This week, South County reporter Jim Hinch unpacks how immigration, one of the country’s most divisive issues, has entered the chat.
One candidate is already using recent federal enforcement actions to differentiate herself from her opponent. Another is staying quiet. Meanwhile, community members in the heavily Latino district are grappling with what’s going on and what it all means for the local race.
One Chula Vista resident told Hinch the barrage of immigration news has felt demoralizing. And it’s made casting her vote in the supervisor race even harder.
“I’ll be so flat-out honest, it’s making me not even want to vote,” she said. “I’ve been praying about it…It’s very heartbreaking.”
Read the South County Report here.
San Diego Unified Says Einstein Is Violating Its Charter
Months after parents first claimed inconsistencies in Albert Einstein Academies’ German immersion program were a violation of the school’s charter, San Diego Unified has chimed in. Turns out, district leaders agree.
In a May letter to the charter school, district officials detailed two areas of concern. Those include that Einstein is not fully complying with state requirements regarding English development instruction for English language learners and that, despite citing its German immersion program in its charter, the school doesn’t actually have one. That’s a big deal because, as Einstein’s authorizer, San Diego Unified has the power to revoke the school’s charter should the school fail to meet the requirements laid out in the document.
In a response to district officials, Einstein’s leadership laid out its plans to fix both problem areas. When it came to German immersion, Einstein leadership wrote that it plans to bring a charter revision up for a vote during the upcoming fall semester.
Song of the Week
Toof Fairy, “Third Grade”: The band’s latest single opens with an isolated acoustic guitar that finds its footing when the lead singer’s airy, soprano voice croons, “You’ve had the same face since the third grade.” Her voice lures the listener along, dancing from a light yet confident whisper to a deep proclamation. The track ends by incorporating some jagged distortion, both to her voice and to the lead guitar, all while the acoustic strums away. It evokes the feeling of driving through a tunnel, orange lights along the walls flickering as you fly by heading to that inevitable other side.
Read more about the Song of the Week here.
Like what you hear? Check out Toof Fairy Friday, June 20, at Che Cafe.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.
In Other News
- Advocates renewed their call for city of San Diego officials to end the police department’s license plate reader program. The data collected by automated license plate readers, which includes the make, model and location of cars, is stored in a database that could potentially be accessed by federal law enforcement officials. On Tuesday, San Diego’s City Council deferred funding the program until a review of its data sharing capabilities could be completed. (KPBS)
- Art Madrid, who served as mayor of the city of La Mesa for 24 years, has died. (City News Service)
- The Union-Tribune reports that contractors who run San Diego’s Job Corps center have notified state labor officials that should the Trump administration succeed in shutting down the program, they will need to lay off 199 staff members at the Imperial Beach facility. Related: On Monday, we published a story detailing the chaos caused by the Trump administration’s announcement that it would be closing contractor-run Job Corps sites nationwide. The decision has been halted by a court order, but it could lead to hundreds of at-risk young people ending up homeless.
- A working group formed by a La Jolla nonprofit is proposing a five-point plan to better protect sea lions following the death of three pups last year. (CBS 8)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Jakob McWhinney and Tessa Balc. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.